HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY-EQUALITY IN THE WORK PLACE

Born January 15, 1929  in Atlanta, Georgia     Married June 18, 1953 (Coretta Scott-King) Marion, Alabama   Assassinated April 4th, 1968 (age 39) Memphis, Tennessee

Based on his exceptionally high college entrance exam scores at Booker T. Washington High School during his Junior year, Dr. King, Jr. was advanced immediately to collegiate studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. He was only 15 years of age when he attended college (His brilliance resulted in him skipping his freshman and senior years of high school).  He graduated from Morehouse in 1948 with a B.A. in Sociology.  He immediately applied and was accepted at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, PA.  He also attended the University of PA.  He was president of his senior class, valedictorian, recipient of the Pearl Plafker Award (most outstanding student) and the J. Lewis Crozer Fellowship for graduate studies at Crozer. He graduated from Crozer  in 1951 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree.

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1. He became an ordained minister in 1948  (age 19) at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. and accepted the position of Assistant Pastor.
2. He was assigned a calling as the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL between 1954 – 1959.
3. From 1957-1968 he was the Founder & President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference  & co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer.
4. He was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association 1955-1956 & Vice President of the National Sunday School & Baptist Teaching Union Congress of the National Baptist Convention. 

 In 1948 he began his graduate studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University and simultaneously studied at Harvard University. He earned his Ph. D. degree, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology from Boston U. in 1955. His dissertation was titled ” A Comparison of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Wieman”.   He has a long list of honorary degrees both nationally and internationally. His credentials, memberships, titles, accomplishments and acts are endless. They extend well beyond what most Americans know him for ( Civil Rights Movement).

His Christian principles were uncompromising in terms of the greater causes and good of society. His faith  was one that did not include violence despite the deeply rooted frustration over the blatant unfairness and injustices practiced against him, his race and others in this country not so long ago.  To add insult to injury he was living in a country wherein the majority of the population proclaimed proudly its adherence to Christian principles and morals.  If you can say that a country has a soul, this was a volatile time when the United States was being ripped apart much like it had been when the idea of abolishing slavery was brought to the table.  Once again America was forced to stare at itself in the mirror and witness, inspect and analyze some of the darkest and ugliest parts of its soul. The growing pains that accompany maturity and change seem insurmountable at times. Just to get society to see it was wrong was one impossible feat. The next step is to get society to admit it was wrong.  It sounds simple on paper, but its as painful and traumatic as taking a scalpel to your body and then cutting down to your soul to expose the filthiest of thoughts and emotions without anesthesia. To expose these issues in a single soul is painful and blinding enough in the light, but to do it with an entire nation is unconscionable. These are parts of us we hadn’t been forced to bring to the surface for generations. They were so intertwined in every day life few people even viewed it as wrong much less un-Christian. To bring muck like this into the light causes third degree burns on the soul and mind. Growing pains hurt which is why they are called growing pains. This country should not have been able to survive the violence and division it endured when slavery was abolished or the terror, violence and division it endured when a minority group dared to challenge segregation, inequality, lower compensation, unfair employment practices, and more.  America did survive and is surviving. We are indeed blessed by God despite our transgressions. We are a mighty nation and have the ability to continue to improve and grow. We must keep looking in the mirror and never allow the fear of what we might find to outweigh the faith we  have in God’s forgiveness and society’s forgiveness along with the ability to change and survive the pain.

Many of the beneficiaries of this movement were some of the worst critics of the movement. In other words Civil Rights did not just benefit Black Americans. The benefits are still present in the work place for WOMEN of all races,  Latinos, American Indians, East Indians, Arabs, all Asian races, the DISABLED and more. So many people lose sight of the fact that this movement touched all the corners of America because it was for all Americans who experienced discrimination on any level.  The reason we walk into office buildings now and see women and diversity in a variety of positions beyond and including clerical staff is based on this Civil Rights Movement. Let us not forget this. Dr. Martin Luther King and the many unknown heroes paved the way for ALL of us. 

The movement was funded by wealthy Black, White and Jewish Americans. Many White Americans peacefully marched, protested and died beside Black Americans. If there was not a large number of diverse Americans opposing Jim Crow laws and the like, the movement could have failed, given its many obstacles. Another factor that forced our politicians to take action was the fact that America was sprawled across the front pages of the European newspapers and other media sources. Europeans were witnessing and reading about the fire hose incidents and other violence imposed on the peaceful protesters. Their leaders were contacting our leaders and asking about the atrocities. The power of the voice of the people was set into motion.  

Dr. Martin Luther King and others dared to expose the unexplored caves of America.  One can only expect that when you force an entire country to look at itself naked in the mirror and measure itself against Biblical principles, you are bound to incite fear and terror which evolves quickly into violence and more hatred… initially.  In other words, your life is on the line. The men and women of this movement knew this and sacrificed their lives and the lives of their families.  They recognized a higher calling and saw the bigger picture for future generations. They were big enough to know it wasn’t about them. 

We often think about the laws & rights which followed the Civil Rights Movement, but how many of us thank Dr. Martin Luther King and others for the wake up call of  our own transgressions which we would have otherwise gladly taken to our graves and never sought forgiveness for discriminatory practices as the norm throughout much of our society?  It was so deeply rooted in society and family structures that many did not consider it a sin or question it.

How many practices are currently part of our every day lives that we no longer ponder if  they qualify as transgressions or sins?  We have become so numb and desensitized in some areas of our every day lives. Let us never become so complacent that we lose the willingness and strength it takes to examine ourselves continually and make the necessary adjustments to remain in line with the same principles this country claims its foundation.

True Christians never claim perfection or a self righteousness. We simply acknowledge we will always have to live with the consequences of our past mistakes, faults, and sins as the sins we acknowledge & repent upon are eradicated. We promise to always take a good long hard look in the mirror at ourselves and recognize our flaws are too many in number for us to conquer without God’s continual intervention. We promise, that with God’s Hand in our lives, we will embrace, accept and show Christian love for every person on this planet regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, religion, belief, physical challenge, economic or social status, etc.   We don’t have to agree, but we do have to love and therein is the challenge and call of every Christian. 

Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all of those who died and served for the greater cause of all of America. Your DREAM is our reality and we are still working on it.  Fear followed by hatred and violence will always exist, but we don’t have to stand by idly and let it consume and rule us because we live in a great country called the United States of America.

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