As you celebrate MLK Day, forget what you were taught from sugar-coated and glazed-over schoolbooks.
Remember that Dr. King, Jr. was a RADICAL activist who had many adversaries, including Robert F. Kennedy and the FBI.
He believed that all humans are deserving of freedom & dignity and that American democracy is capable of creating a world in which all have these.
He believed in putting love into ACTION.
He believed that blind conformity leads to the threatening of everyone's civil liberties.
He believed that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws" because an unjust law is no law at all.
He realized the validity of violence & rioting toward the end of his life - "a riot is the language of the unheard."
He was disappointed by the white church and its leadership. Many white churches remained silent in the fight for civil rights, ignoring the words of Paul in the Bible to "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." He called for faith & love to be put into direct social action, citing Jesus as a radical non-conformist.
MLK believed in resistance & protest at any cost. He was ready to be arrested, ridiculed, and pushed around. He knew he could be killed for standing his ground. He refused to lose his voice. He refused to sit quietly while his brothers and sisters were being denied basic human rights.
These views were and still are "radical." Would you actively break laws to bring justice to all people?
Remember that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "whatever affects one directly affects ALL indirectly."
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
He believed that all humans are deserving of freedom & dignity and that American democracy is capable of creating a world in which all have these.
He believed in putting love into ACTION.
He believed that blind conformity leads to the threatening of everyone's civil liberties.
He believed that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws" because an unjust law is no law at all.
He realized the validity of violence & rioting toward the end of his life - "a riot is the language of the unheard."
He was disappointed by the white church and its leadership. Many white churches remained silent in the fight for civil rights, ignoring the words of Paul in the Bible to "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." He called for faith & love to be put into direct social action, citing Jesus as a radical non-conformist.
MLK believed in resistance & protest at any cost. He was ready to be arrested, ridiculed, and pushed around. He knew he could be killed for standing his ground. He refused to lose his voice. He refused to sit quietly while his brothers and sisters were being denied basic human rights.
These views were and still are "radical." Would you actively break laws to bring justice to all people?
Remember that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "whatever affects one directly affects ALL indirectly."
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.