Continuing The Good Fight: A Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther King

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On this day, in 1968, in Memphis, T.N., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed after delivering his last great speech the night before in solidarity with the sanitation workers (both black and white) who were on strike because of low pay and poor working conditions. Dr. King left behind a legacy that endures to this day for civil rights’ activists, spiritual leaders, and those who just wish to make a difference in making the world a better place for future generations.

Dr. King- The Man.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Georgia on January 15, 1929.? He was born Michael King, Jr and was also a Baptist minister and was an activist in the Civil Rights’ movement beginning in the mid 1950s until his death on April 4, 1968.

He was born to Michael King, Sr. and Alberta Williams. His grandfather, A.D. Williams, was a successful minister. Upon Minister Williams’s death, Michael King, Sr., took over the church that A.D. ministered to, becoming a successful minister in his own right. Michael Sr. then changed his name and Michael Jr.’s name to Martin Luther in honor of the German Protestant movement leader, Martin Luther.

Dr. King skipped both ninth and eleventh grades, graduating high school and entering college at the age of 15. He questioned his faith for a time and was a bit lazy with his studies, floating through his first two years of college. He earned a degree in sociology, and, after renewing his faith, entered into the seminary.? During his work on his doctorate, he met and married Coretta Scott.

Dr. King was one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, won numerous awards and had great prestige for his work in the civil rights’ movement here in America.

Dr. King’s Work.

In 1955, a young girl, Claudette Colvin, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, in violation of the law of the city of Montgomery. She was arrested and charged. However, because she was pregnant and unwed, the NAACP feared that this would make them less credible in the eyes of sympathetic whites and did not act upon a boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott did begin when Rosa Parks was arrested for the same thing in December of that year.

King led the boycott and so began his public civil rights’ work.

Throughout his career as a civil rights’ activist, his work spread from just the injustices visited upon African Americans because of segregation, to standing with striking workers in protest of poor working conditions, speaking out against the war in Vietnam, and taking a stand against poverty.

He continued his fight until April 3, 1968, when his last speech was given in support of sanitation workers on strike. He was then shot and killed on April 4, 1968.

Dr. King’s Dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have A Dream“.

Dr. King had a dream that one day, in this land of the free and home of the brave, all would be equal. That all would be judged by the content of their character rather than external factors. He fought and died, as so many others did, for justice- not just equality, but justice for all.

Today, while his dream has partially been realized, there is still a fight going on. Dr. King and many others have left rich legacies for us to fulfill and for us to follow. They sacrificed and were brutally beaten and even murdered for their fight.

In tribute to him and to others, we need to continue to fight for justice and to work towards this for all- regardless of creed, skin color, faith, or anything else. I urge you, my readers, to think on this today, this day that one of the many fighters for justice, died.

 

Edited/Published by: SB