MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

 

How Martin Luther King got his name

Charles King, Martin Luther King’s father went to Germany for a conference on Martin Luther and was so impressed with Martin Luther’s life and teachings that he officially changed his own name to Martin Luther King.  And he also changed the name of his young son, Charles King, Jr., to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Non-violence :  the struggle for freedom

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an advocate of non-violence in the struggle for freedom for African Americans in the U.S.  His insistence on non-violence conflicted with many members in the civil rights movement, including Malcom X and Medgar Evers.  Mayor Richard J. Daley had strong objections to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of freedom for African Americans.  Ralph Metcalf, Marquette University and Olympic medal winner and part of the Daley political machine in Chicago, left the Daley machine and followed his own judgments as an alderperson in Chicago as a result of Daley’s opposition to King.

Non-violence:  the Viet Nam war

In opposition to the United States’ political consensus, King was opposed to the Viet Nam war.

Barbershop quotes – ‘He had courage.’  (Courage to Be by Paul Tillich)

I go to the Sherman Phoenix Black Barbershop here in Milwaukee for my haircuts and I feel comfortable talking there with the people in the shop about Martin Luther King.  They summed up their feeling about him with the words, ‘He had courage.’  King knew his life was in danger, yet he joined the garbage workers’ strike in 1968. He was murdered in Memphis where he was speaking to support them. 

Let us celebrate this day dedicated to the spiritual warrior, Martin Luther King, imitating his compassion and service!