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Why Do We Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr Day?
Martin Luther King, Jr. day is traditionally celebrated on the third Monday of January, to put it close to his birthday of January 15. He was born in 1929, the son of a preacher at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. In church, he learned about standing up for racial injustice without violence, a belief he carried throughout his life.
While he is perhaps best known nationwide for his “I Have A Dream” speech (more on that in a minute), he was a fiercely dedicated leader and activist. During his tenure as pastor, he was also serving in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Activism of Dr Martin Luther King Jr
Dr King believed strongly in non-violent protest. He helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, leading to the Supreme Court’s decision to desegregate public transportation. He worked with Bayard Rustin to coordinate and produce the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in support of equal opportunity for jobs within federal sectors, fair voting laws, and the end of legal discrimination on basis of race.
Dr King was also present in the march across the Edmond Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, with future Congressman John Lewis, on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Government “Threat”
But for all his non-violence, Dr King was still marked as a threat by the United States government, and they kept a close eye on him. Future President J. Edgar Hoover, then the head of the FBI, instructed the FBI to follow him closely, using an operation they called “COINTELPRO.” And while Dr King was under surveillance, his safety and the safety of his family was constantly threatened, in effort to scare him.
In effort to publicly discredit Dr King and his message of desegregation and unity, the government through COINTELPRO spread rumors that he was secretly leading the Communist Party, and attempted blackmail against him using illegal wiretaps.
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was recorded as having been arrested twenty-nine times. Some of his arrests were for acts of civil disobedience (non-violent), and some for ridiculous reasons (like driving 30mph in a 25mph zone). He organized the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. By getting children to march, and so many were imprisoned that the local jails ran out of room, he was able to negotiate desegregation and their releases. During one of his imprisonments, Dr King penned the very poignant, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which I firmly believe should be mandatory reading every Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Death of Dr King
There are two things most people are taught about Dr King: the first being the phrase “I have a dream” uttered during his March on Washington speech, and the second being that he was assassinated. On April 4, 1968, Dr King was standing on the balcony outside of his Memphis motel room when he was shot through the right side of his jaw, and he died an hour later at the hospital at the age of 39.
On April 11, 1968, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
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Be a King: Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by James E. Ransome
The Rabbi and the Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King Jr, and their Fight Against Silence by Audrey Ades, illustrated by Chiara Fidele
My Daddy, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King III, illustrated by AG Ford
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr., foreward by Coretta Scott King
