This week is the 40^th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s hard to believe that the number 40 is correct. Really? Could it have been that long ago?

There are reminiscences and interviews, tributes and ‘what-ifs’ galore, and you’ll have to try hard to avoid them. Well, if you want to avoid them, stop reading this now.

I remember that day well. I was a young man (yes, it’s hard to believe, but I actually was young at one time. Stop it) and I think I lacked a bit of perspective. Looking back, I think the whole country did as well. Surprised but not shocked. It felt as though the event had a certain inevitability to it.

I remember the times. It’s hard to believe, but assassinations were, while not commonplace, occurring with some regularity. President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, and his alleged assassin was himself killed days later, all of this live on television. Three New York Civil Rights workers were murdered in Mississippi while pushing to register voters. Malcolm X was similarly killed earlier that decade. Horror seemed to simply change to anger and angst, but not righteous outrage. If you were trying to change the mindsets of people who were benefiting from the status quo, apparently death was going to be a part of the equation. It was more than just a symbolic risk you took, there was a good chance.

Violence seemed to be everywhere; war in Southeast Asia, riots in Watts and Detroit, political upheaval everywhere you looked.

Amid all of that, I do remember how the idea of Nonviolent Resistance took hold of people. What a powerful message for all of us. What courage it took to do what he did! This was truly someone I could use to measure myself and my life against, always striving to be better. I got courage from watching him face constant anger and violence with calm purpose. It was hard to believe that anybody could do that knowing what could happen.

Of course, the manner of his death unleashed that message and keeps Dr. King alive. Nonviolent Resistance still communicates and accomplishes where violence doesn’t. His son delivered that thought to us here at Lourdes College recently and brought all of this back to me.

40 years ago. It’s hard to believe in so many ways.

Monday, March 31, 2008 1:27:02 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] |