Love and fearlessness were key to MLK’s legacy for L.A.
The assassination death of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains pivotal in U.S. history as the murder of this U.S. and world civil rights icon achieved what it had intended: deliver fear.
Following the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965 and the killing of King three years later, blacks lost initiative, nerve and power that could not be restored even with a Civil Rights Act of 1964, legislation that sought to end segregation in public places and made illegal employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Dr. King underscored the trouble with leaders as movements die or slow when someone delivers death to people situated in the front of marches. Black leaders found shadows after the killing of Dr. King.
Of course, Dr. King had an understanding that death awaited. There were hundreds of death threats as government forces knew that this black man had a power of peace that challenged the moral fabric of a nation that had reneged on promises of equality, opportunity and justice.
So, on April 3, Dr. King, in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike, delivered his final speech as a mortal. King alluded to his potential physical destruction although he exhibited spiritual assurance about his final destination.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind,” King preached.
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything, I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Malcolm X voiced a similar brave voice regarding death and fear just days before his February 1965 assassination.
“I don’t worry, I’ll tell you. I’m a man who believed that I died 20 years ago, and I live like a man who is dead already. I have no fear whatsoever of anybody or anything,” Malcolm X told autobiographer, Alex Haley.
Dr. King challenged U.S. conscience, especially regarding our country’s idealism which established that all men (and women) had been created equal, “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” according to the Declaration of Independence.
Trenton needs more Dr. Kings. More Malcolm Xs. More people willing to stand up against racism, discrimination, gender bias, drug dealers, gang members and politicians who show up during elections, promise the sun and moon then disappear after winning or losing.
The loss of fear cultivates freedom, allows people to take on daily challenges without worry of death or disappointment.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains alive as an inspirational force that allows for courage to challenge a U.S. government and society that obstructs equality.
Dr. King, whose image hangs from the ceiling in this office cubicle, once noted that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
However, it’s a Dr. King quote that demands immediate action that serves as impetus for living.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
The extrication of fear from our lives allows for love. And love, as Dr. King espoused, makes humans of us all.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist.