the teachings of a nonviolent minister......

A long time ago, when I was a little girl, my father taught at a school for deaf and disabled children. Being that he had a friendly outgoing personality, he often invited his fellow teaching associates over for weekend barbecues and dinners. One such woman was a black teacher. Her name was Helen Young and she was from Gary, Indiana. She was a professional in her field, and had a personality to match my fathers.... as well as the nicest laugh I'd ever heard.

One night when she was over for dinner, it was my bedtime, and I made the customary rounds of saying goodnight to my parents.... complete with hugs and kisses. There stood Helen, ready to shake my hand, when I reached over and hugged and kissed her as well. The surprise on her face was priceless. Where she came from, little white girls did not do such things. They were told it was not proper. What did I know? I was a little girl who grew up with no predjudices, as they were not allowed in our home. My parents were adamant that a person was not judged on the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character.

This happened during the 60's when the country was embroiled in the civil rights movement, and my father kept his eye on the news stories of the times. He wept when he witnessed fire hoses and dogs turned on black people for standing up for their rights as people. No man should ever have to be exposed to the hate and violence lashed upon them by people who were ignorant in their beliefs that black people were degenerate, he once told me. All men should be ashamed for their acts that day.

It was very shortly after this that Dr. King was assignated. Here was a Reverend, a preacher of non-violence, and a voice for all races to put aside differences in order to heal the wounds of discrimination and injustice. He had his faults, of which J. Edgar Hoover compiled a file on, but no less a man with a word for peace for all mankind.

During the first march in Memphis, which failed miserably, Dr. King left the demonstration and Memphis as well. When questioned about his leave, he answered that he always said he would not be any part of a "violent" demonstration, of which it had turned into. In finding out later, some people were paid to start up the violence, including some people who were part of the march. This sickened him, and he decided to return back to Memphis to "do it right this time". Because this was a march in support to the garbage workers of Memphis who had gone on strike, he felt his presence was necessary.
After taking quite a bit of heat for speaking out against the Vietnam conflict, demonstrations that erupted violence, and a somewhat dwindling crowd at the Mason Temple that night, Dr. King was exhausted. He asked Ralph Abernathy to speak for him. When Abernathy arrived at the temple, he summoned King on the phone to come down, his presence was most definitely necessary. King promised to hurry down. It was on this night that he made his famous and last speech. It was his Mountaintop sermon. The very next night, deciding if the weather was a little chilly and to bring coats while he was standing on the balcony of his hotel room , a shot rang out, and Dr. King lay on the landing. It was as if the prediction in his sermon had rung true.

That very night, Robert Kennedy was campaigning, and had to pass the news on to the crowd his was in front of. His compassion, empathy, and suffering the same experience in his own family, allowed the crowd to disburse without demonstrations or violence. Everyone just went home to mourn in their own way. Many other cities and towns did not fare as will that particular night. Within a month, eight shots rang out, and Kennedy's voice was quieted as well. The 60's fizzled into the disco 70's.

Dr. King was a man who had his own demons, like any man. His file from Hoover contained secrets the family has had to bear, especially the news of his many mistresses. It was an embarrassment, but somehow it does not tarnish the charisma of his speeches or words.
We may not like some of the nasty news we hear about him, true or not, but we should never forget the good things he accomplished in his short life. The Nobel Peace prize was not handed to him because he marched for peace... he was instrumental in pushing through the bill for the Civil Rights Act, which was no easy task when the President was a Texan southerner.

Today, January 15th, is the true birthday of Dr. King, but we will celebrate it tomorrow so that we can have a day off from work. In the meantime, many problems are erupting at the King Center in Atlanta, and Coretta Scott King is recovering from a stroke she suffered. Some of the original followers and shakers of the close group around Dr. King have presented their own agendas ahead of the teachings of their leader. The movement has taken on a different direction. And in the words of Andrew Young, the movement just fell apart after Bobby Kennedy died. The best we did as a nation was to honor Dr. King with a national holiday, the worst... not to carry on the words of non-violence in our convictions.

We may never know how many good things were in store for us, we can only speculate and hope it would have be good...... if only we had the time to find out. But then that's the beauty of hindsight as we can see the mistakes that occur in life.