All last week I was reading books about MLK to my students. I also showed the DVD of "Martin's Big Words," a Caldecott honor book that they did a great job of turning into a DVD. Anyway, MLK has been much on my mind lately.
In an offline conversation with our very own JustJo, I discovered she had a close connection to Dr. King. She mentioned she had lived in Boston for three years, from 1951-1954, while her husband attended seminary at Boston University. Having just read a dozen children's books about Dr. King, I recalled that that was the same time he was at BU, so I asked her about it. Turns out, her husband played ping-pong with "Martin" to relieve the stress of the doctoral program. I don't know if it blows you all away as much as it does me, but I just had to share it with you as I know she will not!
I was nine with MLK was assassinated, so I feel as if I missed a great deal of history. Anyone else here have a connection with the civil rights movement? My students, who are the full spectrum of skin colors, find it impossible to believe there was a time not too long ago when people were denied equal rights because of the color of their skin.
Growing up on Michigan, I remember when Detroit was burning from the riots. We also had some riots in Lansing but nothing like Detroit. It is hard to believe there was a time when discrimination was the norm in the US.
Last week CBS Sunday morning had a pictoral of the summer on 1956 (or 57?) the time just before Elvis became famous, when he could still ride a bus and get off and wlk home down a public street. There was a photo of Elvis getting off the bus with a "Whites Only" sign in the background. Not sure what it was referring to, but there it was. At the time is struck me, how sad we lived that way.
My students, who are the full spectrum of skin colors, find it impossible to believe there was a time not too long ago when people were denied equal rights because of the color of their skin.
This is a testament to the hard work of MLK and the people that have come after him , and that his dream is coming true.
My mother was convinced he was a Communist. Martin L King was perceived as an activist and trouble maker by some. The Cold War was a part of our lives. McCarthyism had been prevelant.
-- Edited by ruffles on Tuesday 19th of January 2010 01:08:45 AM
Yes, we were in Boston and I was a new first-time mom when the McCarthy hearings wre on and they scared me to my bones with implications of guilt by association and the "labeling" of people. Then, years later we were serving the church in Muncie, IN when the John Birch Society was in full bloom. That was enough!
But Jim said that Martin, though an accomplished theological student, only wanted to go back to the south and be a pastor to his people. But circumstances of social injustice faced him with a challenge he could not dodge; and actions he could not ignore made imperative a mission he had not sought.
At the same time one of the marches was going on in the south, my husband, a campus pastor at Ball State University, led students on a march to downtown Muncie as a show of support.
Our four children are also proponents of social justice and, each in their own way, take their stand.
That was a good lesson. You never know when your actions will be taken to heart and carried on by your children.
We lived just outside of DC in Silver Spring, MD from 1961 - 66. My parents were very active in the Luther League at our Lutheran church. They didn't march, but they were strong supporters of civil rights (and still are). I now belong to a UCC/Congregational church that has a strong focus on social justice, so the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
I have always felt like I missed so much history by being a kid in the 60's. I lived through it but I was a toddler and elementary school student. When I was in junior high and high school in the '70's, they didn't teach the 60's as history yet. What a tumultuous era! So much happened!!! I'm currently reading the Ted Kennedy memoir and I'm in the chapters about the 1960's, so I'm kind of steeped in it right now.
Jo, you don't know how cool it is to me to actually know someone with a connection to MLK! I told my 17 year old son and he was also VERY impressed. His passion is history and politics and you, my dear, are a primary source, LOL!
Remember that history is apt to repeat itself and I hear that there is a resurgence in the John Birch Society. So you and your children will have stumblingn blocks to confront and fearsome challenges to social justice during your lifetime.
Tell your son that my Jim was a history major and loved politics. He ended up as a professor of church history at a seminary (and a field work supervisor) and loved it. So keep your options open and let the spirit lead you as opportunities come your way.
I tell the kids that same thing, that they will have to stand up for what's right at some point in their lives. The fight is never over, just a different battlefield. :-/
It wasn't easy for MLK. Not by a long shot. Now, looking back, it seems as if it was because his thinking is appreciated now and because our general perception and awarenesses are different from what they were. When people set their own communities on fire, it speaks of a screaming frustration with the status quo. We've grown rather considerably since then. It's rather amazing when you look back on it.
It's completely amazing how far we've come, but I think it's important to remember a couple of things: 1. That we never would have come this far without the "rabble rousers" like MLK--and the many hundreds whose names we'll never know. They worked and sacrificed and risked to make it happen. 2. We still have a lot of work to do in the name of equity and justice.
My mom is justJo (hi, Mom!) and she and my dad did indeed model social justice for us. It's funny, but I didn't even realize my father's connection to Dr. King until I was an adult (did you know that, Mom?). Civil rights was an issue of passion in my household, but my dad didn't invoke his relationship with MLK to drive that point home to us--he and my mom did it by example (as I hope I'm doing for my children now).
-- Edited by henryGal on Tuesday 19th of January 2010 11:59:06 PM
Thanks, dear Barbara (henryGal). I was very touched by that. And let me say right here in front of God and everybody how proud I am of you for (among other things) shepherding your church's first MLKingJr celebration; providing a foundation on which to build next year's celebration. (Barb's in charge of setting forth and working out her church's Social Action projects and events.)
