He stood up for the downtrodden.
He stood against injustice.
He stood for freedom.
By Kevin P. Thé
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Published: 01.14.2004
When citizens across the country pause Monday to remember the life and work
of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the first things to come to mind
will be the methods King used - and didn’t use - to share his beliefs.
Naturally, the slain civil-rights leader’s strict adherence to nonviolent
resistance is an important part of his persona and legacy.
But amidst all of the admiration for his stoic self-control and the lamentation
over the abuses and threats he endured, the meaning behind the man’s drive
and dedication is sometimes lost.
Today, we focus here on the purpose for which King marched, spoke and protested,
as we look at some of the highlights in his struggle to achieve freedom —
in all its forms — and equality for everyone.
The Fight for Freedom
Discrimination
In places like Montgomery, Ala., blacks were required to sit in the back of
public buses or stand if there weren't enough seats for white riders. Rosa Parks
finally rocked the boat on Dec. 1, 1955, when she refused to budge from her
spot, and King was quickly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association.
King led the group in a citywide boycott of the bus system that drew national
attention to the civil rights movement, and on Nov. 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that bus segregation was illegal. On Dec. 21 of that year, the Montgomery
Bus Company began integration of all public buses.
Segregation
Throughout much of the South, "whites only" and "colored"
signs hung near drinking fountains, restrooms, lunch counters and other places,
designating where blacks could and couldn't go and what they could and couldn't
do. King traveled to many cities to challenge such rules, inspiring and organizing
"sit-ins" to protest the segregated eating spaces and other places.
On April 3, 1963, King and his supporters began such a campaign in Birmingham,
Ala., where King's demonstrations eventually landed him in a cell - it was one
of many times King would be jailed for protesting. Here, King wrote the famed
"Letter from Birmingham Jail," which became a rallying cry for civil-rights
protesters.
The Birmingham movement was successful, and on May 10, 1963, the city agreed
to desegregate downtown department stores, schools and other public facilities.
The Right to Vote
Today, many adults in the United States take for granted the right to cast their
ballots for community leaders and the issues that affect them. But until 1965,
many places did not allow blacks to register to vote, even though it was their
legal right to do so.
King was very influential in changing this for good. He took part in various
protests and demonstrations, met with influential government figures and gave
numerous speeches on the topic. In one landmark demonstration, King led a 50-mile
march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery that began on March 21, 1965.
On Aug. 6 of that year, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act,
making it illegal to deny a person the right to vote on the basis of color.
Economics
After helping bring about the Voting Rights Act of 1965, King turned his attention
to economic issues. He knew that there would always be disparity between the
rights and freedoms of whites and blacks as long as there was such great disparity
in the groups' income levels. King believed that poverty - among all people,
not just blacks - contributed to, or was the cause of, many problems throughout
the world.
On Jan. 26, 1966, King moved into a Chicago slum to bring attention to the living
conditions of the poor, and on Nov. 27, 1967, he announced the formation of
the "Poor People's Campaign." The goal of the campaign was to help
ease the plight of all poor people, and it sought an Economic Bill of Rights
that would guarantee employment and end housing discrimination.
Other milestones in MLK's life - and beyond:
* King was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.
* King was ordained a Baptist minister on Feb. 25, 1948, and in June of that
year received his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College.
* King was awarded his doctorate in theology from Boston University on June
5, 1955.
* In February 1959, along with his wife, Coretta Scott King, King visited India
to study Gandhi's method known as Satyagraha. King was inspired by the "nonviolent
persuasion" employed by Gandhi in his struggle against British rule in
India, and by the ideas of Henry David Thoreau in his essay "Civil Disobedience."
* On Aug. 28, 1963, King led the "March on Washington" and delivered
his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to more than 250,000 people in
front of the Lincoln Memorial.
* King was named "Man of the Year" by Time magazine in its Jan. 3,
1964, issue.
* At 35, King became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
He accepted the award on Dec. 10, 1964, and donated the prize money to civil-rights
organizations.
* On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated outside his hotel room in Memphis,
Tenn.
* On Jan. 18, 1986, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed a federal holiday to
be celebrated each year in observance of King's birthday.