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On a blustery but sunny winter day, my family -- fiance, daughter, cousin and newborn son, all trekked to the Martin Luther King Center -- three days before what would have been his 79th birthday.
MLK Day 2008
- MLK Day 2008
In the Continuum
On January 11, 1990, Coretta Scott King unveiled the Behold Monument at the King Center. Sculptor Patrick Morelli was inspired by the ancient African ritual of lifting a newborn child to the heavens and reciting the words ''Behold the only thing greater than yourself.'' And so Kyle holds up son Jabril up at this historic place. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
Final Resting Place
In 1970, Dr. King's remains were taken from Southview Cemetary and moved to the King Center to be entombed. His wife, Coretta, joined him there at her death in 2006. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
The Great Soul
Ayaana, who was already familiar with Mahatma Gandhi through school, learned at the King Center that ''Mahatma'' was not Gandhi's given name but a title, meaning ''Great Soul.'' King was influenced by Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
Man of the Cloth
Dr. King's pastoral robes hang in the King Center, as does his tattered, well worn Bible (not in photo). There are also many personal photos of King and his family. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
Eyes on the Prize
Ayaana, 11, gazes at the many artifacts held in the King Center, including Dr. King's Bible, his jeans, cufflinks and bottles of his favorite cologne, Aramis. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
Ebenezer Baptist Church
The original Ebenezer Baptist Church (adjacent to the King Center) was the site of many of the Civil Rights Movement's strategy sessions and headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Ebenezer was the church home of Dr. King -- where he was baptized and had his funeral. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
The Eternal Flame
Much in the same way John F. Kennedy's eternal flame burns at Arlington National Cemetary, Dr. King's eternal flame burns at the King Center, symbolizing the the continuing effort to realize Dr. King's ideals. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL - MLK Day 2008
Respect Due
Angela, Ayaana and Pam stand before the grave site of one of the greatest leaders and thinkers of our time. Courtesy Angela Bronner, AOL
Though we were in Atlanta primarily so that Kyle's grandmother (94) could see her newest great-grandbaby, I felt that we couldn't leave the city without paying respect to Martin Luther King -- not just an important African American, but one of the most important Americans of our day -- the only American of the 20th Century, in fact, to have a national holiday named for him.
Dr. King's life was a lesson in courage – something I didn't want lost on my children.
King had not only the courage to literally walk into the face of ferocious opposition (and the discipline to practice nonviolence in the face of its opposite), but the fortitude to continue through what I can only imagine were some dark nights.
How DARE Martin King try to change the world? But dare he did. King had the courage to challenge the status quo.
I told my 11-year-old daughter as we were leaving the Center, "Everyone wants to ride Dr. King's coattails now, but when he was alive, he was marginalized by many people – even black people."
What I wanted to get through to her in saying that was that sometimes it's not popular to do the right thing, but righteousness always bears out. Speaking truth to power is never easy, but it is infinitely worth it.
And yet, leaving the King Center and walking back to our car, we saw an African American woman rummaging through the garbage can. She asked us for change, asked us where we were from.
"New York."
"I have family in Queens," she said. "Haven't seen them in a long time."
I shook my head in the irony of it all. Dr. King fought as much against poverty as for racial equality but this woman bore witness that we still have some way to go.
This thoughtful Southerner said it best: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
King was a principled man whose philosophy today is increasingly being drowned out by the din of cheap media, the dogged pursuit of money, rampant materialism and stark individualism. And yet, his message is still there, like an echo of an old Negro spiritual; it is still there if we choose to hear it.
And pass it along to the next generation of courageous souls.
The King Center
http://www.thekingcenter.org/
+ Work to Begin in Spring on King Monument
+ Remembering King's Final Birthday
Comments: (46)
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By: Demaris Alexander on 1/22/2008 11:37PM
If I were to use the most updated dictionary, thesaurus and any other tool to gather words in which to even attempt to express my gratitude to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I will still come up short. I am speechless to the degree in which I know my life is made better because of what Dr. King did for me and the people of my generation. I'm a baby of the 60's so I can share in what went on in that time of great strife and what a courageous dedicated man of God did to again make life better for me and my child and grandchildren as well as everyone else who benefits from all that was endured in paving the road to a life of equality, front door entrance for people of color, etc. I did share in Walks on Wahsington, DC to pass the law to get his birthday made a national holiday. Thank God! So I feel good for that. :-) I wished I could have met Dr. King and thanked him personally abd maybe walked with him in one of the marches. Thank you Dr. King for making my path a little smoother. Yes, we still have a long way to go but not as nearly as long as would have been if there was not a Dr. King and those that were with him. Again, my sincere gratitude to you and everyone else who endured the cruel opposition in getting us to this place.
Demaris Alexander
Baltimore, MD
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By: Demaris Alexander on 1/22/2008 11:35PM
If I were to use the most updated dictionary, thesaurus and any other tool to gather words in which to even attempt to express my gratitude to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I will still come up short. I am speechless to the degree in which I know my life is made better because of what Dr. King did for me and the people of my generation. I'm a baby of the 60's so I can share in what went on in that time of great strife and what a courageous dedicated man of God did to again make life better for me and my child and grandchildren as well as everyone else who benefits from all that was endured in paving the road to a life of equality, front door entrance for people of color, etc. I did share in Walks on Wahsington, DC to pass the law to get his birthday made a national holiday. Thank God! So I feel good for that. :-) I wished I could have met Dr. King and thanked him personally abd maybe walked with him in one of the marches. Thank you Dr. King for making my path a little smoother. Yes, we still have a long way to go but not as nearly as long as would have been if there was not a Dr. King and those that were with him. Again, my sincere gratitude to you and everyone else who endured the cruel opposition in getting us to this place.
Demaris Alexander
Baltimore, MD
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By: Bruce A Munson Sr on 1/21/2008 7:45PM
It bothers me when I hear or read As Black Americans we must... Or as a black Nation we must... Personally I think Dr.King was one of the Greatest American Heroes, If not The Greatest American Hero of all Times. I remember what he said ''I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ Black or white please judge me the same way, by my character. Don't diminish this dream. Thank you.
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By: Martae on 1/21/2008 7:57PM
mlk was the best in all times.N0 one else have did the things he had done.Why? Because they don't have the guts too!!
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By: industrious1 on 1/21/2008 10:27PM
I applaud Dr. Martin L King deeply for his courage bravery and the ability he retained to be outspoken for our ancestors, however, discrimination still remains here in north carolina and it now takes we ourselves to speak up for ourselves because if we dont speak up for ourselves we will not make it I thank God now for my angels whom are at the US DEPT OF LABOR IN WASHINGTON for reason that is where justice comes from now.
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By: Clarence on 1/22/2008 6:52PM
How sad it is to remember a great leader of this magitude only one day a year. Why can't we continue to live the "dream" everyday. We come out one day a year to pretend but right back to our old ways. We have black leaders, politicans, mayors, police chiefs but our young black men are dying in the street through violence of each other, police officers and no one are willing to step up to the plate and cry from the mountain top. How many white men are being shot down by officers? Our black leaders have forgotten they are still black. We turn our heads when we know wrong doings are taking place right under our watch. Would Dr. King sit back and not say anything? When and where are we going to come together? Every black man does not have to be shot down. This is why we have a judicial system to try them of their crime. Yet, we sit back and continue have our bretherns slaughtered but we say; "we are living the "dream". Why does our pastors allow politicaians in the puppit? I was always taught 'the pulpit was a Holy place where only ordained people should attend. We have let politicans corrupt even God House and we sit back and make the politicans welcome to come into the pulpit. What will be next?
We have to go back to the basic; God first in everything.
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