MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
THE LEGACY
As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it is the perfect moment to reflect on his legacy and how we can carry his torch into the future.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known for advancing civil rights through non-violent resistance. His dream of a “Beloved Community” is a vision of justice, equality, and love. At the historic March on Washington, he expressed his famous dream, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'”
King’s dream motivated him to resist discriminatory Jim Crow laws, threats from the American government, and racism. His dedication to peace encouraged him to use creative protest tactics.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by King and other activists, strategically harnessed the moral authority of Black churches to support nonviolent protests. Examples like the “Don’t Buy Gas Where You Can’t Use the Restroom” campaign and the Montgomery bus boycott, illustrate their thoughtful approach to nonviolent protesting.
In his final years, King expanded his activism to address poverty and the Vietnam War. The SCLC sought economic justice by advocating for an “economic bill of rights”. They created the “Poor People’s Campaign” while King proposed a government reparations program. He was not expecting full restitution of wages lost to slavery (he believed it was impossible) but proposed a government reparations program of $50 billion over ten years to all disadvantaged groups. He believed that solely granting Black Americans equality could not realistically close the economic gap.
He imagined that “the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils.” He presented this idea as an application of the common law regarding settlement of unpaid labor.
Unfortunately, before the Poor People’s Campaign could unfold, he was assassinated. He was 39 years old.
CONTINUING THE LEGACY
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for eradicating poverty included getting an Economic Bill of Rights created, reparations, and rebuilding. His vision for war was to continue using nonviolent tactics. So, as we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, let us consider these ideas and nonviolent tactics as we move forward…