A Giant Among Men

April 4, 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of one of the greatest Americans to ever live, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  We all know about him, but often our knowledge is relegated to a few famous sound bites.  The simple truth is that MLK was a revolutionary.  He was an idea who's time had come.  He had the intellect, eloquence and courage necessary to lead this nation to a better place.  Through his powerful words and willingness to face persecution, over twenty arrests and even his own death he forced America live up to it's claim.

Having studied the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the non-violent revolution of Gandhi in India MLK lead a movement whose rightfulness could not be denied.  MLK knew that a call to arms would only end in bloodshed and defeat.  He called the nonviolent freedom movement a 'magnificent militancy', and that it was.  The stark pictures of women and children being beaten by brutal police,  fire hoses and dogs being let lose on innocent peaceful protesters, sparked the conscience of America.  The power of those images along with the sound track of King's spine tingling oratory moved our country to act.

King made it clear that freedom and equality wasn't doing a favor for black folk.  Freedom and equality made America itself better, and stronger, and morally right.  Though MLK is known for his beautiful words of love and peace he didn't mince words when it came to telling it like it was.  King in one speech condemning the Vietnam War called America 'the greatest purveyor of violence in the world'.  He told the truth exactly how he saw it, even when it wasn't popular.  

MLK was a man of courage, a man of vision, a man of contradictions, he was a man with flaws.  But when you 'run the numbers' on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. it cannot be denied that he was indeed a Giant Among Men.

Stay Fly and Fly High!

KLH