-Michael Banerjee
Although he is not often remembered as such, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a warrior. He was nonviolent but was nevertheless a warrior, and this made him dangerous. In fact, Dr. King was so dangerous that some people thought it would be best if his life came to a premature close by way of assassination. That fateful April day in 1968 was the end of Dr. King’s earthly existence but it was most certainly not the end of Dr. King’s work, ideology, or influence; it was something far from that.
Dr. King was a warrior engaged in a nonviolent conflict in the name of peace and justice: he fought with ballots instead of bullets, with morals instead of mortars, and with great love instead of grenade launchers.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet heroes of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta. The experience was as inspirational as it was informative. Tom Houck, a former Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) worker and Dr. King’s personal driver, along with James Bond, a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) worker and the brother of Julian Bond, joined us for a tour of Atlanta’s civil rights landmarks and later on for a delicious dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, one of Atlanta’s most famous eateries. Mr. Houck—a perspicacious white man who recognized the civil rights struggle as one for “man as man” rather than merely for the black man—was colloquially referred to as “Uncle Tom” by his fellow SCLC workers. Tom was arrested several times as a result of his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Although he is not often remembered as such, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a warrior. He was nonviolent but was nevertheless a warrior, and this made him dangerous. In fact, Dr. King was so dangerous that some people thought it would be best if his life came to a premature close by way of assassination. That fateful April day in 1968 was the end of Dr. King’s earthly existence but it was most certainly not the end of Dr. King’s work, ideology, or influence; it was something far from that.
Dr. King was a warrior engaged in a nonviolent conflict in the name of peace and justice: he fought with ballots instead of bullets, with morals instead of mortars, and with great love instead of grenade launchers.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet heroes of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta. The experience was as inspirational as it was informative. Tom Houck, a former Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) worker and Dr. King’s personal driver, along with James Bond, a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) worker and the brother of Julian Bond, joined us for a tour of Atlanta’s civil rights landmarks and later on for a delicious dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, one of Atlanta’s most famous eateries. Mr. Houck—a perspicacious white man who recognized the civil rights struggle as one for “man as man” rather than merely for the black man—was colloquially referred to as “Uncle Tom” by his fellow SCLC workers. Tom was arrested several times as a result of his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
TO BE CONTINUED…