Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

What to say about the man that America already thinks it knows?

In truth, MLK's life story, his experience as a Civil Rights leader, and the journey he took personally is actually shrouded in more mystery than most Americans realize. Or at least, it feels that way once you come to know more about his actual lived experience, his choices, his opposition, his frustrations, his flaws, and his humanity.

One thing that many Americans find deeply surprising is that his tenure as a Civil Rights Leader contains more scandal that you were permitted to know. Some of this scandal was his own making, and some of it was how powerful people used that information to humiliate him, and thereby, undermine his work for Black America and their struggle for human equality. I suspect, though, that the biggest scandal of all, one that changes the way Americans are taught to understand him, has to do with how his relationship to non-violent peace protest changed through time:

"The riots are not simply a reign of terror or a splurge of crime, though both elements are partially present. They are also a wildly emotional protest and a desperate attempt to display the utter desperation that has engulfed many Negroes. The vast majority who actively participated were remarkably discriminating in avoiding harm to persons, venting their anger by appropriating or destroying property. There is an ironic purpose in this choice; to attack a society that appears to cherish property above people, the worst wounds to inflict on it are those to property."

-Martin Luther King, 1967

I leave it to you to plumb some of the depths of this man's life, to evaluate him against his ideals, and to wrestle with whether or not someone's flaws, even their worst ones, should undermine long terms goals for justice and peace. I will say this: If you care to do this examination, it will be a conversation you have over and over again with yourself. I see that as a good thing, although very difficult. There is not much room to rest your mind.

But to help a little, let's clarify the question:

Is it possible to respect someone's ideas, their message--and even their rhetorical style--even if they are less than an ideal human? Can you separate the person from the ideas?

Reading Assignment: "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

In 1963, at the height of his influence, MLK wrote something called An Open Letter while he sat in in jailhouse in Birmingham, Alabama. King was arrested on numerous occasions, but he decided to use this moment of arrest and detention to write one of the more influential pieces of this era. To circle back, an open letter is a letter written with all the quality of personal intimacy, sometimes addressed to a specific person, but it is intentionally made public. In fact, it is often published as an open letter and made available to everybody, through a newspaper, a magazine, book, and these days, on the internet.

To be clear, to write an open letter is a rhetorical choice. It is a strategy for persuasion.

As you move through the reading, please keep this in mind, and ask yourself: How does the fact that this is an open letter make rhetorical sense?

Additionally, consider the following questions as you read:

What do I find most persuasive about this letter?
Do I agree? Do I disagree?
Do I find King's writing effective?
What appeals is he making?
How does reading this letter compare to my reading of Malcom X?

See reading below:

Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963

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