Martin Luther King Jr Day in Theory vs In Practice

Martin Luther King Jr Day is a beloved holiday honoring the life long work and dedication of Martin Luther King Jr,, a change-maker, activist and devote Christian.

Martin Luther King Jr at his most famous moment, the March on Washington where he gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. Photo from Central Press and Getty Images

While American's enjoy the day off school and work, or free museum admissions, there is a lot more to say about the work of King and how his life transpired.

For this post, let's explore the life of Dr. King, how he was viewed during his time, and how that compares to how he is represented now.

The Modern Viewpoint

Currently, Martin Luther King Jr is remembered and studied as a true patriot with big hopes of a brighter future. Most schools, books and government leaders highlight his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream". In this speech he preached about imagining America as a country where people were all truly treated as equals.

Last year, President Donald J Trump proclaimed his alignment with the practices and hopes of Martin Luther King Jr, during his inaugural address which took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"Today is Martin Luther King Day.  And his honor — this will be a great honor.  But in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality.  We will make his dream come true." President Trump stated.

No matter where seated on the political spectrum, modern day government leaders promote the work of Dr. King. However this was not the case during his time working as a community leader in the 1950s and 1960s.

Christian First

Firstly, Dr. King did not recognize himself as a patriot or a lover for America as she stood. Instead, he viewed himself as most notably a Christian Reverend advocating spiritual practices and beliefs toward guiding the county to a more just state.

On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr gave a speech at Riverside Church in New York City, covering issues about the war in Vietnam. Image from Christina Knight at PBS.

In Beyond Vietnam, his speech at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, Dr, King preached "This is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history."

Martin Luther King Jr. was a highly controversial activist, being a powerful threat to life as it stood. He was highly critical of a range political issues, which included publicly challenging government actions and officials. Throughout his work, Martin Luther King Jr had made demands for government action, with the intention of creating long lasting change.

Anti-War and Militarization

One notable criticism was Dr. King's push for the review in distribution regarding federal funding. While President Dwight Eisenhower boasted about the growth of American military forces, Dr King denounced the lack of federal budget directed towards social programming.

Further, during President Lyndon B Johnson's term, Dr. King spoke openly about his negative outlook on the Vietnam War. On the Vietnam War, he commented "I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government."

Rebellion and Resistance

It is of modern belief that Dr. King's intentions were to maintain a peaceful protest at all costs. While he was committed to nonviolent approaches, Reverend King never shied away from the chaos that accompanies resistance.

In a 1963 interview with Primetime, King stated "I don't advocate a weak or complacent nonviolence. I advocate a militant nonviolence. A movement, that moves on... A resistance movement that does resist but it does it nonviolently."

In fact one of the largest threats he identified for the movement was moderates, specifically white moderates, and order-keeping behaviors. Dr. King argued that prevalence of order often interfered with the progression of the civil rights movement.

"These are often the people who stand in the way of progress because they are committed only in a luke-warm manner" Martin Luther King Jr. stated. "They end up more devoted to order, than to justice , and more devoted to maintain a sort of negative peace, which is merely the absence of tension, than gaining a positive peace, which is the presence of justice."

Rather than keeping things peaceful, Martin Luther King Jr. invited others to join him in large disruptive demonstrations, bold letters to officials and public disorder in the name of justice.

Violence as an Emotional Response

Image from RK&K Media

The public currently and historically have always been mixed on their viewpoints of political violence. In a study conducted by Pew Research Center, Americans saw the main reasons for politically motivated violence in the United States of America to be rhetoric from politicians and polarization.

Martin Luther King Jr. found the issue of political violence to be an emotional response to bitterness caused by long-term injustice. The cure to political violence, in his philosophy, was the growth of an individual's value or participation in society.

"Where you have new jobs, and the negro sees that he's moving from the peripheral of American society, to the point of being involved and knowing he has something to lose, then he will not feel the need of responding with violent reactions"

Closing Notes

As time moves further and further past the lifespan of Martin Luther King Jr., it is valuable to remember his teaching as they were intended.

It is also worth mentioning that the Trump administration has made efforts towards the erasure or removal of Martin Luther King Jr day, including the revoking of free national park admissions on the holiday.

Now, it is as important as ever to honor the work of Martin Luther King Jr., and his contributions to society as it stands.