Dr. Martin Luther King (Photo: Wikipedia)
Today is the annual observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King was the most prominent leader of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He lived from January 15, 1929 until April 4, 1968 and was a Baptist minister and activist whose speeches and writing about justice, equality, and freedom were the foundation of the movement for racial and economic justice that King led from his arrival in Alabama in 1955 until his assassination in Memphis in 1968.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, a philosophy inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and American Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. In 1955, King led the Montgomery bus boycott, and in 1957 he became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which is widely considered one of the most inspiring and influential speeches of all time. This speech is still quoted by many people to this day.
This spring, a group of Northwood students and faculty members will have the opportunity to walk in King’s footsteps and learn about the Civil Rights Movement up close and personal. As a part of the school’s LEAP program, they are going to the cities of Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery in Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia for one week. They will visit King’s birthplace, sights of his most important acts of protest, and the churches where he worshipped, preached, and organized. It is going to be an enlightening and educational experience for all of the students.
In recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, two Northwood students Angelia and Adelia Castillo, both juniors who are the President and Vice President of the Multicultural Students’ Club (MSC), have organized a viewing of King’s famous speech followed by a discussion. It will be held today at 5:00 pm in the Multicultural Affairs Office in the Student Center.
Martin Luther King died a hero and we need to make sure his legacy lives on and that he is never forgotten.
