January 15, 1906, Portland Observer, Page 5
MARTIN LUTHER KING :
44 states
establish King
Holiday
Honoring the "Drum
Major for Justice"
by Anthony Podesta
44 states and three U.S. territories
have established th e ir ow n o ff ic ia l
holidays in conjunction w ith the first
o fficia l celebration o f the birthday o l
M a rtin L u th e r K in g , Jr. T w o m ore
states are in the process o f
establishing the holiday on Jan. 20.
The lastest count o f p a rtic ip a tio n
by states and territories was conduc­
ed by the M a rtin I uth e r K in g , Jr.
Federal Holiday Commission on Dec
23, 1985. Coretta Scott K ing, chair
person o f the h o lid a y co m m issio n ,
also noted that fo u r states and one
te rrito ry have taken no a c tio n to
establish a holiday.
T h irty -th re e states and three
territories have established the o fficiul
holiday on Jan. 20. Eleven stales w ill
observe the holiday on Jan. 15.
States and territories observing the
Jan. 20 dale are A labam a, A rizo n a .
A rkansas, C a lifo rn ia , C o lo ra d o ,
Connecticut, Delaware, W ashington,
D C ., F lo rid a , G e o rg ia , G u a m ,
H a w a ii, Illin o is , In d ia n a , Kansas,
K e n tu cky, I o u isia n a , M in n e so ta ,
M ississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey,
New M e xico , New Y o rk , N evada,
N o rth D a ko ta , O h io , O k la h o m a .
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South D akota, Tennessee, V irg in ia ,
Virgin Islands, Washington and West
This year America is doing something long overdue: honoring the Rev.
M artin Luther King, Jr., with a federal legal holiday.
Now that Dr. King has been given the honor he so rig h tly deserves, we
Onist make certain that the holiday does not simply become a pious cliche. We
tiiust honor him fo r his real accomplishments in leading a nonviolent social
(evolution.
Bs transforming our nation’s laws and attitudes and leading us toward the
goal o f racial e q u a lity . D r K ing liberated w hites, as w ell as Blacks. He
Recognized that oppression hurts the oppressor as well as the oppressed.
Strengthened by an unshakable faith in the possibility o f human perfectibility,
I >r King and the movement he led helped to free the South from more than a
(entury o f backward-looking intolerance.
But D r King also realized that the South did not have a m onopoly on
Jsigotry. In 1966 he led a campaign for integrated schools and housing in what
Isas then and may still be the most segregated city in the North: my home town
o f Chicago. As a student activist, I had the opportunity to participate in several
l't the marches which Dr. King led and, with great sorrow. I came to under­
stand what he meant when he said that he had never seen such hatred as what
(ie saw in some segregated comm unities in and around Chicago. Yet, in his
( Im ago campaign as in his crusades in other cities. Dr. King never swerved
|ro m his com m itm ent to nonviolence and his belief that even the most in ­
to le ra n t in d iv id u a ls and co m m u n itie s co u ld re fo rm themselves th ro u g h
peaceful change.
Dr King taught Americans how to infuse public debate w ith religion and
m oral values in ways that foster tolerance— not intolerance. W hen M a rtin
II uther King spoke out on social issues, he appealed to a sense o f morality that
•is shared by people fro m every religious heritage. He did not demand that
¡everyone adhere to dogmas espoused only by his ow n church; instead, he
•worked for dignity and equality fo r all.
Dr. King’s most urgent message was to remind Americans o f our common
’. hum anity, fo r, as he said so eloquently; ‘ ‘ Injustice anywhere is a threat to
•justice everywhere. We are caught in an escapable network o f m orality, tied in
•a single garment o f destiny. W hat affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Guided by this belief. Dr. King urged his followers to share a redemptive
•love for all people, even those who persecuted them. He viewed nonviolence
.not only as an effective tactic in the struggle fo r social change but also as a
•manifestation o f religious faith: an appeal to the spark o f conscience that is the
¡living evidence o f G od’ s handiwork in all men and women.
I wo decades after the historic civil rights struggles o f the 1960s, Dr King’s
•example is a livin g rebuke to all who preach or practice intolerance. U nlike
’ those who claim divine mandates fo r their political views or even their political
•candidacies. Dr. King described himself not as a prophet o f God or a bearer o f
¡revealed truth but simply as " a drum major for justice.”
In 1986 and the years ahead, Americans should honor Dr King not only
'b y observing the holiday that bears his name but also by completing the social
re v o lu tio n that he began: a revolution that w ill not be concluded until we have
eradicated all form s o f discrim ination and inequality, whether based on race,
religion, or sex. In so doing, we w ill uphold the noblest elements o f our Judeo-
Christian heritage. And we w ill also honor the memory o f Dr. King, a man who
knew the right way to mix religion and politics—and who made an historic con­
tribution to both in the process.
Anthony T. Podesta a president o f People fo r the American Way, a 0)0,000-
member citizens organization working to protect constitutional liberties.
Martin Luther King, J r.—
A different tribute
by June H. Key
We pause today in this special trib u te to the life o f one whose life so
closely followed and, in many instances, paralleled the life o f Christ. M artin
Luther King, Jr. Let us for this moment review these similarities and parallels
First: There was b irth
one that was called to attention by three wise
men and celebrated far and wide
the other obscure and possibly o f interest
only to his parents.
Second: T here was a silent period, some years o f obscurity for both until
brought to the attention o f men, in their respective times, by teaching love.
Christ teaching in the w orld o f scholars and in synagogues o f the early times.
King in the world o f Baptist, other churches and learned men o f this time.
Third: Christ taught in the temple, highways and byways
King in chur­
ches, city streets and ghettocs.
Fourth: Both were sent by God to teach and preach to all men, this they
both did.
Fifth: Both were young men in their late thirties
both were feared and
loved at the same time,
Sixth: Both were envied
C hrist by Kings o f his day who despised his
ability to have men believe and follow him
King by racists and bigots who
despised the color o f his skin and his threat to th a t way o f life.
Seventh Both played great roles in the lives o f minorities
Christ in the
lives o f the Christians and King in the lives o f Blacks.
Eighth: Both men had to die
in each case death was inevitable. Christ,
at a time selected by God, died to save men, all men. King, at a time selected by
man, died to save men, garbage men.
Ninth: Both died violently, Christ bore a wooden cross, was hanged and
pierced in the side. King bore the cross o f hate for garbage men and was shot in
the head.
Tenth: The mountain top figured in both o f their pre-death inevitabilities,
Christ in his last days went to the mountain top to pray and experienced con­
cern fo r man. King, too, went to the m ountain top in his m in d ’ s eye and saw
the promised land.
Has there, in your life tim e before M a rtin L u th e r K ing, been another
whose life so paralleled the life o f our Christ?
We honor M artin Luther King today for his belief first, in God the Father,
Christ the son and second, for his belief in his fellow man. We honor him for
his belief in his dream. We honor him for leaving with us a great legacy o f love
that gives assurance that brotherhood w ill be the reality o f man, not the dream
o f m an.
mt
■
Virginia.
States o bserving the h o lid a y on
Jun. 15 arc A la ska , Io w a , M a in e ,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
M is s o u ri, N o rth C a ro lin a , S outh
Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
Establishment o f a Jan. 20 holiday
is pending in Idaho and Vermont.
States and te rrito rie s w hich have
taken no action to establish a holiday
in honor o f D r. K ing arc M ontuna,
New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Texas
and Wyoming.
Boston U. Prof
to unveil King
memorial statue
Boston University Professor John
W ils o n , chosen by the N a tio n a l
F o u n d a tio n fo r the A rts and M rs.
Coretta Scott King to create a bust o f
M artin Luther King fo r the Rotunda
o f the N ation’s Capitol, w ill unveil his
work on Jan 16 in Washington, DC,
to a gathering o f some o f the nation's
leading statesmen and human rights
leaders.
W ilson, a native o f Roxbury, M A ,
and now a resident o f B ro o k lin e ,
M A , studied at Boston's Museum of
Fine A rts School before going on to
Tufts and a period o f study in Europe
and Mexico. He welcomed the oppor­
tu n ity to return home when Boston
University offered him a place on the
teaching staff o f the School o f Visual
Arts in 1964
W ils o n hopes that his artistic-
1 V onviolence is the answer
r.
creation, an eight-foot-high bust, w ill
have a s im ila r im pact to that o f its
subject, helping people to remember
K in g ’s dream by keeping his image
in (he p u b lic eye and presenting a
spiritual as well as physical reminder
o f the importance o f his message.
In speaking about his work, Wilson
said, " I w o u ld like my art to make
some changes in the audience and I
would like the images I create to con­
front and challenge people to their in­
sights o f w hat the w o rld is a b o u t,
essentially what King d id .”
M artin Luther King, Jr.
AJ Congress
sponsors exhibit
The American Jewish Congress w ill
h o n o r the b irth d a y o f D r. M a rtin
L u th e r K in g , Jr. w ith an e x h ib it o f
photographs and statements begin­
ning Sunday, Jan. 12, in the lobby o f
the A m e rica n Jewish Congress in
Manhattan, where they w ill remain on
exhibit fo r a month. Dr King’ s b irth ­
day w ill be celebrated as a national
holiday fo r the first time this year.
The display, which was announced
by Theodore R M ann, president o f
the A m e rica n Jewish Congress,
reflects Dr. King’ s close relations with
the Jewish community. It includes Dr.
K in g ’ s views on va rio u s aspects o f
B lack-Jew ish re la tio n s , in c lu d in g
Israel, Soviet Jewry, A nti-S em itism
and joint Black Jewish efforts towards
expanded c iv il rig h ts , such as the
1963 March on Washington.
In observation o f the devotion to peace
and special contributions to justice
made by Dr. King.
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M an m ust evolve fo r all hum an
conflict a m ethod w hich rejects
revenge, aggression and retaliation.
The foundation o f such a method
is love. ”
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to the crucial political and m oral
questions o f our time; the need
fo r man to overcome oppression
and violence w ithout resorting to
oppression and violence.
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