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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
Page 2 The Skanner January 13, 2016 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Arashi Young Donovan M. Smith Reporters Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2016 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Opinion Honoring Dr. King’s ‘New Definition of Greatness’ “I f you want to be im- portant — wonderful. If you want to be recog- nized — wonderful. If you want to be great — won- derful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your sub- ject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativ- ity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in phys- ics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul gen- erated by love.” These well-known words are from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermon “The Drum Major Instinct,” delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968. He was ex- plaining that we all start out with the ingrained instinct to be “drum majors” – every- one wants to be important, Marian Wright Edelman Children’s Defense Fund to be first, to lead the parade. Watch a group of children try to form a line and right away you’ll see this instinct in action. But Dr. King said too many people never out- grow this instinct — and by constantly struggling to be the most powerful or famous “ larger-than-life, mythical fig- ure. But it’s crucial for them to understand Dr. King wasn’t a superhuman with magical powers. Our children need to be reminded that Dr. King was a real person – just like all of the other ministers, par- ents, teachers, neighbors, and other familiar adults in their lives today. I first heard Dr. King speak in person at a Spelman Col- lege chapel service during my senior year in college. Dr. King was just 31 but he had already gained a national rep- utation during the successful bility and ability to rise above it that I most remember. “If I Can Help Somebody Along the Way” was his fa- vorite song. He was an ordi- nary man who made history because he was willing to stand up and serve and make a difference in extraordinary ways as did the legions of oth- er civil rights warriors in the 1950s and 1960s. We need to teach our chil- dren every day that they can and must make a differ- ence. too. “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” Our children need to be reminded that Dr. King was a real person – just like all of the other ministers, par- ents, teachers, neighbors, and other familiar adults in their lives today or wealthiest or best-educat- ed, we forget one of the Gos- pels’ and life’s largest truths: the real path to greatness is through service. This is one of the key les- sons we should teach our chil- dren about Dr. King. Many of them have just studied Dr. King in school in the days leading up to his birthday, and many have learned to see him as a history book hero, a Montgomery Bus Boycott five years earlier. He became a mentor and friend. Although I do remember him as a great leader and a hero, I also re- member him as someone able to admit how often he was afraid and unsure about his next step. But faith prevailed over fear, uncertainty, fa- tigue, and sometimes depres- sion. It was his human vulnera- Towards the end of “The Drum Major Instinct,” Dr. King told the congregation he sometimes thought about his own death and funeral. He said when that day came he didn’t want people to talk about his Nobel Peace Prize or his degrees or hundreds of awards: “I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.”
