We Share A Dream
By Anna & Wes Hessel
Thank You, Dr. King…
We celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest and most humble human beings to ever live, Dr. Martin Luther King, a Godly man of peace and gentle warrior. He selflessly championed for civil rights and worked to change the world into a better place. Many hard won civil rights from that time have been attacked during the Trump administration but now with the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Dr. King’s legacy will continue to live on. The Biden-Harris inaugural team has instituted a day of service to honor the remarkable Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Son of a King
Born the son of a preacher man, Michael King, Jr., entered life in 1929 on January 15th in Atlanta. His father, Michael, Sr., was himself the scion of a pastor. Junior joined senior in 1934 on a sojourn through Rome, Tunisia, Egypt, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, commissioned by the church the elder King pastored. The final stop was in Berlin for the Baptist World Alliance’s international conference.
The Fight for Reform
There both Kings saw firsthand the spread of Nazi influence. The BWA issued an official policy statement, saying, “This Congress deplores and condemns as a violation of the law of God the Heavenly Father, all racial animosity, and every form of oppression or unfair discrimination toward the Jews, toward coloured people, or toward subject races in any part of the world.” Having visited sites in the German capital which were involved with the Reformation movement started by Martin Luther, Michael Sr. began to call himself, “Martin Luther King, Sr.” and renamed his son accordingly, making it official on junior’s birth certificate in 1957.
Growing Up Black
Junior had befriended a Caucasian boy before they both entered first grade, but because of their skin color difference, they went to separate (segregated) schools. The white child’s parents a short time later then cut off contact between the two, citing race as the deciding factor. When the younger Martin Luther went to his parents about the break, they sat him down to detail the slavery of blacks and resultant racism. When confronted with all that had been perpetrated against people of color, MLK said later he became, “determined to hate every white person”. His father and mother, though, taught junior that Jesus called for the love of everyone.
