The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

OpEd: The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Kevin B. Thomas

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a Baptist minister. He completed his formal education with degrees from Morehouse College, Crozier Theological Seminary, and Boston University with a Ph.D. in systematic theology in 1955. While serving as the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King led the boycott that resulted in the desegregation of that city's bus system. A national hero and a civil rights figure of growing importance, King convened several black leaders in 1957, laying the groundwork for the organization now known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King was elected its president and soon began assisting other communities in organizing protests against discrimination. King led SCLC until his death. His unwavering resolve in the face of threats to his safety and that of his family, his conviction that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and his ability to write and speak with extraordinary power and clarity brought him to national prominence as a leader of the movement to achieve racial justice in America.

Throughout his life, King participated in and led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights. He was one of the leaders of the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The civil rights movement achieved pivotal legislative gains with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Sadly, King died on April 4, 1968, on the balcony of the black-owned Lorraine Hotel just off Beale Street in Memphis. While standing outside with Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, King was shot in the neck by a rifle bullet. King's legacy has lived on. In the years after his death, King remained the most widely known African American leader of his era. His stature as a major historical figure was confirmed by the successful campaign to establish a national holiday in his honor in the United States and by the building of a King memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., near the Lincoln Memorial, the site of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Many states and municipalities have enacted King holidays, authorized public statues and paintings of him, and named streets, schools, and other entities for him.  In 1969, his widow, Coretta Scott King, organized the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. Today, it stands next to his beloved Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. His birthday, January 15, is a national holiday celebrated yearly with educational programs, artistic displays, and concerts throughout the United States. The Lorraine Hotel, where he was shot, is now the National Civil Rights Museum.

Though his life was cut short, King lived by his words. "It doesn't matter how long you live, but how well you do it."