Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/16/08 Section: Mixed Plate

Media Credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination.

The month of January honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Ga. He was born 64 years after the devastating experience of slavery ended and saw firsthand the social, political and spiritual struggle of the African-American.

Dr. King was a fourth-generation pastor. His grandfather was Adam Daniel Williams who wed Jennie Celeste Parks in 1899. Jennie was a gentle woman who attended Spelman College, briefly.

His father, Reverend Martin Luther King, and his mother, Alberta Williams King, rigorously led and organized political and racial committees. They spearheaded a movement from these committees into a 900-person congregation.

King attested later in life that it was his destiny to be precocious, even as he had shocked his Sunday-school teachers by "denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus" as a child.

King's maturity in college stemmed from a spectrum of good people, such as the liberal professor Benjamin E. Mays, president of Morehouse College, who provided him with the intellectual examples of modern ministry.

He struggled to find his path, starting college at 15. He was only an average student at Morehouse. He eventually buckled down when he went to Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Penn. He was president of the student body and delivered the valedictorian speech. He received the Crozier fellowship and the Pearl Platker Memorial Award as the student, who in the judgment of the faculty, had been "the outstanding member of his class during the course of his seminary."

Ministry was not just a calling for Dr. King. He was determined to set right the injustice and social plight of his people.

He studied philosophy at Boston University with professors Edgar Brightman and Harold DeWolf. Personality became a supreme value of his reality. By the time he got his Ph.D. in June 1955, his pansophical education was established.

His focus grew beyond the character of individuals and came to represent the social and economic plight of all people in America and abroad. He reached the world with his message of social justice.

Dr. King encouraged African-Americans to speak up against the basic injustice of human rights. People from all over the world joined him. His efforts brought him into the Vatican, where he had a private audience with Pope Paul IV. After this historic meeting, the Pope issued a statement on interracial relations in America.

Dr. King's efforts maintained a "Dream" that we here at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa can realize as we scurry about this new semester educating ourselves with knowledge. We can make sure we recognize the wisdom of those who have come before us. Dr. King gave his life for the belief that one day all children might walk in peace with one another.

Let all who speak of Dr. King know that he was a drum major: "I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity ... say that I was a drum major for justice; that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. ... I just want to leave a committed life behind."

So, no matter what color, race, religion, social-political or educational background you hope to attain or have attained; remember Dr. Martin Luther King as a forerunner of justice and equality for all people.

Dr. King, a black man who won the Nobel Peace Prize, marched on Washington and was subjected to water hoses and bombings as he marched and organized his people.

His dream was not deferred because of his assassination on April 4, 1968, at apartment 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The dreamed came alive instead.

In Atlanta, Ga., as Senator Robert Kennedy and his wife attended the funeral, I was there with my Uncle Garrison. We were right in front of the Ebenezer Baptist Church just as the senator's limousine pulled up. The senator, who lost two brothers and a sister to tragedy, was also later slain during his bid for the presidency.

Let me take you back to Chicago. Let me take you to my family who walked and marched with King when he came to Chicago's Soldier Field. Uncle Garrison said to me: It's your birthday, April 10. You have a choice: You can go to the funeral in Atlanta or give a huge party in our 18-room house.

The decision was quick. I wanted to go and march one last time behind Dr. King. This time, behind his casket in Atlanta, Ga. As soon as the limousine pulled up, Uncle Garrison opened the door and said, "Make room for the senator." Then a 16-year-old, bright-eyed girl was whisked into the church full of dignitaries from around the world who had come to honor Dr. King's existence.

So, fellow students, in all your dreams of education, keep the memory of Dr. King's dream alive. Set goals that will work for you. The plan is there, just grab hold of it. Join me on the path laid by good men like Dr. King because the "dream" is still benefiting our community. Don't give up. Those who have paved the way are owed our diligent efforts along the path of education. Every course is filled with sabotages and setbacks, but don't give up. Each grade and every class can help you overcome social injustices in your own academic struggles and in the world.

For information about the event and other King celebrations happening this month, visit http://www.mlk-hawaii.com.

Honolulu

Saturday, UH Mānoa Campus Center Ballroom, 6:30 p.m.
One performance of "Black Boy," an adaption of the landmark 1945 autobiography of Richard Wright, will be performed on a one-time basis by Charles Holt. A story about the many boyhood struggles of one of the most important African-American writers of the 20th century. Info: 956-7348.

Sunday, Honolulu Hale (Lauhala and Beretania streets), 7 p.m.
The Annual Candlelight Nagasaki Peace Bell Ringing Ceremony

Sunday, Temple Emanu-El 2550 Pali Hwy., starts 5:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Day screening of film "From Shtetl to Swing," with entertainment by Tennyson Stephens. This film tells the story of the cross-pollination of Jewish and African-American musical influences, two traditions born out of exile and longing, yet charged with an energy and freedom that gave voice to a new multicultural America.

Monday, Waikīkī, 9 a.m., The 29th Annnual Parade
The parade will start at Magic Island at 7:30 a.m. and move down Kalākaua Avenue with a post-parade unity rally at Kapi‘olani Park (approximately 10 a.m.) with food, community booths and other vendors. Our parade begins at Magic Island with the formation of organizations at 7:30 a.m. The parade travels through Waikīkī to Kapi‘olani Park and the Unity Celebration, with its food, community booths and camaraderie. Info: 988-0555

Around the nation
In Boston, Mass., Mayor Thomas M. Menino, with Martin Luther King III as a guest, announced that the city will build a statue commemorating King's parents, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

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