Why do we celebrate a holiday honoring a man who was jailed 29 times and ultimately assassinated? What lessons can we learn from Martin Luther King, Jr. and from American society, much of which seems to have forgotten the contributions that led to bestowing on him a national holiday?
King, a powerful pastor and speaker, was both the catalyst for and the central figure in the civil rights movement that extended from 1955 to 1968. MLK’s sermons, speeches, and writings portray a man with an unusually discerning mind grounded in timeless truths. MLK was all about non-violent action to bring about racial and social healing through public debate and protest.
Hard to come to grips with today is how the power, healing, and truth of his message can be overshadowed by today’s divisive and demoralizing philosophies of critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These divide rather than unite society. MLK stressed the importance of bringing people together through constructive dialogue and seeing all people as made in God’s image. In contrast, those who have recently claimed to hold the torch of civil rights, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, generally do so through militant action, malicious language, and confrontation.
The extremist identity politics movement in the United States is largely the progeny of BLM, an organization founded by Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, who self-identify as Marxists. For those who relate identity politics to progress, a gnawing question still haunts: What good ever came
