Martin Luther King: Dream Maker

Few historical figures are as compelling as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Similar to Billy Graham, King had a presence, a calling, and a following, but most important of all, King had a voice . . . a voice bigger than life . . . a voice impossible to ignore.

What follows are six of King’s earliest memories. Thinkwriter invites you to read the memories and then select King’s worldview from the list at the bottom of the post. Please cast your vote in the poll to the right of the list, and thank you for participating!

Martin Luther King remembers . . .

(1.) [I was much too young to remember the beginning of the depression] . . . but I do recall, when I was about five years of age, how I questioned my parents about the numerous people standing in bread lines.

(2.) I joined the church at the age of five. I well remember how this event occurred. Our church was in the midst of a spring revival, and a guest evangelist had come down from Virginia. On Sunday morning the evangelist came into our Sunday school to talk to us about salvation, and after a short talk on this point, he extended an invitation to any of us who wanted to join the church. My sister was the first to join the church that morning, and after seeing her join I decided I would not let her get ahead of me, so I was the next.

(3.) When I was about six years of age, an incident happened. From the age of three I had a white playmate who was about my age. We always felt free to play our childhood games together. He did not live in our community, but he was usually around every day; his father owned a store across the street from our home. At the age of six, we both entered school – separate schools, of course. I remember how our friendship began to break as soon as we entered school; this was not my desire but his. The climax came when he told me one day that his father had demanded that he would play with me no more. I never will forget what a great shock this was to me. I immediately asked my parents about the motive behind such a statement.

(4.) I remember a trip to a downtown shoe store with Father when I was still small. We had sat down in the first empty seats in the front of the store. A young white clerk came up and murmured politely: “I’ll be happy to wait on you if you’ll just move to those seats in the rear.”

Dad immediately retorted, “There’s nothing wrong with these seats; we’re quite comfortable here.”

“Sorry,” said the clerk, “but you’ll have to move.”

“We’ll either buy shoes sitting here,” my father retorted, “or we won’t buy shoes at all!” ...whereupon he took my hand and walked out of the store.

This was the first time I had seen Dad so furious. I still remember walking down the street beside him as he muttered, “I don’t care how long I have to live with this system; I will never accept it.”

(5.) When I was about eight years old, I was in one of the downtown stores of Atlanta, and all of the sudden someone slapped me, and the only thing I heard was somebody saying, “You are that nigger that stepped on my foot.” And it turned out to be a white lady; of course, I did not retaliate at any point. I wouldn’t dare retaliate when a white person was involved. I finally told my mother what had happened, and she was very upset about it. But the lady who has slapped me had gone, and my mother and I left the store almost immediately.

(6.) When I was fourteen, I traveled from Atlanta to Dublin, Georgia, with a dear teacher of mine, Mrs. Bradley. I participated in an oratorical contest there and I succeeded in winning the contest. My subject, ironically enough, was “The Negro and the Constitution.” That night Mrs. Bradley and I were on the bus returning to Atlanta. Along the way, some white passengers boarded the bus, and the white driver ordered us to get up and give the whites our seats. We didn’t move quickly enough to suit him, so he began cursing us. I intended to stay right in that seat, but Mrs. Bradley urged me up, saying we had to obey the law. We stood up in the aisle for ninety miles to Atlanta. That night will never leave my memory. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life.

Martin Luther King’s worldview is . . . (correct answer in red)

1. If the shoe fits, wear it. (11%)
2. Man is the system. (44%)
3. The red man will get ahead, man! (0)
4. Anger motivates. (44%)