“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
—Martin Luther King Jr
I was only 13 when Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. While the struggles of the civil rights movement during the 50s and 60s were hard to digest as a young boy, I remember being moved by his inspiring and passionate oratory skills and his example of non-violent protests.
Last April Cecile and I spent an emotional morning visiting the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. Most of these photos were taken while there.
2018 marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. It looks much like it did April 4,1968, when James Earl Ray fired the fatal round from the boarding-house window next to the Young and Morrow Building directly across Mulberry Street.
A funeral wreath of red and white carnations hangs on the railing outside room 306 to mark the spot, making it a symbol of the civil rights movement and becoming America’s first Civil Rights Museum in 1991. In its day, the Lorraine Hotel hosted such entertainers as Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin Count Basie, Nat King Cole, and B.B. King. The Vintage cars in the parking loot represent the vehicles parked at the Lorraine Motel when Dr. King was killed. White musicians were welcome to perform.
King credited Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings as being “the guiding light of our technique of nonviolent change.” It was Gandhi who said: “An eye for an eye
only ends up making the whole world blind.”
Like Gandhi, King had the courage to allow himself to be beaten and jailed and was able to persevere through difficult times without caving into bitterness and despair. I didn’t fully understand until later in life that embracing his vulnerability and "Turning the other cheek” as difficult as that may have been in such dangerous and tumultuous times, became his strength. He had to resist fear, master his fears even during those dark nights of the soul when he feared for his family and fought formidable forces to get his message across for the movement, for equal rights under the law and for the pursuit of happiness. This is the very definition of courage and faith.
A Poetic Offering in honor of Dr. King’s Birthday:
Standing Tall
by Jamie McKenzie
Some kings rule their kingdoms sitting down
Surrounded by luxury, soft cushions and fans
But this King stood strong, stood proudly, stood tall
When the driver told Rosa “Move to the back of the bus!”
When the waiter told students “We don’t serve your kind!”
When the Mayor told voters “Your vote don’t count!”
And when the sheriff told marchers “Get off our streets!”
using fire hoses, police dogs and cattle prods to move them along The King stood strong
stood tall Speaking of peace
of love and children hand in hand,
free at last, free at last
When some yelled for violence
For angry revenge
An eye of an eye
And a tooth of a tooth
He stood his ground
Preaching peace
And when some spit our hate
He stood there smiling
Spreading love…breaking down the walls
Ringing the bell joyfully For Freedom
Until Standing on the mountain top
They shot him coldly
Hoping to see him fall
Hoping to put him away
To bring him low
But this King
even in death
even today
stands strong, stands proudly
stands tall
And we remember
(excerpt of the original poem by Jamie McKenzie in 1982)
