Bursting The Bands of Ignorance: A Commentary on Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
Having grown up in Jackson, Mississippi at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I saw first hand the occurrences spoken of by Dr. King. I remember vividly walking hand in hand with my mother along the streets of downtown Jackson and stopping to drink out of the “colored” drinking fountain, but before my lips could touch the water my mother jerked me away, telling me that only “colored people” should drink out of those, and she took me a few paces away to drink from an “uncontaminated” source. I recall seeing little black children with wet pants and shameful expressions because they could no longer control their natural bodily functions, as there were no public facilities for those with dark skin. I remember going into the doctor’s office where there were two waiting rooms, one for the whites via the front door and one for the “Negro” via the back. I recollect the Jackson State College riots in Jackson, Mississippi in May 1967 that, locals claimed, were incited by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the white populace bought into the southern propaganda machine. The celebration of Dr. King’s murder, that took place in my all white boyhood environs, still plays in my mind, for we were told that this was the most evil man of our generation. At the time, I thought this was truth and didn’t think much of it. I was a product of the place and time. Only after having moved away from the south and its prejudices and educating myself, bursting the bands of my ignorance, did I realize that I had been lied to!
A Black Man drinks from a segregated water cooler pre-1960. Photograph courtesy of Library of Congress.
Now, as I look back, I see the wisdom of Dr. King, his methods and philosophies. Could he have achieved the ends that he did, even though he did not live to see them through to fruition, in any other way? Sure, he could have raised an army and killed many white people in the process and possibly (in a few hundred years) been justified in his actions. But by his method of direct nonviolent action, he probably spared the nation another Civil War and taught people that differences can be solved oft times through peaceful means and negotiation. Dr. King lived what he taught and bore upon himself the consequences of his actions as he looked to the future and a better world for his children and grandchildren. As with all great men who have a God given purpose, Martin Luther King, Jr. sealed his life’s work with his most precious possession, his life blood, and in so doing, left a legacy of hope and equality, not just for those of African descent, but for all who dwell under the banner of the stars and stripes which at last, truly symbolize freedom.
Thoughts and recollections of Dennis K Olson – an expatriated rebel
August 16th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
That’s so interesting that you were actually there and saw the prejudices that we hardly think of today. We’ve come a long way. And obviously MLK had a huge effect in combatting racism.
I lived in So California during the 70s (born in ‘68, so I missed the 60s) and did not witness much racism (as far as I can remember) — at worst, I was kind of scared of the one black girl in my elementary school because she flipped me off one day. But TV shows like The Jeffersons, etc. helped me think of blacks as just regular people who sometimes had a few physical or cultural differences. Yeah, television was my surrogate parent, for good or bad.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Times, they are achangin’. Some for the better as in the case above. Some for the not so good.