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A Boy Called “ML” The Reverend Susan Davison Archer and Cedar Lane Youth January 15, 2006 Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church Bethesda, Maryland Reflection; "Growing Up King"Susan Archer Why do we set this day aside? This Martin Luther King Day? Because there is no holiday more in tune with the Principles of Unitarian Universalism; Because there has been no individual who has been a more powerful agent of positive change that MLK; Because there is still part of his dream that is ours to bring into reality. Those would be reasons enough. But we should also remember that our own UU movement was historically closely entwined with the civil rights movement, in which UU minister Jim Reeb was beaten to death in Selma, in which many UU ministers and laypeople, including the UUA Board of Trustees, descended on Selma during those wondrous and awful days, in which a Detroit UU, Viola Liuzo, was also killed. These and other true stories of the Civil Rights Movement all inspire powerful memories which we hope will continue to inform who we are. So, today, with the help from some of our children and youth, we will remember the man who began, like us all, as a child. I often wonder what elements are involved in the life of a person that make her or him grow into a truly great person. I look to King’s reflections for some insight: From the beginning I was an extraordinarily healthy child. . . I hardly know how an ill moment feels. I guess the same thing would apply to my mental life. I have always been somewhat precocious, both physically and mentally. So it seems that from a hereditary point of view, nature was very kind to me. (The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., Clayborne Carson, ed., p.2) Okay, he had some things going for him. I think there were some more important reasons. He thinks about his home life: My home situation was very congenial. I have a marvelous mother and father . . . It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present. It is quite easy for me to think of the universe as basically friendly. . . It is quite easy for me to lean more toward optimism than pessimism because of my childhood experiences. (pp. 2-3) About his father: He never feared the autocratic and brutal person in the white community. If they said something to him that was insulting, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that he didn’t like it.
A sharecropper’s son he had met brutalities at first hand. . . and set out to get more education, and] did not stop until he finished college. (p.4) Experiences change people. The experience of injustice changes people greatly. Injustice is rarely forgotten and will fuel a life for good or ill. MLK, Senior eventually became pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and had a huge and wonderful influence on the black community. He and Martin’s mother and grandmother provided a relatively protected environment for Martin and his brother and sister. Christine King Farris has written a reflection on what growing up with ML King was like. Some of our own youth will read her words about this. “My Brother Martin” by Christine King Farris 9 a.m. Claire Mauro, Mariah Perry, Teckla Persons, Julia Stratton 11 a.m. Jessica Michek, Margey Renniger, Sienna Lyon, Madison Ruppenthal
Gather around and listen as I share childhood memories of my brother, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am his older sister, Christine, and I’ve known him longer than anyone else. I knew him long before the speeches he gave and the marches he led and the prizes he won.
I even knew him BEFORE he first dreamed the DREAM that would change the world.
We were born in the same room, my bother Martin and I. And, not long after my brother Martin—who we called M. L. because he and daddy had the same name—our baby brother was born. His name was Alfred Daniel, but we called him A.D., after our grandfather.
The house where we were born belonged to our grandparents, the Reverend and Mrs. A.D. Williams. We lived there with them.
Like three peas in one pod, we grew together. Our days and rooms were filled with adventure stories and Tinkertoys, and dolls and Monopoly and Chinese checkers.
Our grandmother was always there to help take care of us. I remember sitting at her feet, as she filled us with grand memories of their childhood and read to us about all the wonderful places in the world.
And, of course, my brothers and I had each other. We stuck together like the pages in a brand-new book. And, being normal children, we were almost always up to something.
Our best prank involved a fur piece that belonged to our grandmother. It looked almost alive with its tiny feet and little head and gleaming glass eyes. So, every once in a while, in the waning light of evening, we’d tie that fur piece to a stick, and, hiding behind the hedge in front of our house, we would dangle it in front of unsuspecting passers-by. Boy! You could hear the screams all across the neighborhood!
Then there was the time that Mother decided that we children should all learn to play piano. I didn’t mind too much, but ML and AD preferred being outside to being stuck inside with our piano teacher, Mr. Mann, who would rap your knuckles with a ruler just for playing the wrong notes. Well, one morning, ML an AD decided to loosen the legs on the piano bench so we wouldn’t have to practice. We didn’t tell Mr. Mann, and when he sat . . . CRASH! Down he went.
But mostly we were good, obedient children, and ML did learn to play a few songs on the piano. Given his love for singing and music, I’m sure he could have become as good a musician as our mother had his life not called him down a different path.
But that’s just what his life did.
My bothers and I grew up a long time ago. Back in a time when certain places in our country had unfair laws that said it was right to keep black people separate because our skin was darker and our ancestors had been captured in far-off Africa and brought to America as slaves.
Atlanta, Georgia, the city in which we were growing up, had those laws. Because of those laws, my family rarely went to the picture shows or visited the amusement park. In fact, to this very day I don’t recall ever seeing my father on a streetcar. Because of those laws, and the indignity that went with them, Daddy preferred keeping ML, AD and me close to home where we’d be protected.
When we were young all the children along our street played together, even the two white boys whose parents owned the store across from our house.
And since our house was a favorite gathering place, those boys played with us in our backyard . . . and ran with ML an AD to the firehouse on the corner where they watched the engines and the firemen.
The thought of NOT playing with those kids because they were different, because they were white and we were black, never entered our minds.
Well, one day, ML and AD, went to get their playmates from across the street just as they had done a hundred times before. But they came home alone. The boys had told my brothers that they couldn’t play together anymore because AD and ML were black.
And that was it. Shortly afterward the family sold the store and moved away. We never saw or heard from them again.
Looking back, I realize that it was only a matter of time before the generations of cruelty and injustice that Daddy and Mother had been shielding us from finally broke through. But back then it was a crushing blow that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Why do white people treat colored people so mean?” ML asked Mother afterward. And with me and ML and AD standing in front of her trying our best to understand, Mother gave the reason behind it all.
Her words explained why our families avoided the streetcars. She explained about the WHITES ONLY sign that kept us off the elevator at City Hall. She told why there were parks and museums that black people could not visit and why some restaurants refused to serve us and why hotels wouldn’t give us rooms and why theaters would only allow us to watch their picture shows in the balcony.
But her words also gave us hope.
She also told us, “It’s because they just don’t understand that everyone is the same, but someday, it will be better.”
And my brother ML looked up into our mother’s face and said the words I remember to this day.
He said, “Mother, one day I’m going to turn this world upside down.”
But it was Daddy who showed ML and AD and me how to speak out against hatred and bigotry and stand up for what’s right.
Daddy was the minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church. After losing our playmates, when ML, AD and I heard our father speak from his pulpit, his powerful words about segregation and self-respect held new meaning.
And Daddy practiced what he preached. He always stood up for himself when confronted with hatred and bigotry, and each day he shared his encounters at the dinner table.
When a shoe salesman told Daddy and ML that he’d only serve them in the back of the store because they were black, Daddy took ML somewhere else to buy new shoes.
Another time, a police officer pulled Daddy over and called him “boy.” Daddy pointed to ML sitting next to him in the car and said, “This is a boy. I am a man, and until you call me one, I will not listen to you.”
These stories were as nourishing as the food that was set before us.
Years would pass, and many new lessons would be learned. There would be numerous speeches and marches and prizes. But my brother never forgot the example of our father, or the promise he had made to our mother on the day his friends turned him away.
And when he was much older, my brother ML dreamed a dream . . and he turned the world upside down. Reflection Strength in a Democracy” Susan Archer We have said that we celebrate today in part because current events remind us that we must carry on Rev. King’s activism. I suspect many of you have heard or read about this week’s incidents of swastikas being painted. There have been five incidents this week, one of them at St. Marks United Methodist, an African American Church in Boyds, and another on Boyds Negro School, founded in the early 1890's and preserved as an historic site. Because our congregation is a member of the coalition of churches, Action in Montgomery, we received request to join with others to show support of St. Marks and the Boyds community by joining them for a press conference gathering to speak to the incidents. I listened, as those assembled waited for the press conference to begin, to members of St. Marks telling stories to one another about other acts of violence and of resistance they had experienced during their lifetimes. At the actual press conference I was reminded by the speakers of the power of people joining their strength to stand up and not be cowed by the actions of a few. I was reminded that democracy is not merely a system of government, but is also grounded in each person’s commitment and courage to stand up against what is wrong. I was moved as I listened to the minister of St. Marks speaking about their resolve to stand for love and community, and their vow to love the perpetrators. Our County Executive and Police Chief were also clearly moved by the sentiments, praised them, AND also made a promise to find and then prosecute to the fullest those who are responsible. There was no one who was not nodding heads in this resolve. MLK reflected as a young man on this notion of love, of forgiveness, and yet, of calling one another into accountability. It is a difficult notion. He remembered:
My parents would always tell me that I should not hate the white man, but that it was my duty as a Christian to love him. The question arose in my mind: How could I love a race of people who hated me? . . . This was a great question in my mind for a number of years. (p.7)
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 . . . “The Negro and the Constitution” “The Negro and the Constitution” by Martin Luther King, Jr., age 14 9 a.m. Alex Klein
We cannot have an enlightened democracy with one great group living in ignorance. We cannot have a healthy nation with one-tenth of the people ill-nourished, sick, harboring germs of disease which recognize no color lines—obey no Jim Crow laws. We cannot have a nation orderly and sound with one group so ground down and thwarted that it is almost forced into unsocial attitudes and crime. We cannot be truly Christian people so long as we flout the central teachings of Jesus: brotherly love and the Golden Rule. We cannot come to full prosperity with one great group so ill-delatyed that it cannot buy goods. So as we gird ourselves to defend democracy from foreign attack, let us see to it that increasingly at home we give fair play and free opportunity for all people.
Today thirteen million black sons and daughters of our forefathers continue the fight for the translation of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments from writing on the printed page to an actuality. We believe with them that if ‘freedom is good for any it is good for all,’ that we may conquer Southern armies by the sword, but it is another thing to conquer Southern hate, that if the franchise is given to Negroes, they will be vigilant and defend, even with their arms, the ark of federal liberty from treason and destruction by her enemies. (pp. 9-10) King has this memory of the night that followed the speech.
That night, Mrs. Bradley and I were on a 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 to get up, saying we had to obey the law. We stood up in the aisle for 90 miles to Atlanta. That night will never leave my memory. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life. No, loving your enemies is not an easy thing to do. King went on to widen his studies, college, seminary, doctoral studies. At Moorehouse College he was greatly influence by the writings of Unitarian, Henry David Thoreau. He later reflects that out of Thoreau’s ideas, I became convinced that non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as cooperation with good. (p.14)
Gandhi complemented this understanding: Love for Gandhi was a potent instrument for social and collective transformation. (p.24)
Love as non-cooperation with evil was a potent tool for King, as he began his leadership against injustice. : ML, Martin, grew up in a loving, peaceful, religious and strong family and learned powerful lessons of self affirmation. He had the privilege of an uninterrupted education that challenged him to think and explore his doubts and wonders. He never backed away from an intellectual challenge or inconsistency. And yet, MLK was also simply a human being, as we all are, who made decisions to work for a better world. Responsive Reading 11 a.m. Conor Brodnick You Can Be Like Martin by Mildred D. Johnson Martin was a peaceful boy ,and peaceful when a man. He wanted peace for everyone, all throughout our land. You can be a peaceful child, even a peaceful woman or man. You can be like Martin, yes, you can! Martin was a thinking boy, kept thinking when a man. He knew good thinkers were needed, all throughout our land. You can be a thinker, think on when you’re a woman or man. You can be like Martin, yes, you can! Martin was a speaking boy, kept speaking when a man. His words touched many listeners, all throughout our land. You can be a speaker, speak on when you’re a woman or a man. You can be like Martin, yes you can! Martin had a dream, you know, that all people would be free, To live and work together, in a country filled with peace. You can be a dreamer, keep dreaming when a woman or man. You can be like Martin, yes, you can! Martin Luther King sang, “We shall Overcome,” sang it throughout our land, You can overcome, my children, yes, you can! You can be like Martin, yes, you can! You can be like Martin, yes, you can! Reflection “Connections and Dreams” Susan Archer Throughout his shortened life, Rev. King and those who joined him led this country—often kicking and screaming in brutal response—to the mountaintop—looking over to a new land, a re-born land. We experienced changes in the laws of segregation and racial oppression. But he didn’t stop there. He led the Poor People’s Campaign, a coalition of all races joined by the common malady of poverty. And he didn’t stop there. He began to speak out against the Vietnam War and articulated the interrelationships among racism, poverty and war. He was unrelenting in the use of nonviolent resistence as the only viable response to social and political ills. In 1964 MLK received the Nobel Peace Prize. In his Nobel Lecture he made clear and explicit his understanding of the interconnections between racial oppression, poverty and war. [This selection was not spoken in the service because of time constraints.] I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and audacious faith in the future of mankind. . . . I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. . . I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have 3 meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. . . I believe that one day mankind will bow down before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed and nonviolent redemptive good, will proclaim the rule of the land. I still believe that we shall overcome. For some of us it seems like only yesterday that MLK was among us. We must remind ourselves that it has been now almost 40 years since he was murdered. Times have changed AND in many ways are still full of the same challenges he stood up to: racism, war and poverty still abound throughout our world. Today we recognize both familiar and new challenges. Our children and youth have their dreams for a better world. The words some of our 6-9th graders will share, are spoken on behalf of themselves and also of their classmates.
Dreams 9 am Janet Felix-Hawver, Claire Mauro, Teckla Persons, Claire Hernandez Martin Luther King had many dreams which have inspired us. Times today are both the same and different. We have our own dreams which we would like to share with you. They come from many youth at Cedar Lane and are read by some of our 6th through 9th graders. I have a dream . . . That one day everyone—men, women and people of all races—will be equal and no one will be prejudiced. I have a dream . . . That one day people will wake up and realize that they have to take care of the environment, because if the earth and the earth’s natural resources die out, so will we. That we can cure AIDS. I have a dream . . . That we will have good political leadership. That the world will be a little less tense and a little more fun. I have a dream . . . That the world will be a generally safe place, especially for women. In this dream there is more kindness than harshness. Also, intelligence will be valued. Learning and knowledge will be cherished and put higher than anything else. I have a dream . . . That in the near future humans will find a way to produce towns and cities without destroying animals’ habitats. That people won’t stereotype other people because of race, religion or gender. I have a dream . . . That the war will end and everyone will be friends. That tolerance and peace will embrace everyone. I have a dream . . . That we could have another approach to world relations and peace. That the world will not fight over oil and that there will be no war. I have a dream . . . That one day all sexualities will be accepted and gender roles obliterated. That people who have different looks would be treated equally. I have a dream . . . That there will be no starving in other countries. We need to spend money more wisely because we have enough money to end starvation now. I have a dream . . . That people will be nicer to animals. People can do this by adopting more animals. This will also reduce the amount of homeless animals. We light this last candle for all of YOUR dreams! |
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