Quarter 2 Last post! (6)

I could not have picked a more perfect time to read The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. As I sat in the darkened band room on Tuesday and watched President Obama (!!!!) take his oath of office, I couldn't help but think of this book. The struggle, the violence, the opposition and the hatred that King and everyone involved in the Civil Rights Movement faced was devastating. It led to despair and discouragement. King had a hard enough time being a leader of a movement, facing constant threats and opposition from government officials, that the idea of an African American actually becoming a government official must have seemed like a dream. I really can't even imagine. I also can't imagine what Tuesday must have meant to people who were alive during that time and saw King speak. I just spent a good ten minutes writing, trying to pinpoint this feeling, but it didn't work and think it's better to keep it simple. So let it suffice to say that Tuesday was historical not only in a political sense, but as a great landmark of achievement as well.

The last chapter of this book (minus citations, comments by the editor, etc.) was a collection of speeches (or just one continuous speech, it's not very clear) by King. I almost got chills when I read the first few opening paragraphs, in which King talks about historical figures who didn't live to see their dream fulfilled. It's almost as if he knew he was going to die soon, and wanted to acknowledge that he may not be able to see true success of the movement. King spoke, "And the thing that makes me happy is that I can hear a voice crying through the vista of time, saying: 'It may not come today or it may not come tomorrow, but it is well that it is within thine heart. It's well that you are trying.' You may not see it. The dream may be unfulfilled, but it's just good that you have a desire to bring it into reality" (357). Although he wouldn't be able to witness his dream come alive, King was entirely at peace because he knew that he had done all he could to help it along. Later on, King returns to this idea with a conviction that the dream would without doubt one day come true. He stated, "And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land" (365). Whether or not Tuesday could be seen as a sign of the promised land, this statement gives me happiness because one can believe that King didn't see an event such as President Obama's inauguration as impossible. He knew it could and would happen, whether or not he was alive. He had full faith in the idea that equality would one day prevail. I'm not saying the evils of inequality and racism have been eradicated, but this week we have witnessed a tremendous step that would have made King passionately proud.

King, Martin Luther. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner, 1998.

Quarter 2 Post 5

This week in The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., I read, among other things, about the end of the Birmingham campaign, the famous March on Washington where King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech, and the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King and the progress he spurred continue to amaze me, but I think I've written enough about that, so I'll pick something I almost disagreed with him about. Near the end of the desegregation work in Birmingham, six black children were killed - four girls in a church, and two more children in the streets. I'm not even going to expand on how horrific that is. The point is that at the service for the four girls, King gave a speech (of course). In his speech, he emphasized that the girls died as kinds of martyrs; for the cause. King spoke, "History has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is redemptive. The innocent blood of these little girls may well serve as the redemptive force that will bring new light to this dark city" (231). I understand that King was a devout Christian, hence the belief in martyrdom, and that he also felt that these deaths were inhumane and horrifying. But at the same time, it bothers me that he used the funeral as a means of furthering the movement. It should have been about the girls lives, about I don't even know what, but anything but what it was. Maybe King simply should have specified that not the actual deaths of children, but the anger that people felt because of them would be channeled into nonviolent protest. I think this is only the second time I've ever disagreed with King throughout this entire book, and he probably could've come up with an eloquent, logical reasoning for his speech, too.

As we discuss poetic devices such as connotation, metaphors and similes, and diction/word choice in class, they've started popping out at me from the text in this book. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great writer, and an even better speech-writer. He used these devices continually to make his words more powerful, and he was very successful. One of the most frequently used devices is metaphor. I think King used them because if he hadn't, he might've run out of ways to say the same things about freedom and segregation over and over again. One interesting example of this can be found in the "I Have a Dream" speech. King said, "...America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt" (224). By comparing justice to a bank, King made the speech more interesting to listen to. But more than that, it sends out the message that like money in a bank, justice is extremely valuable to each and every one of us. It is what keeps society going. And if a portion of the population is deprived of it, society will not function properly. King's clear and expressive writing was and always will be a huge source of inspiration.

King, Martin Luther. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner, 1998.

Quarter 2 Post 4

In this fourth section of my outside reading, one thing I noticed is how staunch Martin Luther King, Jr. was in his morals. Two main events that I read about were the Albany Movement and the Birmingham Campaign. During the Albany Movement, King was arrested for leading a demonstration. In his journal from jail, King wrote, "Jail is depressing because it shuts off the world. It leaves one caught in the dull monotony of sameness. It is almost like being dead while one still lives" (157). The people who King was fighting against did their best to squash his hope and vigor by jailing him. This journal entry shows what a huge effect their actions had on King. The sorts of feelings he wrote about are not the sort of emotions you would want someone who leads the masses to experience, because it could affect his leadership. That was exactly what the opposition was trying to make happen. But when he was released from jail, King continued to do what he did best - leading his people towards freedom. As much of a downer as jail might have been, he didn't let it get to him, or affect his ethics. King kept his beliefs intact even in times of struggle.

During the Birmingham Campaign, King was once again jailed, this time in solitary confinement. King describes to the reader how "Those were the longest, most frustrating and bewildering hours I have lived. Having no contact of any kind, I was besieged with worry" (184). But despite this torture, King didn't lose faith. He even proceeded to write the inspiring Letter From Birmingham Jail. King points out that he wrote this lengthy letter on scarce bits of paper and had it snuck out of jail. Not only did he not let the conditions of jail harm his morals, King even created one of his most famous works while confined. His ethics were always unwavering.

King, Martin Luther. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ed. Clayborne Carson. New York: Warner, 1998.