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.