Reflections On Martin Luther King's Day

By Author: Shamai Leibowitz
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In celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King's Day, it is important to remember that Dr. King was concerned not just with civil rights and equality for black Americans but moral justice for all Americans and oppressed people of the world. In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, he coined the aphorism: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Expanding on this theme, he stated:

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

In his famous speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, Dr King explained why there is a need for clergy to speak out against Vietnam in churches and synagogues. Dr. King said:

Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose ...
... culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.

Dr. King's legacy of fighting racism and oppression wherever they poison human relations was the theme at an inspiring interreligious and multicultural celebration that I attended several days ago at the National Synagogue. In a joint dinner and musical event with members of Word of God Baptist Church of Southeast, Washington DC, we honored the memory of Officer Stephen Johns, a black security guard, who gave his life in defense of innocent visitors at the United States Holocaust Museum.

Following the dinner, we held a spiritual service in honor of Dr. King which included music and inspirational words from Pastor McCoy (from the Word of God Baptist Church) and Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld (from the National Synagogue). In a very emotional moment, the Rabbi presented Zakiah Johns - widow of Officer Johns - with a special memento: a shofar. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and his wife Janet Langhart Cohen - an interracial couple - addressed the joint congregations with moving speeches about the need to fight institutionalized racism. Mr. Cohen pointed out that until 1967 - when the Supreme Court finally declared in Loving v. Virginia that states' laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional - his own marriage would not have been possible. His wife Janet spoke about Anne - Emmett - a play she authored featuring an imaginary conversation between Anna Frank and Emmett Till.

Dr. King's last speech, I See the Promised Land, is one of his most memorable speeches. King was exhausted that night, April 3, 1968, having gone down to Memphis in support of sanitation workers who were on strike demanding better pay. He begged off speaking but finally agreed to address the audience at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple Church of God. His final words are chilling to read even today:

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. 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!

The next day, an assassin's bullet killed Martin Luther King but did not kill his dream and the movement he lead. He was just 39. Had he lived, this year would be his 81st birthday, and he would have had the privilege of hearing the first black US president address the congregants gathered at Vermont Baptist Church in Washington DC and say:

We've inherited the progress of unjust laws that are now overturned. We take for granted the progress of a ballot being available to anybody who wants to take the time to actually vote. We enjoy the fruits of prejudice and bigotry being lifted -- slowly, sometimes in fits and starts, but irrevocably -- from human hearts. It's that progress that made it possible for me to be here today; for the good people of this country to elect an African American the 44th President of the United States of America.
About Author:
Attorney Shamai Leibowitz practices in the United States as well as Israel as well as writes on legal issues and matters of civil rights. Our website offers links to web-based resources for understanding the Israeli legal system, court decisions, and statutes, links to news articles and opinions about current legal issues and advice on doing business in Israel; including export and import, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, anti-trust matters, employment issues, visas and asylum, and answers to a variety of FAQ concerning the Israeli legal system.