April 4, 1968. Our school’s namesake, Martin Luther King Jr was killed.
Not sure why our culture pays greater attention to the even years in half-decade increments, for an anniversary is an anniversary. That said, today should be a day in which all Americans, and perhaps most notably, the folks who make up Martin Luther King High School should pay some attention to the man whose life was ended by an assassin’s bullet on this day.
The movement King led was just over 10 years old at that point, if you count backward to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Really though, it was a movement that had slowly grown for 100 years, a movement for equality and for freedom.
What made King the leader that he was, and the movement an unfinished success, was his understanding of the truths rooted in Jesus’ teaching to “love your enemies” and to “turn the other cheek” to those who have hurt you. The force of Love, as King put it, was a “moral force” that violent force could not defeat. In his sacrificial life he practiced what he preached, he walked his talk.
King described the outcome of such action as a “Beloved Community”. It was a concept that was based on an ancient Greek word for love, called "agape." Agape love, King explained was “overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative”… "the love of God operating in the human heart.” He said that “Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people…It begins by loving others for their sakes” and “makes no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both…Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.” http://www.thekingcenter.org/prog/bc/
We have a wonderful school to work at, named after a worthy man. Dr. King was not a perfect man, neither are we a perfect school. However, if somehow the people who make up Martin Luther King High School can work collectively toward a more beloved community, we can see a better community and school.
A few days before he was killed, he gave an address in which he prophetically said, “I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. 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. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…”
Not sure why our culture pays greater attention to the even years in half-decade increments, for an anniversary is an anniversary. That said, today should be a day in which all Americans, and perhaps most notably, the folks who make up Martin Luther King High School should pay some attention to the man whose life was ended by an assassin’s bullet on this day.
The movement King led was just over 10 years old at that point, if you count backward to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Really though, it was a movement that had slowly grown for 100 years, a movement for equality and for freedom.
What made King the leader that he was, and the movement an unfinished success, was his understanding of the truths rooted in Jesus’ teaching to “love your enemies” and to “turn the other cheek” to those who have hurt you. The force of Love, as King put it, was a “moral force” that violent force could not defeat. In his sacrificial life he practiced what he preached, he walked his talk.
King described the outcome of such action as a “Beloved Community”. It was a concept that was based on an ancient Greek word for love, called "agape." Agape love, King explained was “overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative”… "the love of God operating in the human heart.” He said that “Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people…It begins by loving others for their sakes” and “makes no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both…Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.” http://www.thekingcenter.org/prog/bc/
We have a wonderful school to work at, named after a worthy man. Dr. King was not a perfect man, neither are we a perfect school. However, if somehow the people who make up Martin Luther King High School can work collectively toward a more beloved community, we can see a better community and school.
A few days before he was killed, he gave an address in which he prophetically said, “I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. 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. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…”
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