As a white person, who recognizes that January 20th is an annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr's life, it suddenly occurred to me to wonder what about Martin Luther King, SR? You don't get a Junior without a Senior hovering somewhere in the background.
Martin, Sr. was born December 19, 1899 and died, age 84, on November 11, 1984. In between these events, he got an education, graduated from Moorhead College with a degree as a minister, when he was 26, and made his fiancée (of eight years duration) Alberta's parents very happy. Married, the happy couple went on to present the grandparents with three kids in four years.
The family's serenity was tragically interrupted when Alberta was killed by a crazed gunman, age 23, while playing "The Lord's Prayer" on the church organ during Sunday services on June 30, 1968. The gunman also killed the minister presiding, bitterly disappointed, one assumes that it was not Martin Luther King, Sr.in the sights of either one of the two pistols he was carrying and sadly using.
The gunman was quoted saying that "You are serving a false god" "Black ministers are a menace to black people" finishing off with a resounding, "All Christians are my enemies!"
Senior brought Junior up to continue the movement which he did with some enthusiasm. He was assassinated for his beliefs April 4, 1968, aged 39.
A quote Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I leave you to ponder the irony of death in the King family.
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