Today, the world honors and remembers one of the most famous pastors of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His efforts to create racial reconciliation in America and his “I Have a Dream” speech are known throughout the world and will surely be noted by countless generations to come.
Dr. King’s speeches and orations alone contributed greatly to American history. His commitment to nonviolence at a time when others were calling for armed revolt were exemplary. His pleas for justice move us even today.
While some issues have been made about his personal problems and reports of marital infidelity, all can mourn that his life was cut tragically short by the unjust hands of an assassin, leaving a permanent scar on this nation.
It is no accident that his birth name, Michael King, was changed to “Martin Luther,” the great Reformer, who like Dr. King, felt a call from God to right a wrong and stand on principle. The world was never the same after Dr. King came on the scene and showed just how powerful a man, armed only with convictions and moving words, can awaken a nation’s conscience and create unity among disunity, and replace injustice with justice.
This letter from a Birmingham jail further explains Dr. King’s cause.