When was the last time you considered yourself a student? College students of my generation are just finishing up their degrees and I can't believe that kids born in the 90s are in college already. Regardless of when you graduate from any stage of your education, you are still learning, whether you know it or not.
Martin Luther King was a student of life. He studied it, lived it, pursued it. His formal education began in the public schools of Atlanta and turned into a series of lily pad jumps to college where he absorbed the philosophies of Gandhi, studied theology, grew in his faith, and began to feel a burden for social justice.
Outside the walls of institutions MLK learned the patterns of American life on the black side of the fence. He also learned to question-- to question those patterns, why they exist, and what forces could break those patters. Learning propelled MLK from a position of waiting for change to happen to a position of making change happen.
After spending the first few years of his life in four different schools, including two different high schools, outstanding college entrance scores and a government program to fill America's universities during WWII landed him in Morehouse College at the age of 15. I won't give you the run down of the rest of MLK's schooling, but you should know that between the ages of 19 and 26 (years 1945 - 55) he received two bachelor's degrees, one in sociology and one in divinity, and a doctorate of philosophy in systematic theology.
If MLK's areas of study tell us anything, it's that humans intrigued him-- their behavior (sociology) and interaction with God (divinity). His thirst for knowledge about both topics came to a head with his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. He offered answers as to why so many humans condone racism (sociology) and what God has to say about it (divinity). And to complement both areas perfectly was King's philosophical anchor, Gandhi, and his ideas of nonviolent resistance.
There's no telling exactly all the information MLK learned over the course of his short life. Our only sources for what we know today are his speeches, writings, and accounts of his contemporaries. But Dr. King didn't grow up learning just sermon writing and history. Along the way he learned how to tie his shoes, how to do long divison, how to politely introduce himself, and how to find a seat at the back of the bus. Just like you and I, he also picked up patterns and symbols that socialized him into a "normal" American, as normal as you can call MLK.
What does this have to do with you? You're a learner just as Martin Luther King was. He determined what kind of learner he would be, and you and I have the same choice. Without the pursuit of more knowledge our worldview and understanding will never grow and our ability to spark change will be stunted as a result. That doesn't mean listening to the evening news every night this week will bring world peace, but it's a good beginning to pursuing life just as MLK did.
Martin Luther King was a student of life. He studied it, lived it, pursued it. His formal education began in the public schools of Atlanta and turned into a series of lily pad jumps to college where he absorbed the philosophies of Gandhi, studied theology, grew in his faith, and began to feel a burden for social justice.
Outside the walls of institutions MLK learned the patterns of American life on the black side of the fence. He also learned to question-- to question those patterns, why they exist, and what forces could break those patters. Learning propelled MLK from a position of waiting for change to happen to a position of making change happen.
After spending the first few years of his life in four different schools, including two different high schools, outstanding college entrance scores and a government program to fill America's universities during WWII landed him in Morehouse College at the age of 15. I won't give you the run down of the rest of MLK's schooling, but you should know that between the ages of 19 and 26 (years 1945 - 55) he received two bachelor's degrees, one in sociology and one in divinity, and a doctorate of philosophy in systematic theology.
If MLK's areas of study tell us anything, it's that humans intrigued him-- their behavior (sociology) and interaction with God (divinity). His thirst for knowledge about both topics came to a head with his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. He offered answers as to why so many humans condone racism (sociology) and what God has to say about it (divinity). And to complement both areas perfectly was King's philosophical anchor, Gandhi, and his ideas of nonviolent resistance.
There's no telling exactly all the information MLK learned over the course of his short life. Our only sources for what we know today are his speeches, writings, and accounts of his contemporaries. But Dr. King didn't grow up learning just sermon writing and history. Along the way he learned how to tie his shoes, how to do long divison, how to politely introduce himself, and how to find a seat at the back of the bus. Just like you and I, he also picked up patterns and symbols that socialized him into a "normal" American, as normal as you can call MLK.
What does this have to do with you? You're a learner just as Martin Luther King was. He determined what kind of learner he would be, and you and I have the same choice. Without the pursuit of more knowledge our worldview and understanding will never grow and our ability to spark change will be stunted as a result. That doesn't mean listening to the evening news every night this week will bring world peace, but it's a good beginning to pursuing life just as MLK did.
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| Dr. King based his movement of nonviolence on the teachings of Gandhi, pictured on the wall. |
Information source: Lousiana State University, "Martin Luther King. Jr.: A biographical sketch"
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