Martin Luther King the learner

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.

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"

Martin Luther King the human

Before we begin the biographical series on MLK's life, I'd like to express a short disclaimer: we're on the outside looking in. What we know today is from books, articles, and photos: second-hand accounts. That said, only those closest to Dr. King know the real man and though you nor I will never know him like we know our own friends, we shan't tire to continue to understand and learn from one of the most influential voices of the 20th century.

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Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was anything, he was a human.

Before the speeches, marches, and protests, he lived in a world of what people then called "Negroes," a term alien to contemporary vocabulary. Born into lineages of pastors and share croppers, Martin (orginally named Michael) lived on the nicest "black" street in Atlanta, ate three healthy meals a day, and received an education in the public school system. His mother, a college graduate, washed his clothes and tucked him in at night. His dad taught him to open doors for ladies and how to say grace before dinner. From the outside looking in, his world was as perfect as it could be... but separate and unequal from the other half of American society.

Imagine two worlds separated by an invisible line, and when that line becomes unclear, tear gas and fire hoses attempt to re-align the status quo. Racism and prejudice laced MLK's childhood memories. As a young boy he lost a white friend to the racism of the friend's parents. On hot days he had to find a "colored" drinking fountain. As Martin grew up he began to tread the invisible line between the two worlds, and he wasn't going to let tear gas and fire hoses stop him.

Decades after his death, we see Dr. King as a statue of marble. Smooth, illustrious, and flawless in every way. His image today is the result of a common phenomenon of human psychology. After someone dies, we only regale the good deeds and shining moments because it's shameful to speak ill of someone who in life did so much good, as if we're going to reverse their actions with our whispers. As a result, with each passing generation the legacy of someone long since passed becomes more resilient and less... human.

And if MLK was anything, he was human.

Passion and faith lit is soul. Words blossomed from his mouth and and transplanted into the hearts of listeners. He felt fury for his friends lying soaking wet and bruised in the streets because someone thought water could rinse away the Civil Rights Movement. The reverand held tight to his children, praying that some day they could share a water fountain with their white friends. He didn't begin his life with perfection and he didn't end it with such, and that's not a bad thing. He cried tears of anguish, smiled at the thought of love, and clenched his fists in anger. Some days his suit pants were wrinkly and maybe he picked the pickles off his burgers.

As a member of a generation on the other end of MLK's dreams, what does all of this mean for you? It means that if you have wrinkly pants, if you don't like pickles, or if you think your ideas are impossible, you can remember that your role model started somewhere. He or she was a human first, will remain a complex and flawed being, but you will remember that person for the change in your life despite the humanity of your hero.

Information source: biography.com "Martin Luther King, Jr."

The doc, the rev, the rebel.

We often refer to him as "MLK," as if his real name and title are a mystery or, like Voldemort, must not be named. We use a shorter version of "the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." because frankly, that's a mouthful. His titles and suffix, however, represent the evolutions of his life that brought him to the front lines of the Civil Rights Movemement. He wasn't Sir Martin Luther King or Martin King, MBA. He preached to the people, earned a doctorate, and lived life with his father's name. A story lies within his name, and we're going to explore it in an expository series that will unfold between now and the MLK Day of Service on January 17, 2011.

If you have any tid bits about the life and times of the Reverand or would like to contribute, don't hesitate to send me a cyber letter.

Dr. and Mrs. (Coretta Scott) King eventually had four children.