Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Message of Love
January 17, 2020
Over 56 years ago, more than 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to promote full political and economic liberty for African Americans. While the overall effectiveness of the march remains a subject of historical debate, there is little dispute as to its most remarkable element: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
As we observe the holiday in Dr. King’s honor on Monday, many of us will recall this brilliant speech, and with good reason. Beyond being a rhetorical masterpiece, the speech called upon the nation to live up to its promise of rights and respect for all its citizens. And we can surely find inspiration in its most quoted, most idealistic line: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” This is stirring stuff and a worthy aspiration for all who value human dignity.
“To appreciate fully Dr. King’s legacy, we should recognize not only his oratorical skill and attractive ideals, but also the foundation for all of his social and political advocacy: a belief in the transformative power of love.”
To appreciate fully Dr. King’s legacy, however, we should recognize not only his oratorical skill and attractive ideals, but also the foundation for all of his social and political advocacy: a belief in the transformative power of love. When we celebrate on Monday, perhaps we can recall that Dr. King’s answer to the great hatred and physical violence he encountered–ugliness which unapologetically refused to acknowledge the rights and threatened the lives of black Americans–was not demonization or dehumanization, but love. Dr. King’s love was not mere sentimentality or even personal affection, but an authentic and abiding emotional concern for all other people, regardless of their identity, for their own sakes. And it was this redemptive goodwill which Dr. King held as the key tool to realizing his vision of unity, fellowship, and justice. As he wrote in his essay, “An Experiment in Love”: “If I respond to hate with reciprocal hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavage in broken community. I can only close the gap in broken community by meeting hate with love.”
We honor Martin Luther King, Jr., in part, because he was unlike anyone else. He was a college graduate at 19, a pastor at 25, leader of the Montgomery bus boycott at 26, and a Nobel laureate at 35; indeed, his combination of intelligence, charisma, and courage may be without equal. But we also honor him for giving us an example we can emulate. To those of us called to build, heal, and strengthen community, Dr. King offers an example of love, one which transcends simple civility and recognizes that emotional interdependence is vital to collective flourishing.
Our present society appears increasingly fractured along political and cultural fault lines, and economic and technological forces seem intent on alienating so many of our fellow citizens from each other. Without a measure of love–even for those from whom we can expect no good in return–no mechanism, no policy, no structure is sufficient to turn global society, American democracy, or even the Browning School into a thriving, healthy community. This holiday, let’s honor Dr. King’s legacy by refusing to deny the humanity of others, no matter how much we disagree with them. When we choose to give everyone our understanding and goodwill–that is, when everyone warrants our love–we ennoble both our neighbors and ourselves, and we pursue community with both the courage and the compassion called for by the Browning mission.