Special Post to Celebrate MLK Day
Special Post to Celebrate MLK Day
Here are resources and readings for this important national holiday.
Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King came to Mankato to deliver a speech on 11.12.1961. My mother would have just turned 12 years old. In trying to imagine my mom at that age and what she would have been doing and if her paths would have crossed with Dr. King when he came into town, I came up with the following story.
The farm where my mom grew up is north of North Mankato. In those days you could find it by turning down Rural Route 2 at Loe’s Truck Stop. That road passed her Grandparent’s farm and a little further down at a crook in the road and a crook in the ravine, you got to hers. At twelve she got her first job at that truck stop, waiting tables. She could walk to work, down the gravel road, and worked there for a couple weeks until her Aunt Bridel found out that she wasn’t 16 as she had assumed, “You are only 12!” Mom always laughed when she told how Bridel fired her when she realized how old she was. I only know Bridel by her reputation as sharp tongued, domineering, and combative. This isn’t what people would have actually said, they would have more likely used the word “battle-ax,” a slightly offensive descriptor said in a joking way that those previous words I used are the definition of. Until now, I have never stopped to wonder about my mom’s relationship with these outspoken women of the family. How much did their fierceness inform my mother and even help her find her way? In any case, this is how I know this story, and if I got any part of it wrong or left anything out I hope my knowledgeable readers will fill me in. Also, let me know what you know about MLK’s visit and how it overlapped with your life.
Ever since I heard that MLK had visited Mankato, I have had much curiosity about the visit. I had known about the following documentary for a while now, but it wasn’t available the last time I googled. I watched for the first time after finding it on YouTube yesterday. Linked below with a panel discussion following. You can celebrate this holiday by watching like I did.
The title of the documentary is the date of Dr. Rev. King’s visit to Mankato, and the documentary begins with the timeline of his early life. I was struck by the video’s intro to MLK is so like I would describe my mom’s early lifes: Charismatic fathers who pushed them. Experiences in education which had them motivated and performing beyond their peers. Skipping ahead grades so that they graduated at younger ages then their peers. Becoming leaders of movements based on their life experiences.
The documentary goes on from early life to depict the series of letter invitations to speak from The Wesley Foundation at MSU and Centenary United Methodist Church that finally led up to his speaking engagement on 11.12.1961. It includes commentary from people who saw the event that day. Who of my mom’s circle could have helped fill that standing-room-only auditorium of Mankato West High School? What would the ripple effect be from all being together in that space and time and hearing those words from that man?
I think it is important to note the trajectory of his life here. He was not a well known civil rights leader yet. The organizers had seen him speak at a conference in Miami and knew him as a great orator and therefore asked him to come. The church was interested in helping the the Civil Rights Movement and had wanted to hear what he had to say and people in the, relative to now, much smaller and less diverse town of Mankato, made their way out to listen.
It was noted in the film that the only reason they have the original sound and transcript of the speech and any photographs was because KMSU Radio Station of Minnesota State University had kept copies in their archives. I will say it again, local reporting is so important. It is notable that there is no more documentation of the event other than that and a couple blurbs in the paper. This was discussed in the panel discussion at the end of the YouTube above. Most likely there was community backlash to the event, but there is no documentation of it that the historians could find. That is emblematic of how I know Minnesotan communities deal with uncomfortable history.
Another thing of note from the panel discussion, this event was early on in Dr. Martin Luther King’s career and his beliefs and tactics changed over time. As did the public perception of him, leading up to his assassination. His experiences had led him to stronger beliefs and displays of belief. Since his killing, in another act of expunging things that are uncomfortable, people have focussed more on his earlier approach, then the later years where he had become more forceful and the subject of much harassment. During his final years, there was a deliberate attempt by the American government to stifle and intimidate him.
I have been particularly interested in his relationship to and influence on other religious leaders of the time and so in the research leading up to this writing today, I read the papers linked below. He worked hand in hand with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a great philosopher who has influenced the way my family unit has observed the Jewish practice of shabbat. And his short friendship with Thich Nhat Hanh greatly influenced both of them. All these religious leaders grappled with the violence and hatred that they encountered and were tireless in their efforts to work against it. As Thich Nhat Hanh responded in a letter to Dr. King’s assassination,
“I did not sleep last night. . . . They killed Martin Luther King. They killed us. I am afraid the root of violence is so deep in the heart and mind and manner of this society. They killed him. They killed my hope. I do not know what to say. . . . He made so great an impression [on] me. This morning I have the impression that I cannot bear the loss.”
Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. needed for Northerners to listen so that legislative action could happen and no doubt his words in Mankato inspired that progress. Yet there is a next step to take that deals with the more insidious aspects of racism. This documentary is a part of that, keeping us awake and active in our response to the inequities in our society. Our next step is the willingness to take responsibility for what is uncomfortable, face the things that have happened while we looked away, and keep on marching, showing up and taking care of ourselves so we can show up again. As the Reverend Martin Luther King pointed out in his speech that day, we live in an interconnected world, white supremacy is dangerous, we need to be creative in our ways of confronting that system, and we definitely need to keep talking about it. It holds true today. His words will continue to ripple ever outward.
Quote from the MLK memorial in Atlanta:
The Beloved Community is a realistic vision of an achievable society, one in which problems and conflict exist, but are resolved peacefully and without bitterness. In the Beloved Community, caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger and all forms of bigotry and violence. The Beloved Community is a state of heart and mind, a spirit of hope and goodwill that transcends all boundaries and barriers and embraces all creation. At its core, the Beloved Community is an engine of reconciliation. This way of living seems a long way from the kind of world we have now, but I do believe it is a goal that can be accomplished through courage and determination, and through education and training, if enough people are willing to make the necessary commitment.
Much love, Tina
Resources for further study:
If you want to watch more of Dr. Reverend Marin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Minnesota here is a link to an episode of PBS’ Minnesota Experience including MLK’s speeches in St. Paul at the University of Minnesots in 1967 and an interview discussing the way toward a society that is good for all. https://www.tpt.org/minnesota-experience/video/martin-luther-king-in-minnesota-54jkuf/
This article describes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and King’s relationship and goes into Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr’s later life and actions. His experience of joining MLK in the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. And the concerns he had about King speaking out against the Vietnam War. In a speech for King’s Birthday, just 10 days before his assasination, Heschel described King as the “hope of America.” This includes reference to biblical symbolism and the passion that infused the movement. Heschel sites the story of Pharaoh and the tragedy that his heart could not be softened. Heschel maintained that that was the first conference on race, and it is still has going on (from a 1963 speech): https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/leadership/two-friends-two-prophets
Here is a speech of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in which he characterizes racism as an “eye disease” and begs us to be “prophets” of civil rights and throw off our neutrality. There is an end that we want and we know what it is. Josh’s dad was a Jew who admired Heschel and certainly heard this plea in 1963 and took action in his own life. I can get behind the way he talks of God in this speech. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1963-rabbi-abraham-joshua-heschel-religion-and-race/
Mankato FreePress article describing MLK’s visit to the city, were to find the transcripts, and quotes from residents who went to see him when he came. Also covered some of the moves made to commemorate MLK and his visit in the time since. https://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/local_news/civil-rights-leader-spoke-in-mankato-in-1961/article_23bc3c42-f7a7-11e7-a21e-8f25f869b8a1.amp.html
A link to a piece from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation and how a meeting with one person can change the trajectory of one’s whole life. They met for the first time in 1966. It was this meeting which inspired MLK to begin speaking out against the Vietnam War despite the trepidation about the difficulties it may make in the movement for civil rights. Almost a year later Thich Nhat Han and Dr Rev Martin Luther King met again. In the meantime King had recommended Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/blog/2017/8/9/when-giants-meet
This article covers the timeline of Thich Nhat Hanh and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s friendship and how TNH pledges to devote his life to building MLK’s Beloved Community. https://tricycle.org/article/martin-luther-king-thich-nhat-hanh/
Adding one more link. Heather Cox Richardson leads this post with what makes a hero and includes this portion of King’s “I’ve been to the mountaintop speech” from the night before he was killed. He knew he was in danger as he worked for a racially and economically just America. “I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter…because I’ve been to the mountaintop…. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life…. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”