The Layered Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Back in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday, he summed up the slain civil rights leader’s historical legacy by suggesting his efforts encapsulated Jesus’ declaration of the greatest commandment:

“Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37). 

America will pause on Monday to honor Dr. King, an individual portrayed as a galvanic minister best known for championing the equality of men and women regardless of their race.

Gunned down on a Memphis motel balcony in April 1968, King the man long ago became a monument, first metaphorically and then literally. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., also known as the “Stone of Hope,” was dedicated in 2011. That name is derived from his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech in August 1964.

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope,” declared Dr. King.

The despair, of course, was years of racial oppression. Yet, in the midst of that injustice, there was hope and expectation the tide would one day turn. We read in Isaiah: “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug” (51:1).

Dr. King was reminding those gathered that God is our rock, He is unchanging and can be trusted and counted on.

Earlier this summer, over 230,000 pages of previously classified material were released related to Dr. King’s tragic assassination. It came about after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that lifted the lid on not only the Dr. King files, but also investigative information related to President Kennedy’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s assassinations.

While no “smoking gun” material was revealed concerning MLK Jr., some of the content released added to the already known disappointing information regarding Dr. King’s personal life. Claiming suspicion that the civil rights leader was either a communist or communist sympathizer, the FBI began monitoring the minister in the 1950s. They ruled out any concerning ideological links to the Soviet Union, but salacious details of extramarital affairs were uncovered and have been widely reported in recent years.

This troubling picture leaves many Christians conflicted. Inspired and amazed by Dr. King’s resolve and courage to right racial wrongs, the sordid personal news saddens us. Without question, his public life and his personal life appeared to be in moral and biblical conflict.

One of the great challenges we face in life is evaluating historic individuals who are credited with doing great things. How do we teach our children about imperfect men and women? Information must be shared with children on an age-appropriate basis, but there remains tension when the public persona conflicts with the private details — some of which may or may not be completely accurate.

Christians can celebrate and lift up the principles Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. espoused regarding human dignity and race in his writing and messages. Yet, they can and must still understand that the sinfulness of fallen men and women leaves everyone short, and some more than others.

With Coretta King, Dr. King’s widow, by his side, President Reagan declared, “So each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the commandments he believed in and sought to live every day. 

He continued:

“And I just have to believe that all of us, if all of us, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, do all we can to live up to those commandments, then we will see the day when Dr. King’s dream comes true, and in his words, ‘All of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.””

Those ideals remain noble, timeless, and worthy of our reach.