Martin Luther King

As befits a Baptist minister, Martin Luther King has often taken as his text the words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." But in the minds of Dr. King and the Southern Negro these words have become more than ethical commands; they are the core of a philosophy of nonviolent protest which has enabled the Negro to fight for dignity and the rights of first-class citizenship with a creative power and grace.

The philosophy of nonviolent, direct action has acted as a catalyst in stimulating the internal changes that are slowly occurring in the minds of the white Southerner. The philosophy contains a "strange love" which, as Lillian Smith has said, "reminds us that we must find a new way of relating ourselves not only to each other but to reality itself, to the times we live in, to ultimate concerns." Throughout his young life, Martin Luther King has sought to change the Old South with this "strange love," to bring about the day when men of his race can speak truly of freedom, justice, and racial equality.

Dr. King first gained national fame as one of the leaders in the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1956. The Montgomery protest was significant in that it was one of the first demonstrations of Negro solidarity in the desegregation fight, and the then 27-year-old Martin Luther King became its symbol. As the movement's spokesman and philosopher, King brought to it the qualities which he himself embodied--the nonviolence of Gandhi, the compassion of Jesus, the courage of Socrates.

More than any other Negro leader, King has sought to remind those in the movement against discrimination and segregation that they must always fight with just means, that they must never let their discontent turn into hatred. "Hate is always tragic," says King. "It distorts the personality and scars the soul. The way of non-violence is vital because it is the only way to reestablish the broken community This is the beauty of nonviolence. It says you can struggle without hating; you can wage war without violence."

The most important factor in the changing of the South, King believes, is the change in the Negro himself. "Something happened to the Negro," says King. "He has come to feel that he is somebody and with this new sense of 'somebodiness' and self-respect, a new Negro has emerged with a new determination to achieve freedom and human dignity whatever the cost may be."

He believes, however, that an "expanded Federal program of vigorous law enforcement is also indispensable." King applauds the Justice Department's forth-right action in insuring Negro voter registration, but he thinks that the Civil Rights Bill of 1960, which provides for court-appointed referees in communities where Negroes are denied the right to vote, should be utilized and implemented more extensively.

Martin Luther King knows that in the struggle for justice and human dignity in the South he and his people will commit mistakes and may suffer reversals. But these will not cause them to faint, for, as he says, "Freedom is like life. It can not be had in installments. We have it all, or we are not free."