I had read both “Statement to Alabama Clergymen” and King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” prior to this class. I did not, however, read the letters with the same close lens or with the context of Mathers’ or Cone’s writing. I was entirely unfamiliar with Cone’s work before this week. In reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail” again, I was struck by Martin Luther King Jr.’s rebelliousness. We are all taught in school that Dr. King was a peaceful figure, which he was, but we are taught that less violent, less shocking action- the action we are taught Dr. King partook in- is the only way to bring about change in a productive and respectable way. But, in re reading this letter I noticed that a large reason for the efficacy of Dr. King’s protests were their shock value. Firstly, many of the marches we were taught about were not as “peaceful” as our teachers made them out to be. Secondly, by circumventing the law and negotiation with the law, Dr. King was essentially displacing the whole legal system. This was an act of rebellion, not peace.

Also after looking at the picture of Dr. King looking “stylish” as Professor Davenport described, I wanted to include images that break our traditional view of MLK.

This image is from the Martin Luther King Center. We see him here in the same “stylish” outfit. This image is in color. Oftentimes black and white photographs are used as a tool to age events and people. That is most certainly the case for MLK jr. He is the age of many of our grandparents. It always used to shock me when my first grade teacher would say he was alive during the same time as Dr. King.

This image is from the Smithsonian Magazine. This image is from 1954 when King was arrested for “loitering”. King looks young and fearful in this image. His blazer is askew, and it is clear he is being arrested in somewhat of a violent manner.

This is an image of Dr. King being shoved by a Mississippi Patrolman during the 220 mile “March Against Fear” in 1966. This was a non-violent march.

This image is from NBC. It was taken in 1965 while King was on the phone with his aides.

King waving to the crowd at the Chicago Freedom Movement rally at Soldier Field in 1966 (left). Crowd at Soldier Field (right).

Why did it take searching and searching to find these images? Why are they in op-eds and journal articles and not in our textbooks?

#relg102