My April Muse is MLK
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A muse is a person or personified force who is a source of inspiration or creativity. Used as a verb, to muse someone or something is to consider them thoughtfully. This week with all that is going on logically, nationally, and even internationally, I am musing on the work and words of Dr. Martin Luther King.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King is my April Muse. No, it's not January, the month of his birth, nor is it February, the month set aside to focus on Black history. April 4th was the 54th anniversary of his assassination; however, April is also the month in which Dr. King wrote and spoke powerful words that we should consider even in April 2022.
Whether he said it in 1957 or 1967, much of what he said can still be applied to today's struggles and successes. And for those of us who are following today's headlines, King's words may offer some comfort in knowing we have been here before. For others, his words might bring up some frustration because we are still struggling with the same or similar issues. At any rate, King's words are prophetic, profound, and patriotic at times and may lay a pathway for dealing with some of the things we are seeing today.
The Letter from a Birmingham Jail, dated April 16th, 1963, is chocked full of scripture, wisdom, and condemnation of clergy and those who idly sat by and watched as others were treated unjustly. We can apply the tenets of this letter to several headlines and situations happening today. From the war in Ukraine to the fight against no-knock warrants and the killing of unarmed Black people to the crises at our Southern borders, Dr. King's words in this letter ring true.
Dr. King said:
"I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. ... We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal."
Dr. King, who was arrested on April 12th, wrote the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in response to some criticism after a nonviolent protest in Alabama in 1963. Early in the letter, he informs his critics about the steps they took to reach the point of protest. He said, " In any nonviolent campaign, there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. We have gone through all of these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying of the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community." Perhaps these steps should be the process we muse as we face difficult situations in Grand Rapids as we do not want to act irresponsibly. Police released King after he made bail on April 20th, 1963. I consider "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," which King wrote in the margins of the Birmingham News newspaper, somewhat of a continuation of Paul's letter to Timothy. Or maybe it is a modern-day version of Paul's letter. Like Paul, King addresses church leaders and advises them on leadership in an unjust world. I'm no preacher, so I'm not going to go any further; however, I want to suggest that we all look a little closer at the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" as we consider our stance on social justice and humanitarian issues today.
I will end this commentary similar to the King's closing salutation in the letter, only he used brotherhood, and I will use humanity.
Yours for the Cause of Peace and Humanity,
Sophia
Sophia Brewer (M.L.I.S.) is Collection Development and Serials Librarian, Grand Rapids Community College; Co-President of the Greater Grand Rapids History Council; member of the Grand Rapids Study Club and serves on the Grand Rapids Public Library, Board of Library Commissioners (Elected 2016-2021). She is a former Head of Programs, Grand Rapids Public Library and former Branch Manager, Madison Square Branch, Grand Rapids Public Library Congresswoman
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