I did not grow up celebrating Martin Luther King Day. If memory serves me right, I experienced him as a man largely ignored, or smeared. So I had a good deal of catching up to do.

A lot of reading later, I have arrived at a rather different mindset. Last year I got a hold of a compilation of his speeches. It is quite a tome, but so worth the read. In all my wanderings through fogs of false spirituality I continue to find myself bumping up against things that feel solid. King’s words are like that. Deep down to your bones kind of goodness. It is rare to find people so full of love for God and humanity–full enough to risk and pay the ultimate sacrifice even.

In “The Ethical Demands for Integration,” which he presented at a church conference on December 27, 1962 in Nashville, TN, he argued for the necessity of both desegregation and integration. He described desegregation as the easier and integration the harder. Desegregation is enforceable by the state. Integration is only possible through appealing to a higher law of love, written on the heart. He said:

“Despite the tremendous difficulties that integration poses, nonetheless, work toward its implementation is not to be abandoned for the sake of approximating the more accessible goal of desegregation. Further a word of caution might be said to those who would argue that desegregation should be abandoned and all of our energies invested in the integration process. It is not an “either-or,” it is a “both-and,” undertaking. Desegregation is the necessary step in the right direction if we are to achieve integration. Desegregation will not change attitudes but it will provide the contact and confrontation necessary by which integration is made possible and attainable.”

I feel incredibly indebted to Martin Luther King, and others like him in the Civil Rights Movement and beyond who have helped our world change for the better. I am grateful for the opportunities my children have today that didn’t exist eighty years ago. The desegregation that he helped accomplish through his leadership makes possible the integration that we and our children are able to experience today. But integration is hard work. King says, “…the contact and confrontation necessary by which integration is made possible and attainable.” There is more work to do, for sure. The “both-and” still rings true to me. Structural realities need to be changed as well as individual inner dispositions. While the work is far from over, I am grateful things are not as they were when my grandparents and parents were children.

This is not an instructional post about how you should celebrate Martin Luther King Day. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to do it. After all, I’m just a white lady. But it is one of the holidays we celebrate in the bleak midwinter, so in keeping with this series of blogs, I’ll share what we’re doing with our kids to cultivate their knowledge and appreciation for this great man.

● Finding some community celebration to participate in. This year, due to Omicron, we’re opting for virtual:

2022 Virtual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Celebration: Joy as an Act of Resistance, by the STL Art Museum

My Daddy Martin Luther King, by his son, Martin Luther King III

● We fix some of his favorite foods–fried chicken, sweet potatoes, and greens.