Every year, on the third Monday of January, the United States celebrates the memory and the legacy of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) with a federal holiday that is observed by educational institutions, including those affiliated or related to IAMSCU.
(Photo: US Library of Congress)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and Civil Rights leader in the United States of America who gained prominence worldwide for his defense of freedom, promotion of peace and non-violence, and leadership of a social movement that sought to guarantee basic rights such as freedom, political participation, voting, equality, and many other rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States but disrespected in many parts of the country during the 1950s. Based on his leadership and partnership with many others, anti-racist and anti-discrimination measures were implemented in legal terms, and various social programs were created in an attempt to begin a process of compensation for the centuries of oppression of the African American community and other minoritized groups in the United States.
(Photo: Rev. Lawson [left], Rev. Luther King [center], Rev. Ralph Jackson [right] in Memphis, March 1968
University of Memphis, Digital Collection)
In his efforts to lead a non-violent movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was inspired by Mahatma Ghandi as well as by The Rev. James Lawson (1928-2024), a Methodist minister who had served as missionary in India, learned the method based on the ahimsa principle, and then applied it upon his return to the United States. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts to combat racial inequality. He also championed many other social causes and opposed the violence of the Vietnam War. In March 1968, he joined Rev. Lawson (United Methodist Church) and The Rev. Ralph Jackson, a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) to lend his support to the strike of African American sanitation workers in Memphis, TN. While in Memphis, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, but the echoes of his voice continue to be heard across the globe, with generations of students being inspired by his example. On this special day, IAMSCU joins the individuals and institutions in the United States of America and around the world who take a moment to remember The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commit themselves to the continuation of the work he championed, which is needed more than ever!