Human Relations Day

HUMAN RELATIONS DAY

In our church, the Sunday closest to the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15) is celebrated as "Human Relations Day." It is supposed to be a time when we reflect upon the idea that since we are all creatures of God, created by the One God, we should be able to get along. Because of the close association with Dr. King's birthday, it also has become a time when we in the USA reflect upon the whole movement of the 1960's called "The Civil Rights Movement."

Dr. King was one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. He was certainly not the first leader of the movement, nor, in his time was he the only one. If truth were known, up to the summer of 1963 he was not necessarily the best known (plenty of others were competing for the same title). But he became the one most remembered largely on the basis of what he did here, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, on August 23, 1963 (IMHO).

On that day there was a giant "March on Washington" which culminated with a mass meeting at the Lincoln Memorial. ( No, I was not there. For one thing, "marches" were never "my thing" [sorry, that's a '60's expression]. For another, I was at a Circle K Convention in Norfolk Virginia at the same time the march was occurring). Dr. King, along with many other Civil Rights Leaders had helped organize the march ( a huge undertaking in and of itself). The highlight of the march, was Dr. King's delivery of a speech, he entitled "I Have a Dream." This speech has been called a "perfect example of inspiring and uplifting."

Now, I don't know about it being "perfect." It was a good one, for sure, and it has been remembered, for sure. But a "perfect example" or again, as it often proclaimed "one of the greatest?" After all, as even its admirers admit, King was using a oratorical style that has a long and rich history. So, let's wait another 50 years and we'll see (MHO).

So why all the acclaim for the speech? I suspect at least part of the reason the speech won such acclaim at the time was the fact that the media folks covering the event had probably not covered many speeches given by a speaker out of the African-American church pulpit. It was, after all, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And he was first and foremost, a minister in the National Baptist Convention. As such, his oratorical style was very different from the "standard stump speech" that is the staple of those who inhabit American Political Life. And it was his difference in style that made him stand out. The different and the usual is normally reported on more completely and profusely.


So, those gathering before the Reflecting Pool on that day were hearing not an orator out of the American Political Tradition, rather they were hearing an orator out of the African American Church. And that made a whole lot of difference in the way the speech was delivered, and received.

Think about that as we watch the 2008 election unfold.