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Youngstown Vindicator

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

Friday, April 4, 2008

Most Americans can't remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They hadn't yet been born by April 4, 1968, the day an assassin's bullet snuffed out King's life on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn., motel.

But like any truly historic figure, King left a name and a legacy that is recognized today even by generations who succeeded him.

King was in Memphis the day he was killed to lend his support to striking black sanitation workers in the city. It was a reflection of what some King scholars say was a shift in his emphasis from the traditional civil rights struggles of the day toward a broader campaign for peace and the eradication of poverty regardless of race.

Contemplating what he might have accomplished had he been given more time boggles the mind. His time on the national and international stage was cut terribly short. It spanned a period of just 13 years, from his emergence as a leader during the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott of 1955 until his assassination.

There is little question that the tragedy of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination spurred some quick advances in civil rights that might not have come for decades. But what might King have accomplished if he had been given, at least, his biblical three score and 10?

cont'd...