(Dr) Rev Martin Luther King Jnr

[Sundae]

No idea what his offical title was, just tried to get it all in there!

Just watched (another) programme on his life.
Now I know a fair amount about him - he was part of "world powers in the 20th century" which I took at GSCE and A level. And I have read countless novels set in that period. Funnily enough, he was darker than I though from Maya Angelou's description.

It's just I've never really watched video of him before. And seeing his face made him so much more real to me. And the timeframe, which of course I've forgotten because I'm so lousy with numbers. So I know how old the 'rents were at the time. And what Nanny and Grandad were doing. And the fact Star Trek was first broadcast in this era?!

It blows my mind to know that a country with a Bill of Rights; a country that claims to be the home of the brave and the land of the free; a country that holds as self evident that ALL mean are created EQUAL would be treating people that way 60-odd years ago.

It upset me when I learned about it and it upsets me now.

This is NOT AN ANTI-AMERICAN post. Really. King was an American, and I can't think of a man more deserving of merit. Many, many people supported him. Rosa Parks is one of my heroines. I'll bet she was American to her core. Many whites supported the movement towards de-segregation.

My nation has plenty of blood on its hands in the 20th century. I doubt there are many countries that can look back on the 20th C without shame. I'm not having a dig.

I'm grateful I went to a liberal school though. When Joel made a racist comment in history class, we had two lessons on Amritsar. We were also subjected to a very gruesome documentary on the liberation of concentration camps. I wasn't the only one who left in tears.

So I'm not "blaming" Americans for segregation, or for the death of King. This post is just because what I saw hit me really hard. He was a man that comes once a generation. And what he did for his country is worth noting.