Observing the King holiday: 21 years later

As America celebrates the 21st year of King Day in 2004, many lofty things come to mind. For example, we keep on learning that the vision of equality, peace and nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr. was so powerful that it has survived his death to transcend man-made boundaries of race, party affiliation and nationality. This is evidenced by the fact that numerous leaders all over the world use King's words and vision as a foundation for their own struggles. In America, his birth date -- Jan. 15 -- was made the 10th federal holiday on Nov. 2, 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, thereby placing him in the company of great leaders like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and a few others.\nThe president and Congress placed so much importance on the creation of the King holiday that the signing of the 1983 bill took place in an historic Rose Garden ceremony in the White House. For the occasion, 1967 Nobel Laureate George Wald was invited by the White House to speak, and his words evoked the hopes and aspirations of many Americans. Among other things, he said: "The time has come to recognize Martin Luther King as a precious figure in the American tradition. His meaning for us is unique. It comes, not trickling down from the heights, but rising up from the great yearnings of vast numbers of our people to fulfill the American promise, written in the second paragraph of our\nDeclaration of Independence, spoken in Lincoln's Gettysburg address, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty...That American promise, never fulfilled, needs constantly to be rediscovered and restated, and never more so than now. That is what Martin Luther King Day can do for us."\nAs America is marking the 21st year of the King holiday, our clarion call is that we should allow King's primary civil rights tool -- nonviolence -- to take grip of our conscience. Indeed, Coretta Scott King, his widow, gave us the blueprint for the celebration of the King Holiday each year when, in an Oct. 23, 1983 Washington Post-published essay, titled "How We Can Observe This Holiday," she told Americans and their friends: "For me, the over-riding importance of the holiday is that it can help America to focus on forging a new commitment to nonviolence. With few exceptions, the history book has gloried in the dubious achievement of the generals and warriors, who have supposedly 'solved' the great conflicts of American history ... The efficacy of the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence is the most important lesson we can draw from the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr."\nTherefore, as we observe the King holiday in 2004, let us be reminded of the importance of being committed to King's overall vision. In this way, we will do more than merely take the day to celebrate his birthday. It is also hoped that men and women of conscience would sit back and revisit all the lofty ideals and principles for which King lived and died in April 1968. Furthermore, it should as well be the time to doff our hats to IU and city officials (including members of the local King holiday Commission), who have worked indefatigably to ensure that there is a meaningful King holiday celebration in our own community.