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Day 2: Sunday, June 14 (by Allan Mathew)
June 14th, 2015
We started our journey today in South Carolina and made our way down to Atlanta to visit Martin Luther King Jr.’s home, church, and tomb. When I entered the sanctuary where Martin Luther King Sr. & Jr. addressed the congregation, I saw the foundation of civil rights movement: the church. King’s faith was his bedrock, it is what gave him strength, and it is why he succeeded. We overlook his faith commitment because it is easier to see his activism and his passion for social reform. Without his faith, King would not have been King. Without his faith, King’s movement would not have had the faith needed to persevere.
As I sat in the Ebenezer Baptist Church sanctuary, an historic landmark, King’s voice was present through a recording echoing throughout the great hall. “I want to give a voice to the voiceless” rang out and reverberated in my head. His words grabbed my attention and never let go. The weight of his words, the presence he commanded, and the passion heard through his voice is what made him the vibrant and charismatic leader of the civil rights. Whether on that pulpit or in Washington D.C., his faith guided his footsteps and a nation hung on his every word. He was a leader but more importantly he was a man of God. He is a true servant leader who believed in reconciliation.
Ms. Juanita Abernathy, who is the last surviving civil rights leader from the beginning, a dear friend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, and a zealous pioneer later spoke to our group. There is a lot I could say about Ms. Abernathy, but I believe I could not do her words justice. While Ms. Abernathy was pregnant, her home was bombed, and this story left a significant impact on me. She shared that, once she gave birth, her daughter shook for six months, a side effect of the trauma no doubt caused by the bombing incident. These pioneers of the movement risked their lives for the right to vote, to sit in whatever seat they wanted, and to be served just like the white folk. I am just blessed to have this opportunity to listen, hear, and learn from these pioneers.
I asked Ms. Abernathy about her relationship with Dr. King, and she said, “He was a dear friend, and I called him Martin.” There are not too many people left in this world who can speak so fondly of Dr. King in such a personal way, but I hope we can continue to carry on King’s legacy of nonviolence, faith, and love.
