The Honorable Martin Luther King Jr. and Chicago

In 1966 Martin Luther King Jr. moved his family in to a rotten apartment on Chicago’s West Side.  He moved in to protest the poor conditions of the public housing in that area and to end the rule of the slum lords.  During that time he led several peace marches through mostly White neighborhoods to call attention the disparity. I’m sad to say that a lot of those Whites did not exactly conduct themselves well. Mr. King was actually struck in the head by a brick that was thrown at him during one of the Marches. It has been reported that the marchers received worse treatment in Chicago than they had in the South.

Eventually Richard J. Daley and Dr. King reached an agreement ending the marches and promises were made to promote fair housing practices. Unfortunately the first Daley administration didn’t keep their promises and very little was ever done.

I’m quite proud to be a Chicagoan, but sometimes I have to shake my head at the history of this city. I think these days we consider ourselves to pretty cosmopolitan and liberal. Look at the rally for President Obama; I think we might have come quite a-ways in 45 years. But there are certainly sore spots in our past that have been slightly forgotten.

I am glad however that Dr. King’s message of peace has not been forgotten. If ever there was a man more deserving of a Peace Prize, it was Dr. King.  I would hope that his message of unity and peace will continue to flourish in these hard times and we never forget his legacy.

I often wonder what Dr. King would think of the present. I wonder if he’d simply be a man for the rights of the poor more than the rights of any one race over the other. I’d like to think that he’d be proud of the progress that has been made, but he’d recognize there was still a lot of work to be done.

I hope we can continue his work and remember that naked aggression has never solved anything. It has almost always made things more complicated or worse for all involved. Non-violent, passive resistance that appeals to the true generous nature of human kind is usually the only way to illicit lasting change.  Compromise is always a viable result in any disagreement and it shouldn’t be feared as an alternative to a long lasting fracas.

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day everybody. And Peace be with you.