In the midst of these times of violence, I began to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the apostle of nonviolence. I began to remember his wisdom, values, courage, spirituality and what a giant of a human being he was. I imagined what he would be doing if he lived now. How would he be dealing with the Trump administration and Charlie Kirk being killed?
Dr. King knew about the centuries of violence that had been inflicted on his people and the violence that was happening to them during his life. He understood the suffering of slavery and the racism that came in the years after the Civil War. He was very familiar with the horror his people had suffered as they were ripped from their families and homelands in Africa. He knew of the centuries of beatings, rapes, floggings, lynchings, murders, mutilations, massacres, insults and the constant psychological humiliation. He was acutely aware of how hatred of Black people resulted in this type of terrorism.
Yet, somehow, King managed to escape being trapped by that toxic hatred in which he was immersed. The logical choice for him would have been to choose a path that would have promoted revenge, violence and hatred. Miraculously, he found a path that was committed to nonviolence and love of one’s enemy. Thankfully, he dedicated his life to living and teaching that path. Remarkably, he not only lived it but also inspired tens of thousands of his followers to do the same. He embodied the light that said we are going to be nonviolent and love you despite the terrible ways you treat us.
If King lived now, he would be familiar with Charlie Kirk’s insults about him, such as when Kirk called him “awful” and “not a good person.” When Kirk said that Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and several other prominent Black women were successful due to affirmative action and didn’t have the “brain processing power to otherwise be taken seriously,” King knew that racists had been insulting Black people’s intelligence since the first slave boats arrived on this continent. He would have been familiar with Kirk’s racism when he said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been an anti-white weapon. Of course, King would have recognized the racism in Trump’s attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and his attempts to erase Black history.
In spite of these attacks and insults, if King were living now, he would have included Kirk and Trump in those people he loved and would have encouraged others to do the same. He would never have insulted Kirk back or had any thought of doing him bodily harm. He would never have wanted others to harm Kirk. He would have been sad that Tyler Robinson succumbed to the urge to take Kirk’s life.
What we can be sure of is that in the same manner that he lived decades ago, Dr. King would be confronting the racism and prejudice put forth by this administration and Kirk with an eloquent, courageous, nonviolent, loving resolve that would put his life on the line. For the people who would be following him in this endeavor, he would call them back from anything that hinted of being glad for Kirk’s death or of their taking any action similar to Robinson.
We have been blessed to have had such a light. As we continue to live in the midst of violence and threats of violence, let us remember this giant, reflect on what he lived and taught and let his example and teachings guide us as we go forward in these extremely difficult times.
Gray Fitzgerald lives in Concord and is the author of “Capitalism Converts Christianity.”