Splendid story of an enlightened life
Posted by Gandhi Serve Foundation on April 27, 2009 at 11:31am in Mahatma Gandhi News Digest
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Splendid story of an enlightened life
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/04/27145633/Splendid-story-of-an-en...
Sakaal Times - Pune, India
By Camil Parkhe
Two months ago, Martin Luther King III, the eldest child of Rev Martin Luther King Junior, led a delegation that toured India to mark the golden jubilee of his Nobel laureate father’s visit to India. King (Jr), who led an intensified struggle against segregation of the Blacks in the USA, visited India along with his wife Coretta at the invitation of prime minister Jawahralal Nehru in 1959. The life and contribution of King (Jr) has been described in a recent biography penned by Roger Bruns.
The book informs how the practice of segregation of the Blacks in schools, buses, theatres, hotels and parks continued in the USA right up to the late 1960s when that country was trying to reach the moon.
The biographer has narrated how King (Jr), a Baptist minister, was accidentally drawn into the anti-racism movement after a Black woman Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a city bus so that a White passenger is saved from the insult of sitting with a Black American in the same row. King Junior’s call to his fellow community members to boycott the city buses in Montgomery proved most successful. The boycott was called off after 381 days when the US Supreme Court ruled segregation in the city buses as unlawful.
The book provides insight into the personal and social life of King (Jr), and the struggle of the Black Americans. The book will be especially inspirational for those people who are associated with the movement for the rights of marginalised and oppressed sections of society.
King (Jr), as Baptist minister, was influenced by Jesus Christ’s teaching of love even for the oppressor; he thus adopted non-violence as the means to seek an end to racism. The book has a sub-chapter on Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence. It mentions that when King (Jr) was assassinated, a torn and fading piece of paper was found in his wallet. It had a handwritten quote of the Mahatma: “In the midst of death, life persists..”
The Indian readers would have however appreciated if the book had more references on how Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence and satyagraha boosted King’s morale to keep the struggle peaceful. Otherwise, it is a valuable collection.
Posted by Gandhi Serve Foundation on April 27, 2009 at 11:31am in Mahatma Gandhi News Digest
Back to Mahatma Gandhi News Digest Discussions
Splendid story of an enlightened life
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/04/27145633/Splendid-story-of-an-en...
Sakaal Times - Pune, India
By Camil Parkhe
Two months ago, Martin Luther King III, the eldest child of Rev Martin Luther King Junior, led a delegation that toured India to mark the golden jubilee of his Nobel laureate father’s visit to India. King (Jr), who led an intensified struggle against segregation of the Blacks in the USA, visited India along with his wife Coretta at the invitation of prime minister Jawahralal Nehru in 1959. The life and contribution of King (Jr) has been described in a recent biography penned by Roger Bruns.
The book informs how the practice of segregation of the Blacks in schools, buses, theatres, hotels and parks continued in the USA right up to the late 1960s when that country was trying to reach the moon.
The biographer has narrated how King (Jr), a Baptist minister, was accidentally drawn into the anti-racism movement after a Black woman Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a city bus so that a White passenger is saved from the insult of sitting with a Black American in the same row. King Junior’s call to his fellow community members to boycott the city buses in Montgomery proved most successful. The boycott was called off after 381 days when the US Supreme Court ruled segregation in the city buses as unlawful.
The book provides insight into the personal and social life of King (Jr), and the struggle of the Black Americans. The book will be especially inspirational for those people who are associated with the movement for the rights of marginalised and oppressed sections of society.
King (Jr), as Baptist minister, was influenced by Jesus Christ’s teaching of love even for the oppressor; he thus adopted non-violence as the means to seek an end to racism. The book has a sub-chapter on Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence. It mentions that when King (Jr) was assassinated, a torn and fading piece of paper was found in his wallet. It had a handwritten quote of the Mahatma: “In the midst of death, life persists..”
The Indian readers would have however appreciated if the book had more references on how Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence and satyagraha boosted King’s morale to keep the struggle peaceful. Otherwise, it is a valuable collection.
