Today marks the 54th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the picture below, King’s loving wife, Coretta, and their four little children view his mortal remains for the last time.
Now, if you grew up the way that I did, there’s a substantial likelihood that your church home was filled with fans that depicted either King—or some Renaissance version of a blonde hair, blue eyed Jesus Christ.
While we can discuss the dialectical mendacity of Christ being depicted as a white male some other day, today’s Hobbservation will focus on the truthful comparisons of Christ’s Earthly mission—and death—to King’s Earthly mission and death!
From my vantage point, both Christ and King were revolutionary men who were killed far too early in their Earthly lives; Christ at 33— and King at 39.
Both men notably spoke out against spiritual wickedness in high places, as Christ blasted a Roman government that oppressed Jews in Judea, while King blasted local, state, and federal governments that established (or did little to dismantle) Jim Crow laws that plagued Blacks from the end of Reconstruction in 1877, all the way to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Fair Housing Act (1968).
Tragically, both Christ and King ultimately were killed because of their unyielding passion for justice! According to the New Testament Gospels, Christ, refusing to dial back his claims of being the anointed messiah, was seized by the Sanhedrin and handed over to Roman governor Pontius Pilate to be executed for fomenting insurrection against Tiberius Caesar (since Rome had no interest in the religious blasphemy charge that irked the Judean religious elders).
King, falsely branded a communist, an anarchist, and a homosexual attracted (Bayard Rustin), orgy loving degenerate by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, was harrassed, beaten, and jailed by state and federal government actors for over a decade—but remained alive until he refused to dial back his harsh criticism of the Vietnam War—and just happened to be killed…”allegedly“…by James Earl Ray 54 years ago!
33 years for Christ…
39 years for King…
Their lives were short, but in those short spans, they inspired revolutionary changes through their passionate living—and brutal public executions!
Christ’s death and resurrection has given His followers hope for everlasting life for over two millennia, while the jury is still out as to what lasting impact King’s death will have on a nation in which there has been progress in some areas with regards to race relations, but the notion of “liberty and justice for ALL” still remains an elusive goal as modern day racists often invoke King’s name—and steal his words—to justify their wicked legislative efforts to establish the second coming of Jim Crow.
Lest we forget…
Thank you and please subscribe to the Hobbservation Point—have a wonderful week!
Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
"Real Politics in Real Time"
Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
