I had the pleasure of being honored at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury as the new publisher and editor of the Bay State Banner, along with my co-owner and associate publisher André Stark, at the church’s annual Martin Luther King celebration. We were honored for our purchase of the Banner from its prior owner and founder Mel Miller as of March 1, 2023.
This particular event represented a new level of honor for me, as I stood in the pulpit before the same congregation Frederick Douglass spoke to more than 100 years ago and the same home church of Dr. King while he was attending graduate school at Boston University. That so many other famous civil rights leaders spoke there made me realize that the true monument to King’s legacy has to come from the acts of conscious activism in every community to fight the enduring discrimination in our society, the struggle that led an opponent of civil rights to take King’s life.
On Martin Luther King Day, we celebrate his life and his message, but the true monument to King should not just be the outdoor memorial in D.C., his bust in the great rotunda of the Capitol there, or the Embrace statue here on Boston Common, it must be the completion of the struggle he lived and died for. It is a struggle that must be fought daily by all of us who believe in justice for all. And it must be fought on all levels of our society to create true equality that provides the opportunity for prosperity for those who are willing to work hard for it.
As we look back on King’s legacy, it is easy to imagine him as the larger-than-life influence that he was on America and civil rights legislation. It is easy to forget that, though he was a great man who had a true faith in his God, he was after all still a man, a person like all of us who chose to believe, based on his faith, that he could make a difference for all people, not just in America, but around the world.
As we memorialize King, it is easy to forget that while he was here, his later years were marked by constant battles. Some considered him the most hated man in America, and many of the other Black leaders of the day criticized him and thought he went too far — was too radical. They said he needed to be more flexible, more understanding and show more patience, wait just a little longer. He responded to them and white fence-sitters with a book titled, “Why We Can’t Wait.”
Remember King was a warrior for justice and freedom for his flock — a warrior in a battle for the very heart and soul of his nation, this nation. Warriors don’t wait until it’s their turn for justice and freedom from oppression, they fight with all their might for it. They don’t wait or concede out of fear because they know their cause is just and true.
King withstood beatings, jail sentences, and attacks on his character and family. When the opponents to freedom and justice for all could not stop him, James Earl Ray took his life, an assassination that, as we know, only made his message stronger. Living with the faith in his God and a love for all people gave him an invincible strength that even his assassin could not stop.
There are many religions in America, but we can all appreciate the universal Christian value of having faith in your God and knowing that faith is so much stronger than fear. As Noelle Trent, president and CEO of the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill, reminded us at Twelfth Baptist’s celebration of King, “Just one tiny mustard seed worth of faith will provide you all the strength you need to overcome all obstacles.”
This year, it is not lost on me that the King holiday falls on the same day as a presidential inauguration. It is clear to me that the road ahead is going to be rocky, but it is also clear to me that Boston has been blessed to have had Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of other civil rights activists call our city home. They had their strength, vision and commitment to lives in the heart and soul of our city. The true strength of civil rights activism comes from our faith and love of community.
King’s relationship with Boston started when he came here to attend divinity school at Boston University. Here is also where he met his beloved Coretta, and their relationship flourished. It was here he tested his preaching skills at Twelfth Baptist Church.
Sitting on Boston Common is The Embrace, the latest national memorial to King, his wonderful wife Coretta and their love for each other and for humanity. Let that monument remind us that the embrace of our loved ones is truly powerful, an unrelenting feeling of love and support. I’m sure King, through his faith, felt the embrace that God gave him every day.
Keep the faith and take the actions necessary to make our community better, freer and more just for all, as King did.
Ronald Mitchell
Publisher and editor, Bay State Banner
