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Green Names King "The Bravest Man
I Ever Knew."
MLK Day Celebrations
January 22, 2002
|
On Tuesday, January
22, the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine honored
the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King with a presentation by one of King's
colleagues from the civil rights era. Robert Green, Ph.D., worked with Dr. King as the education director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and currently works as a professor in the David Walker Institute in the MSU College of Human Medicine. |
Dr. Green shared the restraints that
Black people faced in society from personal experience. As a child, he would
travel with his father, a Pentecostal Minister, his mother, and others to
an annual Memphis convention. While traveling they would have no accessible
housing and were not permitted to eat in any area restaurants. If they ran
out of food, they would knock on the doors of restaurant kitchens, and ask
for help from the Black cooks. For sleeping arrangements, they would frequently
spend the night in a stranger's house. As Dr. Green put it, "the Black community
took in Black travelers."
Dr. Green noted Dr. King's greatest contribution was to help the Black community
overcome fear in addressing issues such as land theft and voting rights. Dr.
Green also believes that Dr. King "gave whites of good will the courage to
speak out."
It was during his time with Dr. King that Dr. Green had some of his most life-changing
moments. Stopped at a traffic light near a southern gas station, he saw the
owner hold a gun next to Dr. King's head. "I love you brother" was all Dr.
King had to say, and the man put the gun down.
| Dr. Green also related the war in Afghanistan to King's teachings. "Dr. King preached against the war in Southeast Asia," said Dr. Green. "You can't kill terrorism with a bullet or rocket." Dr. Green believed that there is another way to counter terrorism attacks. "Are we doing everything we can do to address peace in the Middle East?" asked Dr. Green. He then went on to advocate a re-allocation of resources in America itself, noting "children in America go to bed hungry." |
|
Dr. Green noted that Dr. King always
refused protection, believing "when they find a way, they will get me." Dr.
Green still remains committed to the power of non-violence, and ended by
quoting King's assertion that everyone should "lead a good life, and do not
focus on death."
By David S. Warden