Dr. King Comes to Raleigh

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 15th, I attended an event hosted by the African American Cultural center at NC State University, entitled “When MLK and the KKK met in Raleigh”. Dr. Jason Miller was the speaker at this event, and he is a Professor of English at NC State University whose research interests include tracing Dr. Martin Luther King’s use of Langston Hughes’s poetry in his speeches and sermons from 1956-68. During this event, I learned many new things about the history of Raleigh, NC related to Dr. Martin Luther King and the KKK. I am glad that I attended this event because learning about history helps us educate the future so that the same mistakes aren’t made.

After years of learning about MLK and the Civil Rights Movement in school, it’s shocking that I never knew that Dr. King came to Raleigh, let alone that he spoke in Reynolds coliseum in 1966, a building on NCSU’s campus that I have been to many times. According to Dr. Miller, this event is not well-known because a KKK rally occurring on the same day, overshadowed his speech. I had no idea until attending this event that half of the nation’s KKK members lived in North Carolina in the mid 1900s. There was even a billboard, located near Smithfield, during the time of Dr. King's visit which read "You are in the heart of the Klan country, welcome to North Carolina, join the United Klan of America".

There were several things that stood out to me in Dr. Miller’s presentation about Dr. King and the KKK meeting in Raleigh, the first being the number of children in the pictures he was showing us of the KKK rally. It is sad to think that so many children grew up brainwashed by their parents, just as their parents were brainwashed by theirs before them, into believing that racism is not only okay but that it is right. Children are not born racist because racism isn’t an instinct that comes naturally to humans. Racism is taught by society and maintained by people who are blind to the truth. It’s sad how young minds with so much potential were shaped by values that are so far from humane.

Another thing that stood out to me about Dr. Miller’s presentation is the role of the Christian churches in Raleigh during the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King’s arrival to Raleigh. As a Christian, I would have hoped and expected that the churches would be welcoming environments of inclusion, love, and compassion. Instead, many pastors preached sermons that addressed the question of whether MLK was a Christian or Antichrist. It’s sad that people were warping the meaning of the bible and accusing MLK of being Antichrist when he advocated for love and equality just as Jesus does. I am disappointed that people who claim to be followers of Christ and leaders within the church would warp Christianity into a religion that is accepting of hate, therefore, grouping all Christians during that time as racist.

Finally, the last important thing that stood out to me in Dr. Miller’s presentation was the story of how people affiliated with the KKK during the rally were throwing rocks at MLK’s head. He showed us a picture of Dr. King crouching and covering his head with his hands as two African American men beside him brought up their hands to also protect Dr. King’s head, leaving their own heads exposed. Within his presentation, Dr. Miller stated that “love” is not a noun, but rather, it is a verb. Love is an action and that statement can be clearly seen in this example of the men guarding MLK at the expense of their own protection. These men were practicing love for the life of a man that stood for a worthy cause, love for a movement advocating for their children’s liberation, love for an idea that challenged hate, and love for a cause much greater than themselves. Love is the only response to hate that ever leads to a positive result, and I’m thankful to Dr. Miller for reminding me of that.

As a teacher, I hope that I can teach my students to practice this same kind of selfless and brave love in the face of hatred. It is important to teach our young people about history even if it is this ugly, that way, they will see how far we’ve come but also see the potential for further improvement.