The Continuing Relevance of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students in Rebecca Moore’s religion and American institutions class recite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the first day of class. One by one, they take turns reading — and hearing — the speech line by line.

“King gave that as a speech, as a public address, that was meant to be heard and not to be read,” she said. “The first half of the speech, which we never hear on TV, is a critique of American policies toward African Americans. The part that we usually hear is ‘I have a Dream,’ which is very optimistic, hopeful and upbeat, but that’s all preceded by a really prophetic critique of segregation and racism. Very few people, let alone students, hear the entire speech.”

It has been more than four decades since King wrote it, but the speech, along with the rest his vast collection of work, is still taught at San Diego State University. It’s not just the typical bullet on a history syllabus, but the catalyst for a variety of academic discussions across several disciplines.

At SDSU, King’s work is taught in the history, religious studies, Africana studies, sociology, political science, English and philosophy departments, just to name a few.

Foundation in learning

The versatility comes from King’s breadth of knowledge. He held a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University, a bachelor of divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary (he studied there and at the University of Pennsylvania simultaneously) and a bachelor of arts in sociology from Morehouse University.

“He was a minister, and ministers are, if nothing else, philosophers, orators and speechwriters,” said Phillip Gay, chair of SDSU’s sociology department who specializes in minority group relations. “Ministers have to have a good grasp of the language and they have to have a good grasp of philosophy and ideology, and of history, and Martin Luther King had all those things.”

This extensive and varied education is manifested in his writing. The resulting works — sermons, speeches, essays and books — written between the mid-1950s and his death in April 1968 — are rich in references to people and events from all corners of history.

Reaching the people

According to rhetoric and writing studies professor Paul Minifee, this use of diverse references underscores one of King’s great strengths as a writer and speaker: his ability to effectively communicate with people of all economic, religious and educational backgrounds.

Paul Minifee, Rhetoric and Writing Studies

For Minifee, using King’s work in his classroom is an obvious choice. King’s rhetorical texts present crises that audiences are moved to resolve. “I Have a Dream,” which Minifee will teach this spring, uses explicit rhetorical techniques that accomplish just that, making it a good text to demonstrate well executed rhetoric and the effects it can have.

“It’s a very inclusive speech. It makes references to literature, other speeches and to figures in history that everyone can identify with … It’s a speech that is helpful for students in understanding how to consider their audience when they are constructing their own arguments, so they show identification and that we all have something in common, some interest that would motivate us to act toward the same goal.”

Using Nonviolence

For King, that goal was racial integration and Southern compliance with desegregation laws already passed. An expert in philosophy, he took his well known strategy of nonviolent protest from Mahatma Gandhi, who used it in his struggle against poverty and discrimination in India.

“[King] was a Gandhian who believed in nonviolent direct action. He did not engage in civil disobedience,” said philosophy professor J. Angelo Corlett. “So I teach my students that there is a difference between the two. They’re both fine as ways of trying to refine and revise democratic problems nonviolently, but nonviolent direct action is different from civil disobedience.”

In his Philosophy 101: Introduction to Ethics course, Corlett teaches students about King's philosophy of nonviolence, how successful it was, and how it can be used as a model for social problem-solving today.

According to Corlett, lessons like those that come from King’s work are extremely relevant in the current international political climate.

“I encourage students to take very seriously the history of the civil rights movement in this country,” he said. “It sets the stage for the discussion of terrorism and I want to remind them how much can be done without violence, and it leads up to discussions of war. I believe one of the main points in dealing with terrorism is education about nonviolence. From the beginning to the end of that discussion, I am teaching them about the successes and virtues of nonviolence.”

Telling the Whole Story

Including Martin Luther King in a conversation about terrorism is one example of how “teaching” King at the university level is different from teaching about him in grades K-12. Because some aspects of the subject are considered controversial, they are omitted in the early grades, according to sociology professor Gordon Clanton.

Rebecca Moore, Religious Studies

“Most of my students don’t even know that Martin Luther King was a minister because they’ve come through high schools where the concern was to never say anything that could possibly be considered religious,” he said. “Without some knowledge of history and structure, the story of Dr. King can be a real third grade exercise.”

Clanton spends a lot of time in his minority group relations classes filling in the gaps of students’ knowledge of the civil rights movement, and broadening their understanding of how King fits into it.

Similarly, somewhere in between, “I am happy to join with you today” and, “Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!,” Rebecca Moore’s students realize this may be the first time they have really heard “I Have a Dream.”

“I think one thing that really strikes them is the fact that he does use very explicit religious references, but at the same time, he uses explicit historical references,” she said. “They’re also quite shocked at the social critique that’s in the first half of the speech.”

The sound of the words is infectious and the students immerse themselves in the exercise, reading King’s words dramatically and with inflection.

“[It] makes a big difference in the impact of it,” she said.

Related information

• The King Center
• "I Have a Dream" speech transcript
• SDSU Africana Studies
• 1964 Nobel Laureate Biography

Credits

• Story by Lauren Coartney
• Photographs by Happy Aston and Lauren Coartney
• Graphics by John Signer
• Edited by Happy Aston