Special Message To The Boy Who Revered His Touch
By Rita M. Gerona-Adkins
WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan. 18 – Today, when the nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. National Day, I still keep thinking about an unforgettable incident when Dr. King shook my hand and how a little black boy, about eight or nine years old, grabbed and smothered it with reverential kisses, then with a hurried thank you sped off to anonymity before I could recover to ask his name.
The incident took place when the eminent civil rights leader spoke in the University of California campus in Berkeley, where I was then pursuing graduate studies. This happened just shortly before that tragic day of April 9, 1968 when an assassin’s bullet ended his life in Memphis, Tennessee.
That brief encounter, which I wrote about in an article originally published by the Filipino Times, January 1992 [see pasted below] is still fresh in my memory.
Today, on Dr. King’s national holiday, I am addressing this article to that little boy, who must be about 50 years old now.
With every year’s celebration honoring Dr. King and his legacy, I imagine how that boy must have grown, and wonder what he might be doing now, what became of his life. Most of all, I am curious about how Dr. King and his powerful “I Have A Dream” vision may have influenced or shaped his growing up and what he has become.
I still think of that grateful, adoring look on his young face as he lovingly smothered my hand with reverent kisses.
If he had been so passionately moved to honor the hand that Dr. King touched even so briefly, how must he have felt when a new president of the United States whom he must probably proudly identify with racially, took his oath of office a year ago in January 20, 2009. Now in the prime of his life, he must be somewhere in America or somewhere in the world, as President Barack Obama is about to observe his first anniversary.
So here’s a message to that little boy:
Wherever you are, if you remember that incident as I vividly do all these years, would you please step up and reveal yourself to this writer?
If you do, it would be a fulfillment of a long-standing curiosity, an enormously gratifying follow-up of an unforgettable incident about Dr. King and how his legacy moves on, in so many unique ways.
My article about that memorable encounter as published in January 1992 by the now defunct, Metro D.C.-based Filipino Times is reproduced in italics below:
Whenever I think of the eminent civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday, January 15, was observed as a national holiday in his honor on January 20, I am reminded of an unforgettable and poignant incident. You see, I had actually held his hand.
The incident took place a short time before that tragic day of April 9, 1968 when an assassin’s bullet took his life in Memphis, Tennessee. I was then a graduate student at the University of California in Berkeley, whose campus cradled in the hillsides across from San Francisco had become synonymous with the expression “where the action is.” Dr. King had come to speak in Berkeley, at the campus, right on the steps of Sproul Plaza, where many a students’ gathering, impromptu or otherwise, would take place. On that occasion, the crowd was so big it felt like the entire university, from Telegraph Avenue on the north side to University Boulevard on the south side, had converged into one spot to hear this man who, on the steps of Lincoln Memorial in 1963, with his golden voice, told his country, and the world, about his dream.
I was not content to just hear him. I had to see this man in person, if life and limb depended on it. I pushed my way through the crowd, but still had no vantage view of him until I saw the elevated base of the flagpole a few yards behind him. I inched and snaked my way to that part only to find that the base was already filled with a cluster of bodies clinging to the pole. By sheer determination, I somehow managed to clamber up and claim for myself a coveted spot. And finally, I saw him, or rather his backside. I have forgotten most of what he said, except that part where he told of his going over the entire dictionary and learning that words associated with “white” are generally positive, e.g. bright, pure, uplifting, etc., whereas words associated with “black” connote negative associations, e.g. dark, sinister, foreboding, etc. I found that so intriguing I have remembered it all these years.
But what is truly unforgettable, for me personally, was what was to come next. After his speech, Dr. King, guided by some people who must have been with him, made his way up towards the façade of Sproul Hall. Just as I had jumped down from my perch, there he was within an arm’s length from where I stood. Suddenly, he looked squarely at me then extended his hand. As I write this, I still feel his strong, warm handshake and remember his smile. Then he was gone.
As I walked through the unraveling crowd towards Sather Gate and Ludwig Fountain, two landmarks associated with Berkeley’s famous (or infamous depending on one’s politics), students’ and “street” people’s demonstrations, I heard a child’s voice shouting, “Lady, lady! Wait…wait!” I continued to walk when suddenly, my hand was grabbed. He must have been around eight or nine years old. He was kissing my hand, the hand that Dr. King shook, over and over as he gazed gratefully at me.
Yes, I do remember Dr. King, but I wonder, too, whatever happened to that little black kid. He was gone before I could recover from my emotions; I did not even ask his name. I like to think, though, that Dr. King had made an unforgettable mark on his life, as, I like to think, he made on mine.
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MLK Center Awards Peace Prize To Philippines’ Corazon C. Aquino
The Martin Luther King national holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year, close to his birthday, January 15. It is one of the four United States federal holidays that commemorate an individual person.
The holiday commemorates Dr/ King’s universal, unconditional love, as well as forgiving attitude and nonviolent pursuit of justice and peace that fired his revolutionary spirit.
The national day in Dr. King’s honor is also a reminder of his legacy. One aspect of his legacy is the effort to promote interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing, with the goal of bringing together many peoples of different cultural backgrounds together.
This lofty vision created a Commemorative Service Program highlighted by annual awards called Peace Prize for Nonviolence. The ecumenical service is held at the Ebenezer Baptists Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where Dr. King had served as a pastor. It is close to The King Center, which has his tomb and library of his works and writings.
Of interest to Filipinos is the awarding of the Peace Prize to then Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino in 1987, who rode on the “People Power” revolution that brought back the democratic process in the Philippines after the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. She was the second international leader to be honored after Bishop Desmond Tutu, D.D. of South Africa who was awarded in the founding year 1986. Her name appears on the wall of the Center, and is easily noticed by thousands who visit the Center.
History of Dr. King’s National Holiday
While Dr. King’s iconic legacy is now recognized all over the world, the
movement to honor him with a national holiday was not necessarily an easy one.
It was first started by labor unions, followed by a bill in the U.S. Congress introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) after Dr. King’s assassination on April 9, 1968.
The move was carried on through 1970s and up to early 1980’s. But President Ronald Reagan opposed the holiday, relenting only after Congress passed the King Day Bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House and 78 to 22 in the Senate).
Consequently, Reagan signed the bill at a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, creating a federal holiday to honor Dr. King. It was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.
President George H. W. Bush also included a tribute to Dr. King’s speeches in his Proclamation of the Year of the Bible in 1983. He also gave the keynote speech in 1986 when Bishop Tutu was awarded the Peace Prize for Nonviolence.
But the national holiday was still met with opposition, notably by some of the country’s leading political leaders and by states such as New Hampshire and Arizona, which preferred to call it Civil Rights Day instead.
Finally, on January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 states.
While Dr. King’s iconic persona and civil rights legacy are now recognized not only in the U.S. but also throughout the world (he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize), his name still invokes controversy as it did in the political battles preparing for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. #
[This writer may be reached at rgeronaadkins@yahoo.com.]
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