MLK and Torah

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and before the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

--Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream" (1963)

For King, these lines from Isaiah were visions of the future redemption. They highlight the role of universal equality in the redemptive period. (See also "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" (1967).)

"No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."

--Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream" (1963)

While the 'mighty stream of justice' in the speech washes away injustice, in its original context in Amos it would appear to be washing away the unjust themselves. The verse was cited repeatedly by Dr. King; see "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963), "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968).

"We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery."

--Martin Luther King, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)

Dr. King found inspiration for his own struggle in the Biblical Exodus from Egypt. Like the Rashi's interpretation of Moses, he saw disunity as being an obstacle which had to be overcome to achieve true freedom. The Torah also highlights the value of unity prior to redemption in Exodus 2:23, 4:29-31.

-"Somehow the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones. And whenever injustice is around he tells it. Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and saith, 'When God speaks who can but prophesy?'"

-Martin Luther King, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)

In his call for justice, Dr. King saw preachers and activists, himself included, playing the role of prophets in the unfolding of a divine plan, as emphasized in this address.

"It's all right to talk about 'streets flowing with milk and honey,' but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day."

--Martin Luther King, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)

The imagery of a land flowing with milk and honey is often mentioned when describing the Promised Land, a place that is yet to be reached. King contrasted the imagery of the promised land with the hardships of the present day.

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"

--Martin Luther King, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)

The journey to the Promised Land as a symbol of freedom has a long history in the African American religious tradition. Dr. King here identifies with Moses, who sees the vision but cannot experience it himself.

"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself. The Bible tells the thrilling story of how Moses stood in Pharaoh's court centuries ago and cried, "Let my people go." This is a kind of opening chapter in a continuing story. The present struggle in the United States is a later chapter in the same unfolding story."

--Martin Luther King, "Nobel Lecture" (1964)

Dr. King saw his struggle as a continuation of the struggle of Moses, and through that, the same struggle as all oppressed people.

"Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake."

--Martin Luther King, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963)

King saw a biblical parallel and inspiration in the book of Daniel for his civil disobedience.

"Men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. And nations will not rise up against nations, neither shall they study war anymore. And I don't know about you, I ain't gonna study war no more."

--Martin Luther King, "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam (1967)

Dr. King applied the value of nonviolence to both the civil rights movement in the United States and to his views on dealing with foreign nations.