MLK: One Man in the Name of Love

I've had this little ritual that occurs annually on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The background is a talk I had years ago with my father, who was a young husband and father with two baby boys and a daughter on the way when King was assassinated. We were watching a documentary on King that included several of his speeches and when I looked over at my dad, I saw him wiping a tear from his eye.

He explained that there was something about listening to King that just got to him, every single time. My dad isn't an outwardly emotional man, so the memory always stuck.

Every MLK Day, I make a point to listen to King's 1963 speech "I Have A Dream delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and his prophetic "I've Seen the Mountaintop" speech (part 1 and part 2) given the night before he was shot and killed in 1968.

I bought his speeches on CD in high school to listen to them, about the same time that I first got into U2. (If you read this article, you know I'm a longtime fan.)

After listening to King's speeches, I crank up U2's ode to King called "Pride (In The Name Of Love) and "MLK."

I first saw U2 in 1983 during "The Unforgettable Fire" tour at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and remember being mesmerized during "Pride." Bono had the whole crowd under a spell. You might remember "MLK" from the 2002 Super Bowl halftime show when it was performed as a tribute to Sept. 11 victims. The song's opening lyrics are "Sleep; sleep tonight; And may your dreams be realized." I want this song played at my funeral.

I read a book about Bono once in which he talked about some racist in Arizona who threatened to shoot him dead on the stage during "The Unforgettable Fire" tour if the band sang "Pride." The song was one of their big hits, Bono wasn't about to be intimidated and he decided to sing it, regardless of a would-be sniper.  He closed his eyes during the second half of the song, belted it out with all his heart and wondered if he'd make it alive to the end of the song. When he was done, he opened his eyes only to find bass player Adam Clayton standing in front of him, willing to take the bullet.

It makes me think of the recent, tragic gun violence in Arizona and King's "I've Been to the Mountain Top" speech. Toward the end  he talks about the threats that were out and what could happen to him "from some of our sick white brothers."

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn't really matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountain top. I don't mind. Like anybody I would like to live a long life, longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. 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. So I'm happy tonight, I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord."

It gets me every time, too.