I just learned three things about Martin Luther King, Jr. that I didn’t know but found interesting. I knew that he wasn’t perfect–had some flaws, did some sinning–and that he was the leader that was needed during that part of the history of American social justice. Here’s what I didn’t know:
- He was a champion for the environment. He did it not as a tree-hugger but as a believer in the interconnectedness of all life.
- He was a “democratic socialist” (not the same as a communist) long before Bernie Sanders came along. He preached that we should form the economy in ways that meet people’s needs, not to make a few people richer.
- You could disagree with him, but he’d never throw a punch or get nasty. Even when Malcolm X, another prominent civil rights leader of the time, derided him viciously and called him names.
You can read details about these three facts at CNN’s Three ways MLK speaks to our time.
As I said, he wasn’t really a saint. But he was a saint I’d like to see come marching in now.