What do we think of when we recall the life, leadership and ministry of the late Dr. Martin Luther King? Have we thought of him in reference to the blessing he brought? In getting us to face the issue of racism in our day, he left all of us a little bit more free, a little bit more American, and light years more Christian.

While in school at Boston University (not Boston College), his teachers encouraged him to remain in academia. King wanted to be closer to his people and chose to be a pastor.

Montgomery, Ala., had a bus rider boycott in 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to move to different section of the bus. It was the people who chose the young 26 year old pastor, Martin Luther King to lead the movement.

King’s outstanding gift as a speaker thrust him into a national leadership role. What was a blessing was his constant use of religious motivation. Compare his record with some of the leaders in the larger cities in the east. These latter frequently spoke from anger. King’s frequent use of biblical references coupled with patriotic quotations spoke to everyone. As a result, the south which had a worse record with racism than the north, escaped many of the destructive riots. A great deal of credit for this goes to King and the other ministers who were leaders in the south. King said: “Violence begets violence. Our aim is not to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.”

He was not always successful in this latter effort.

One time when he was jailed, he complained that no white clergy came to visit him.

King reserved his strongest complaints for white moderates. “I have reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s stumbling back in his stride for freedom is not the white Citizen’s Council or the Ku Klux Klan, but the white moderate who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice, who constantly says, ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action,’ who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom.”

Dr. King’s birthday (Jan. 13) is a good time to reflect on our own thinking, feeling on the subject of racism. The dictionary defines racism as a thinking of superiority of one race over the other. I use the term for the blind and unconscious double standards we pick up in our American society. If unconscious, it is often useless to label a situation or attitude as racist as the other will in good conscious deny it.

Does our language or humor reflect a subtle racism? Do we seek to understand the racist scene before we try to evaluate it?

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, do we use biblical values or American political philosophy to form our attitude when considering racism?