The day Martin Luther King was gunned down was April 4, 1968. The news covered the shocking event, so I was aware of the tragedy. However, as it happened, it was our third wedding anniversary, and I was totally focused elsewhere. In addition, having a toddler and a baby, I lived in a baby bubble unaware of the importance of the social ramifications of our time.
Over the decades, as I became aware of Martin Luther King's life, legacy, ministry, and the importance of his work for the civil rights movement, I celebrate the work he did. Today, I grieve the past and current systematic abuse, violence, and disregard of the people of color, made in the image of God. Now, I see the deception and evil that is the force behind such depravity.
Here is a cultural side note: I was five when we got our first TV. It was exciting to see the test pattern when we turned it on. The first programs I remember were dramas, cartoons, boxing, then the Walt Disney Show. When the day's telecasts ended there was a picture of the US flag waving in the wind as the Star Spangled Banner played dramatically in the background.
However, in 1963, when I was in junior high school, television technology had advanced enough to actually see in real time the horrific images of President Kennedy being assassinated. No longer were there only radio announcements, newspaper headlines, and a televised news report. For the first time ever we watched the President of the United States being assassinated live on television. Not only to see the images once, but over and over again. Days later we watched in real time the alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald being assassinated.
Later in April 1968 we viewed the film of Martin Luther King's assassination, and then there was the Robert Kennedy assassination seen live in June 1968. Television changed the way people receive and process life-altering events. Hearts slowly became adjusted to seeing such violence.
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