When I was in college, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was revered as one of the greatest Americans in history. As a US History major I went even further and stating that I felt that he was one of the greatest human beings in all the history of the world. His speeches about peace and equality were phenomenal and his emphasis on anti-violence protests were impressive.
As I grew older and spent more time researching the 1960s, I soon learned that Dr. King was more complicated than the history lessons that I learned in high school and college. Although he promoted racial inequality, he did very little to help women's equality. In fact, he was a noted philanderer who cheated on his wife many times over the years. He was also rumored to be rude to the women on his staff and rarely assigned them to roles of leadership.
At the end of my research, I decided not to hold Dr. King's treatment of women against him, but I did take him off of the pedestal that I had him on for so many years. I was still impressed by his non-violence movement and his talk of peace. He made a positive impact on the movement for racial equality. His life also made me realize that most humans are flawed. I don't know if I would have lobbied to name a holiday after him, but I certainly couldn't argue with those who did.
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