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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

A younger generation reflects on the death of King

By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Columnist

They don't have clear memories of April 4, 1968. Now in their 40s, both were too young that day to understand.

Forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tenn., neither man views what happened that day as the end of a righteous struggle.

"Dr. King's mission was not in vain. His heart stopped beating, but the heart of his vision did not stop," said the Rev. Paul Stoot, pastor of the Greater Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Everett. "We have become far more inclusive. Our congregation is diverse. Color lines in many places have been erased."

"When he was assassinated, I was 3. I'm too young to remember," said the Rev. Jason Martin, pastor of Jesus is Lord Life Tabernacle in Marysville. Raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Martin does recall racial tension in that city during his teens.

Nothing in his life -- not during his youth in Buffalo nor eight years in the Navy -- was more hurtful than what happened at Martin's Arlington home in 2004. A burning cross, long a symbol of racial hatred and intimidation, was left on the black pastor's lawn.

While Martin said "I would never put myself in the same place as Martin Luther King Jr.," he also said the cross-burning "put me in that mind."

"I thought about what he did," said Martin, who responded to the 2004 incident by speaking out against racism at an Arlington rally. "I really felt like I was walking in his footsteps, continuing his cause," Martin said of the slain civil rights leader. "I wasn't looking for it. It found me.

"A lot of people miss out on the fact that he wasn't a politician, he was a minister. That speaks volumes to me today," Martin added.

As Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama still faces questions about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor, Martin and Stoot have somewhat different views of the controversy over some of Wright's statements.

A March 18 article in The Washington Post included hot-button views attributed to the retired Chicago pastor -- among them praise of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan; the statement that Sept. 11, 2001, meant "America's chickens are coming home to roost"; and the statement that "racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run."

Stoot and Martin are both black pastors, but their churches have racially diverse congregations.

From before King's era until today, "the black church has always played a major role in the civil rights movement," Stoot said. While emphasizing that "in no way do I want to echo an attack on white America," Stoot said he is bothered that Wright's "five-second sound bites were taken out of context."

He sees the heated rhetoric in some black churches as a reflection of "a time for change in the lives of black Americans. I've been raised with the consciousness that the church was the primary vehicle by which the message was spread," Stoot said. "The pulpit was often a platform used to inform, as well as ignite passion of those I believe wanted to make a difference."

The Everett pastor holds fast to King's messages of nonviolence and peace. He is also hopeful about today's political landscape. "We are on the cusp of making history because of the strong possibility that either a woman or a man of color will become president. Regardless, history is being made," Stoot said.

Martin is more outspoken in his disagreement with some views expressed by Obama's former pastor. He worries that people will think Wright's views are shared by all black pastors. "I don't feel the same way, although I can relate to his frustration. It was wrong to voice those (views) on the platform as he did.

"I think there is an older generation of African-Americans -- that pastor's age group -- they've had a lot of hurt and anger. Those hurts are still real, but we need to get past those hurts," Martin said.

Four years after his family was targeted with an appalling symbol of hate, Martin said he still hears about racial incidents in Arlington schools. He and his wife, Ramona, have children in school.

"I do believe racism is alive and well," Martin said. "I think we need to move past it. And I believe God is the answer. Martin Luther King Jr. had those strong convictions."

Thinking of all he's seen in the 40 years since King's death, Stoot said: "We've come a long way as a country. That's not to say we don't have a ways to go yet."



Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.