GOOD MORNING P.O.U.!
We hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
Did you know that Dr. King used to write an advice column for Ebony magazine? The column was entitled “Advice For Living” and ran from September 1957 to December 1958.
With the successful conclusion of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956 and the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) the following year, King became a national civil rights spokesman, and his opinions, even on personal matters, attracted considerable interest. Thus, in 1957 Ebony magazine invited King to write a monthly column “Advice for Living.” Responding to readers’ questions about marital infidelity, sexuality, birth control and other such matters, while also tackling issues such as capital punishment, atomic weapons testing, and race relations, King’s column reflected his moral and religious convictions and his thoughts on a wide range of issues.
In the summer of 1957, King accepted an invitation to write the column from Lerone Bennett, Jr., a fellow Morehouse graduate and associate editor of Ebonhttp://pragmaticobotsunite2018.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/blank1.gify magazine. In the 5 September 1957 edition of Ebony’s sister publication, Jet, an advertisement for King’s forthcoming “Advice for Living” column recommended that readers “Let the man that led the Montgomery boycott lead you into happier living” (Papers 4:267n). Letters immediately flooded Ebony’s mailbox, and the already busy Baptist minister began drafting responses to a range of queries. King’s advice revealed his evolving attitudes on a number of controversial issues. For example, he insisted that God did not approve of the death penalty and affirmed that “individuals marry, not races” (Papers 4:305, 357). Reassuring a boy who asked about his sexual feelings toward other boys, King advised seeing “a good psychiatrist” (Papers 4:348-349) King continued publishing the column until December 1958, when his doctor advised that he limit his commitments following his September 1958 stabbing.
(SOURCE: Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project – Stanford University)
Here’s a sampling:
Question: My wife and I live in Mississippi. Our children are becoming conscious of racial differences. We are Negroes, but we do not want our children to grow up hating white people for the wrongs we suffer. How can we prevent this?
Answer: You should teach your children at an early age that it is both morally wrong and psychologically harmful to hate anyone. Hate does more harm to the hater than it does to the hated. You must stress the fact that the hate and injustice which have been heaped upon Negroes for many years should be met with love and goodwill. Through such wholesome love on the part of Negroes it will be possible to solve the race problem much more speedily and create a society in which all men may live together as brothers. If this attitude gets over to your child at an early age he will grow up with a healthy attitude toward all people.
You can read the entire column here.
(Hat Tip to @JazzzyOne on the Twitter)