On Martin Luther King Day, A Lesson in Black History...It's The Story Of All Of Us...

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better..." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ
Editor

AUSTIN, Texas - We'll dispense with the horrible injustices this country has lapped on African-Americans. That is a shameful, shameful history best left to a higher power's final assessment. We, here, celebrate our brothers. Perhaps we live our lives in such a hurry that we forget all that we've endured, every road we've travelled, every pain we've felt. And maybe that's best. Life and bitterness is no fun.

So, we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. on this day, 42 years after his assassination, by posting a short test here for our readers. It won't define any of you as smart or ignorant; it'll simply test your knowledge of a sector of our population that exists alongside all others. Indeed, MLK has been gone longer than the 39 years he spent fighting bigotry and racism in the American South.

1.) Martin Luther King's wife was:
a.)  Betty Shabazz
b.) Coretta Scott King
c.) Billie Jean King
ANSWER - Coretta Scott King

2.) Bloody Sunday in the South's struggles refers to:
a.) Birmingham, Alabama
b.) Selma, Alabama
c.) Plains, Georgia
ANSWER - Selma, Alabama


3.) A well-known MLK lieutenant was:
a.) Harry Belafonte
b.) Ray Charles
c.) Jesse Jackson
ANSWER - Jesse Jackson

4.) Site of MLK's "I've been to the mountaintop" speech:
a.) Times Square
b.) Washington D.C.'s Mall
c.) Yankee Stadium
ANSWER - Washington D.C.'s Mall

5.) MLK was assassinated on:
a.) July 4, 1968
b.) Sept. 11, 1968
c.) April 4, 1968
ANSWER - April 4, 1968

6.) MLK's accused assassin was:
a.) James Earl Jones
b.) Earl Weaver
c.) James Earl Ray
ANSWER - James Earl Ray

7.) Before becoming an activist, MLK was a:
a.) sharecropper
b.) Baptist preacher
c.) bus driver
ANSWER - Baptist preacher

8.) Rosa Parks' fame comes from:
a.) Her refusal to give her seat on a bus to a white person
b.) Her design of a Black struggle flag
c.) Her son was Jackie Robinson
ANSWER - Her refusal to give her seat on a bus to a white person
9.) Name of Birmingham, Alabama's bigoted police official:
a.) Buford Pusser
b.) Bull Conner
c.) Orville Faubus
ANSWER - Bull Conner

10.) The president who signed the civil rights legislation was:
a.) John F. Kennedy
b.) Richard Nixon
c.) Lyndon B. Johnson
ANSWER - Lyndon B. Johnson

Remember, it's not about getting the answers right. That's a fleeting accomplishment. The important thing is that you store your history in your brain, so that you never forget it. Freedom is something that must be fought for daily. Freedom is at the heart of Dr. King's mission - a mission for God...

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