George Wallace, Martin Luther King Jr., and the power of forgiveness
As this year鈥檚 Martin Luther King Jr. Day approached, my thoughts turned to George Wallace, who for years as governor of Alabama opposed King at every turn 鈥� and then apologized.
The pathos of Wallace鈥檚 full-circle story took me away from weighing and measuring whether one deserves forgiveness to the artesian dimensions of the heart, where only unconditional love flows.
Questions like 鈥淗ow much should I forgive?鈥� or 鈥淗ow many times can I forgive?鈥� became totally useless. And in the absence of questions, came the answer: Love is the only path toward a sustainable world. Forgiveness controls the future.
Why We Wrote This
Reflecting on George Wallace鈥檚 1963 promise of 鈥渟egregation forever鈥� and his 1979 apology to the congregation where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach, our commentator learns that 鈥渇orgiveness controls the future.鈥�
Bending 1950s-era injustices
As a young man, King learned from his father, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, about the power of the Black church as an unending source of faith to drive social change.
And that鈥檚 exactly what King did at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, in Montgomery, Alabama, where he began as pastor in September 1954.
While preaching a theology of true freedom, he facilitated nonviolent protests like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bending 1950s-era injustices toward the nation鈥檚 ideal that 鈥渁ll men are created equal.鈥�
Even George Wallace knew the power of the Dexter church. The current organist, Althea Thomas, who was hired by King in her 20s, remembers Wallace coming to the church to court Black voters during his first gubernatorial run in 1958, which he lost.
Four years later, he ran as a staunch segregationist, winning by a landslide.
鈥淪egregation forever鈥�
In his inaugural address at the Alabama Capitol in 1963, Wallace famously pledged, 鈥淪egregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!鈥� A rallying cry against racial equality, his words haunted him.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 write those words about segregation now, tomorrow and forever,鈥� Wallace in 1991. 鈥淚 saw them in the speech written for me and planned to skip over them. But the wind-chill factor was 5 below zero when I gave that speech. I started reading just to get it over and read those words without thinking. I have regretted it all my life.鈥�
Despite those regrets, Wallace behaved as though he believed what he鈥檇 said. He forcefully opposed integrating Alabama鈥檚 schools and never punished the state troopers who, on March 7, 1965, turned a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge into what came to be known as Bloody Sunday. Footage of troopers brutally beating voting rights marchers shocked the nation.聽
King鈥檚 turn to speak at the Capitol聽
A few weeks later, in the wake of that shock, marchers once again left Selma headed for Montgomery, having secured federal protection from the National Guard. By the time they reached the state Capitol four days later, their ranks had swelled to 25,000.聽聽
Atop the white dome flew the Confederate flag, and to the left of the building stood an imposing statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. But King鈥檚 stature loomed larger than Davis鈥檚 statue. King had been chosen as Time鈥檚 for 1963, and in 1964 he became the ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
At a rally at the Capitol, King delivered his famous speech. Less than five months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, giving King as a memento.
An apology at Dexter
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is less than half a mile from the Alabama Capitol, yet it took an attempted assassination that left Wallace paralyzed for him to visit Dexter again. In 1979, he entered in a wheelchair, unannounced, to apologize.
His words were : 鈥淚 have learned what suffering means. In a way that was impossible [before the shooting], I think I can understand something of the pain black people have come to endure. I know I contributed to that pain, and I can only ask your forgiveness.鈥澛�
King was not there, of course, having been assassinated more than a decade earlier, but the congregation forgave Wallace.
When I imagine King鈥檚 response had he been present, part of his Christmas 1957 sermon comes to mind: 鈥淔orgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. ... While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community.鈥澛犅�
A hint of King鈥檚 dream come true
I never met King or Wallace, but I know Wallace鈥檚 older daughter, Peggy Wallace Kennedy. When I emailed to ask about her father鈥檚 change of heart, she responded, 鈥淒addy鈥檚 acts of contrition were real and for the right reasons. For it was his own Journey to Jericho that led him home.聽鈥� [I]t was his own suffering as a paraplegic that carried him to a higher ground of peace and understanding. I believe that Daddy鈥檚 transformation later in his life聽affected the hearts of both African Americans and Whites, in聽America.鈥澛犅�
At a 2015 event marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march, Ms. Kennedy stood on the Alabama Capitol steps holding hands with King鈥檚 younger daughter, Bernice King, watching the marchers approach. Recalling that day and alluding to King鈥檚 鈥淚 Have a Dream鈥� speech, Ms. Kennedy wrote in her book, 鈥淭he Broken Road: George Wallace and a Daughter鈥檚 Journey to Reconciliation,鈥� 鈥淚 could not help but wonder how the course of history might have been changed if Martin Luther King and Daddy had known that one day, right down here in Alabama, that little black girl and that little white girl holding hands would be their own daughters.鈥�
Wallace鈥檚 full-circle journey has taught me the truth of King鈥檚 words: 鈥淟ove is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.鈥�
No weighing or measuring needed.
