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Chapter XIX Martin Luther King, Jr. Before the Ford Foundation inaugurated its Early Admission Program, Morehouse had instituted one of its own. The Second World War was playing havocwith the College, for our students were being drafted in large numbers. In this crisis, we decided to take into the freshman class students who had finished only the eleventh grade. Among the eleventh grade students admitted to Morehouse in September, 1944, was Martin Luther King, Jr. At that time, he wasjust one freshman among many others. Only an omniscient God could have predicted his future. One never knows what it isthat triggers a response, but I am convinced that it wasmy contact with MartinLuther King,Jr., in chapel at Morehouse that brought us close together. There we began a real friendship which was strengthened by visits in his home and by fairly frequent informal chats on the campus and in my office. Many times, during his four years at Morehouse , he would linger after my Tuesday-morning address to discuss some point I had made—usually with approval, but sometimes questioning or disagreeing. I was not aware how deeply he was impressed by what I said and did until he wrote Stride Toward Freedom, in which he indicated that I had influenced his life to a marked degree. In public addresses, he often referred to me as his "spiritual mentor." Since his death, several persons, especially those seeking data for an article or book, have asked me whether I knew in what way I was influencing Martin's life. The answer is an unqualified "No." There is no way one can know the degree of influence one has upon another. I can only say that I am honored to have had a small part in helping to mold the life of one of the noblest spirits of all time. It must be said in all candor that I feel that Martin Luther King, Jr. did as much for me, if not more, than I did for him. Perhaps if I had not known Martin through the Morehouse Chapel, and if his father had not been elected to the Board of Trustees of Morehouse College, our friendship would not have reached such meaningful depth. Our friendship continued to grow during his years of study at Crozer Theological Seminary and 265 2 6 6 B O R N T O R E B E L Boston University, during his pastorate at Montgomery, during the years when he joined his father as co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta , and throughout the civil rights struggles. When Martin Luther had almost completed his doctorate at Boston University, I offered him a position on the faculty at Morehouse. After giving serious consideration to my invitation, he decided that he should accept the pastorate of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. When he returned to Atlanta as co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, I again offered him work as a part-time professor, hoping that someday he would be with us at Morehouse full time and for many years. So great were the public demands on his time, however, that after one semester he had to give up his seminar on nonviolence. Had he accepted my offer to teach at Morehouse, he would no doubt be alive today; but his name would not be among the immortal few who have achieved real greatness . Furthermore, had the city officials in Montgomery been enlightened— or even sensible—the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been a different story. Then, too, had Mrs.Rosa Parks behaved as she was "supposed to," and as Negroes generally had behaved for decades—that is, if she had gotten up and given a white man her seat—there would have been no Montgomery Bus Boycott. Had the city officials met the simple demands of the Montgomery Improvement Association, perhaps the world would have never witnessed Dr. King's capacity for magnificent, selfless leadership in the interest of mankind.The demands of the Montgomery Improvement Association were all reasonable—too reasonable—and all within the segregated pattern. It also seems that any sane city officials would have agreed to permit Negroes to keep their seats if, when entering from the rear, they filled the bus, in which case whites would have to stand. The reverse would be true if whites filled the bus first. Sensible officials would have been willing to hire Negro bus drivers, certainly in predominantly Negro areas...

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