The Other Side of the Mountain

As I write these words, Martin Luther King Day 2007 has just passed. As the years have gone by—2007 marks the thirty-ninth anniversary of his death—King's membership in the pantheon of great Americans and the historical uniqueness of the nonviolent protest movement he led appear indisputable. A national holiday is a deserved tribute. Yet, even though the annual memorial is the pinnacle of King's legacy, it is a burden upon it.