Delphine Red Shirt. Photo by Rich Luhr / Flickr

Frank Fools Crow may be our Martin Luther King Jr.
By Delphine Red Shirt
www.nsweekly.com

The man whose name seems synonymous with civil rights was born Michael King, on Jan. 15, 1929.

King was born in Atlanta, Ga., and like other African-Americans, had mixed-race (Irish) ancestry through his father’s side of the family. Michael’s dad, who was also Michael King, changed him and his son’s names to honor Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German reformer who believed that religion should be more accessible to the common man. After a trip to Germany in 1934, the elder Michael King changed his and his son’s name to Martin Luther.

The man Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr.'s life story is well-known. What isn’t known is that a man who believed in non-violence had a father who punished him physically after he turned 15 and that he suffered from depression throughout his life. And like any teenager, MLK doubted the teachings in the Bible until later in his life when he entered the seminary. He felt that through the church he could best serve humanity and as his life demonstrated he worked tirelessly for social justice.

When we think about men like MLK, we are reminded of all of the men and women, in our reservation communities who were his contemporaries, and who also worked tirelessly for social justice. The closest man among the Lakota oyate is Frank Fools Crow (1890-1989).

Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: Frank Fools Crow may be our Martin Luther King Jr.

(Delphine Red Shirt can be reached at redshirtphd@gmail.com)

Copyright permission Native Sun News