Putting the "Reverend" before the "Doctor"

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.  Or should I say today is the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.  As someone who studies American Religious History (and who also holds a doctorate), I have found it interesting that we (myself included, but also the average person as well as journalists of all stripes) have tended of late to drop at least one, if not both of those titles.  Chances are if you've watched the news today or read an article about him, you've heard the man whom we honor today as "Dr. King."  While it might be a means to shorten things up, rather (at least in most cases) than a sign of secularization run amok, what is interesting about that to me is that he was always a "Reverend" first and foremost, a man of God.

I think that is a good thing to remember.  Indeed, it is not something the King Center (even as they also refer to him as "Dr. King") shies away from in the least.  Nor should they, or any of us.  As several posts remind readers today (here and here) it was precisely because he was following the convictions of his faith which made the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King such a powerful leader.

While most Americans probably know his famous and visionary  (and rightfully so) "I Have A Dream" speech, I tend to have students read his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" instead.  It's not because I don't share the vision of the "Dream" speech, nor am not moved by its rhetoric, but rather it is because the "Letter" is about the challenge that the "Dream" sought to triumph over.  It isn't just about segregation or civil rights (although it is, of course, about both those things).  It is a letter written by a pastor to other pastors, a reverend writing to his peers, challenging them, their parishioners, and by extension, us to do more, to not wait, to not say "just be patient."  It is a convicting letter.  And I'd argue, if you don't know the "Letter" and its message, then you can't fully appreciate the "Dream" speech in its entirety.  Ultimately, we can't separate the man from both his professional titles, without doing a disservice to who he was and what he helped call the nation to do and overcome.