Dr. Vincent Harding, taught me more about Martin Luther King, Jr. than anyone. In the Fall of 1985, I had a class with him at Swarthmore College called “Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Black Struggle for Freedom In America.” That was the Autumn immediately prior to the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1986. I am still blown away at all of the knowledge passed along in that course. It was certainly enhanced by Professor Harding’s personal friendship with King. Life is filled with ironies.
Some time ago, I did a search on Professor Harding, and discovered that he passed away on May 19, 2014. Since I had drifted away from him for so long, I was not aware of his death. I regret that I did not maintain consistent communication with Professor Harding, so this falls as my loss. Anyone who knows me is cognizant that Malcolm X is, bar none, my favorite historical figure, and when I relayed this to Professor Harding, he commended me for it. He shared my respect for Malcolm, even though he was a close personal friend of King, and even wrote the first draft of King’s most controversial speech, the one against the Vietnam War.
It somehow feels appropriate that Professor Harding passed away on May 19th, which was the 89th Birthday of Malcolm X. May Dr. Vincent Harding RIP. My condolences go out to his family. Professor Harding was a profoundly wise person, one of the wisest I’ve ever met, and certainly one of the most spiritual. I always felt his spiritual energy, tangibly, like electric shock waves shooting out from his body, whenever I sat in conversation with him. I will miss him dearly, but I am reassured with the fact of knowing that a part of his spirit, along with King’s, resides within me. He was much more to me than just a Professor, a friend, or even a mentor. He was like a Historical/Academic father. I wanted to pay my debt of gratitude to both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Professor Harding on this date, thankful to have been thoroughly educated on what a day honoring King means.
The book at the heading of this post was written by Dr. Harding. As one of his students, we were all given this piece when it was simply typed out as a computer print-out. Later, he gave each of us 2 magazines that the article appeared in. I still have both of those issues, and I think, one of them has his autograph. I will cherish my copies forever, Later, he made the monograph into a full-fledged book. It is the most profound explanation that I have ever come across, either in speech or print, to illuminate the meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I encourage anyone who is truly interested in this day’s meaning, to purchase, and read, a copy of Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero. It is a revelation.
