With ... faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Aug. 28, 1963

This past Monday we honored the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., who led the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century that transformed life in America.

But just as the sacred meaning of Christmas too often is removed from public celebrations of that holiday, so observances of Dr. King's life-especially those in public schools-overlook an essential biographical fact.

He was not merely Dr. King, but the Reverend Dr. King.

Yet how many students in our public schools are taught this? My guess is not many.

Noting the inconvenient fact that he was a clergyman would involve discussing in classrooms and school assemblies the predominant Judeo-Christian influence on the civil rights movement.

And how many teachers and principals want to do that?

Until last week's snowstorm closed local schools, I had planned to ask Highline district officials what, if anything, they teach about the Reverend Dr. King's speech at the 1963 March on Washington, D.C.

After proclaiming his dream "that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," he borrowed words from the prophet Isaiah:

"I have a dream that one day ... the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together....

"With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

That April, the Reverend Dr. King had been jailed in Alabama for protesting racial injustices there. His famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a ringing response to criticism from some religious leaders for his role in the civil rights movement.

"[J]ust as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town," he wrote.

He referred to writings by St. Thomas Aquinas, Jewish theologian Martin Buber and Protestant theologian Paul Tillich, and also to act by ancient Hebrews and early Christians in explaining his strategy to change conditions under which southern black Americans still lived in the early 1960s.

"Was not Jesus an extremist for love...?" he asked. "Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel...?"

The Reverend Dr. King then declared, "We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands."

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a powerful revelation of the firm religious foundation of the civil rights movement he led.

Unless students in our public schools learn that, they will not truly understand this watershed event in American history.

"No man's life, liberty or property are safe when the Legislature is in session," a New York state judge once observed.

The lopsided Democratic majority in the 2007 Legislature has set out to make this warning reality in Washington.

Already lawmakers have introduced proposals for a state income tax-which voters consistently oppose-and pay raises for state legislators.

Gov. Christine Gregoire proposed as part of the largest spending increase in state history a budget with a $1 billion shortfall for transportation, but which would add 3,800 bureaucrats to the payroll.

Stop and ask who will pay for the Democrat's spending spree? The answer is you.

The views of Ralph Nichols are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Robinson Newspapers. He can be reached at newsdesk@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1857.