Dr. King: Science Advocate...

I often admired Dr. King and my own pastor during this time period: Dr. Warnie C. Hay (deceased). Neither man seemed at all threatened by science, its conclusions and its implications. In Dr. King's case, illustrated by what's said in the embed above from Ms. Nichelle Nichols, he knew the power of imagery and its implications/impact on the self-perceptions of young people. This, and the responsible teaching of scientific reasoning and critical thinking skills will be the "rising tide that lifts all boats." (JFK)

Quotes are from the article: "Martin Luther King: Science Advocate," by Cara Santa Maria on Huffington Post.

"Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of obsolete materialism and moral nihilism."

On the Vietnam War:

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

On the "amoral majority" bending scientific findings to fit their ideology:

"So men conveniently twisted the insights of religion, science, and philosophy to give sanction to the doctrine of white supremacy...they will even argue that God was the first segregationist. 'Red birds and blue birds don't fly together,' they contend...they turn to some pseudo-scientific writing and argue that the Negro's brain is smaller than the white man's brain. They do not know, or they refuse to know, that the idea of an inferior or superior race has been refuted by the best evidence of the science of anthropology. Great anthropologists, like Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, and Melville J. Herskovits agree that although there may be inferior and superior individuals within all races, there is no superior or inferior race. And segregationists refuse to acknowledge that there are four types of blood, and these four types are found within every racial group."

"Slavery in America was perpetuated not merely by human badness but also by human blindness...Men convinced themselves that a system that was so economically profitable must be morally justifiable...Science was commandeered to prove the biological inferiority of the Negro. Even philosophical logic was manipulated [exemplified by] an Aristotelian syllogism: 'All men are made in the image of God. God, as everyone knows, is not a Negro. Therefore, the Negro is not a man.'"

On man's brotherhood:

"Through our scientific and technological genius we've made of this world a neighborhood. And now through our moral and ethical commitment we must make of it a brotherhood. We must all learn to live together as brothers--or we will all perish together as fools. This is the great issue facing us today. No individual can live alone; no nation can live alone. We are tied together."

...and I am grateful sir, in the time of your brief light, that you "did not sneeze."