Strength Through Humility: The Legacy of Dr. King

Among the letters of condolence that Coretta Scott King received after her husband's death was one from two of his closest friends and advisors, Harry Belafonte  and Stanley Levison.  They spoke of his achievements, yet they heralded his humility.

 "He drained his closest friends for advice; he searched within himself for answers; he prayed intensely for guidance.  He suspected himself of corruption continually, to ward it off.  None of his detractors, and there were many, could be as ruthless in questioning his motives as he was to himself  . . . Today, when millions of his portraits hang in simple cabins, in ordinary homes, and in stately halls, it is hard to recall that he forbade his own organization to reproduce his picture. He did not want to be idolized; he wanted only to be heard."

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of towering strength.  How else could he have led a movement, suffered jail, beatings, and vitriol from the press, white segregationists and even some in the black middle class?  How else could he have managed to turn the nation from seeing civil rights as a long-term goal to be pursued in the courts to a moral outrage to be corrected by Congress? 

We tend to equate leadership with strength but not humility.  The traditional, dictionary definition contributes to the misperception that somehow they are opposites . Humility is defined as "a modest or low view of one's own importance." Its synonyms include "lowliness, meekness, and submissiveness." 

Few presidents tout their humility (if they have it), perhaps fearing it would undercut their strength.  We seem to appreciate it more upon their death than during their lives.  Colin Powell recently reminded us of this oversight in eulogizing George H.W. Bush for:

 “That humility, that humbleness, that, don’t take myself so seriously. I am the president, but I’m just one person. And I’m privileged to be in this position and privileged to be able to serve the American people and serve the cause of peace, justice around the world. And history has given me the opportunity to create a new environment, a new world order, and people respecting one another.”

Academic research supports the importance of humility.  Professor Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, found that leaders who take good companies and turn them into great ones have two traits in common: intense focus and deep humility.

That describes Dr. King, as do other aspects of humility.  Humble people see themselves as servants of those they seek to lead.  They recognize the limits of their perspective and knowledge and are eager to surround themselves with people who are smarter.  They don't take themselves too seriously, understanding that being able to laugh at oneself keeps hubris at bay.  They know they have flaws,  as did King and Bush.  They accept that they could be wrong, which allows them to change course when the certainty of their conclusions meets the test of the real world.  They see themselves as citizens whose task is to strengthen the institutions they rely upon, not to weaken them for their own ends.  They give credit to others, realizing they accomplish nothing alone - and that giving power away through such recognition magnifies their own.  They look upon the world they seek to shape with awe and reverence, knowing they occupy a small place for a short time and that there is much they don't understand and much for which they must be grateful.

What we often fail to see is that strength unaccompanied by humility risks the future it promises.  History is filled with strong leaders whose lack of humility proved disastrous.  History needs more whose humility raised their followers to moral heights.

 Sitting in jail in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963, King wrote a letter to explain the demands of oppressed blacks that led to the march for which he was arrested.   Ostensibly addressed to a missive from eight Alabama clergy who pleaded with  him to be patient, to leave Birmingham, and to trust to "law and order and common sense," King had called upon prose that reached the heights of  poetry in defense of  freedom.  This was leadership strength, though he was in solitary confinement, deprived of the trappings we associate with power.  Characteristically, he ended his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" with humility:

 " If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me."

 Strength is not opposed to  humility, it is magnified by it.

Photo Credit: Nelson Piedra