Today we celebrate the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., born in Atlanta in 1929 (his actual birthday is January 15th). To honor the day, posting will be light, but we'll be back in full force tomorrow!
"It was 1955, early in King's new tenure as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on one of that city's busses.
King was elected to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was formed with the intention of boycotting the transit system. He was young, only 26, and he knew his family connections and professional standing would help him find another pastorate should the boycott fail, so he accepted..."
I was a little confused as to why an interior design blog was making a fuss about Martin Luther King Day, but then I remembered that famous line from the great orator's 1963 speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their limited edition Eames plywood lounge chairs but by the content of their character."
Suddenly it all made sense. Dr King was telling us to cast off the shackles of conspicuous consumption, brand snobbery and design oneupmanship, and embrace our own, individual, idiosyncratic aesthetics. A good interior is not a shallow collection of trendy "it" pieces but an expression of the life and experiences of the owner. And how right he is!
So bless you, MLK, for being our inspiration and showing us the way. We owe you more than we can say.
Oh, and thanks for all that civil rights stuff too.
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