In gratitude for MLK on his 97th

And in gratitude for Tom Offenburger, too. The columnist’s brother, who’d be turning 92 if he were alive, was press secretary to Dr. King and others in the Civil Rights Movement.

DES MOINES, Iowa — It is the weekend of the annual observation of the Jan. 15 actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I do the math, check AI and confirm this would have been his 97th.

That means my brother Tom Offenburger would be turning 92 late in February if he were still with us. OMG, as the kids say, or is it “used to say” now? At 78, I have trouble keeping up with all I should.

I certainly don’t think about this all the time, and, you know, maybe I don’t think about it as much as I should. Brother Tom, as most of my longtime readers know, was Rev. King’s press secretary from 1966-’68, the last three years of MLK’s life.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., being welcomed back to his headquarters in Atlanta in November, 1967, by several of his staff members. Tom Offenburger, King’s press secretary, is at the left. (Photo by Chuck Offenburger)

Tom, a journalist on the national scene the first 10 years of his professional career, joined King’s Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1966 and worked the last 20 years of his career in various positions, all related to the Civil Rights Movement. He was the media guy for MLK, then for King’s successor Dr. Ralph Abernathy, for King’s widow Coretta Scott King and finally for King’s trusted lieutenant Rev./Congressman, Ambassador and Mayor Andrew Young.

Those people changed my life.

I was a college kid in Nashville for four of the most intense years of that. I saw things, did things, and covered things that were overwhelming. Because of my brother, mostly, I experienced all that up-close and personal. Do you know anybody else who shot free throws with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on an outdoor basketball court?

As I reflect more on it, King and the others, including Tom Offenburger, changed all of our lives — in the South, across America, around the world.

And they were so young when they were doing it.

When we celebrate King’s birthday every year, I try to remind people that there are two things that I think are very important for us all to remember about the MLK years in America:

—King was only 39 years old when he was killed by an assassin in Memphis on April 4, 1968. In 1963 at age 34, he was Time Magazine’s man-of-the-year. In 1964 at 35, he won a Nobel Peace Prize – the youngest person ever to do so. And he was gunned down at 39! Oh, what might have been! Among those with King on that night in Memphis, Abernathy was 42, Hosea Williams was 42, Andy Young was 36, James Bevel was 35, Rev. Jesse Jackson was 27. Back in Atlanta, Tom Offenburger, who’d been with them in Memphis earlier that day, was 34.

—And there’s this to remember: When her husband was assassinated, Coretta Scott King was 40. The couple had four children. Yolanda was then 12, Martin III, then 10, Dexter, then 7, and Bernice, then 4. Can you imagine? The job Coretta King did as a single parent, raising her four young children in some of the brightest spotlights imaginable, was phenomenal. All four young Kings wound up being leaders in their chosen fields.

I thank God for the life, ministry and service of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

And for the whole King family, and all they sacrificed for the good of all people.

And for my getting to be the younger brother of Tom Offenburger.

Tom’s grave in Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah, Iowa.

He died at 52 in 1986 while undergoing heart surgery in Atlanta, attempting to repair an aorta and heart valves that had been scarred by scarlet fever he had as a boy.

He was a lifelong bachelor, despite a whole lot of dates that were arranged for him. You should have seen how excited our sisters got when Tom had a date (just one) with actress Candice Bergen! You should have seen how excited I was when I checked my mailbox in my late years of college and found a postcard to me with this message: “Love to Chuck,” signed by Joan Baez!

In the extended Offenburger family, where there were eight kids, dozens of grandkids and now great-grandkids, Tom was the favorite brother and uncle, the giver of the best gifts for birthdays and holidays. The giver of great examples, too.

He was an inspiration.

—

You can comment on this column below or write the columnist directly by email atchuck@offenburger.com.

—

Chuck Offenburger writes as a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Learn more about the group and consider becoming subscribers — for free or for modest fees, your choice — by using the link below here. Your support keeps them all writing for you!

Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup