How Princely Obama Embodies the King’s Spirit

“If the crown fits, wear it…” 👑

I. Amor Fati

Hours before midnight on Wednesday, April 3, 1968… church-goers saw [the] King. At the Mason Temple, to be exact. Many were surprised. After all, once among the most optimistic and cheerful activists, the brilliant civil rights leader now appeared grim.

The reason was no secret…

…After all, everyone in the church knew this:

[The] King was locked in a battle with the Grim Reaper.

For years he’d received death threats. But of late, the threats had graduated to promises. The Memphis air reeked of death.

So when [the] King took the podium on that fateful night, a storm raged outside. And inside the church’s walls too! This would be [the] King’s last speech...

…As had Brother Malcolm, Brother Gandhi and Brother Jesus, Brother Martin merely stepped into those martyred footprints left for him.

“Amor Fati — ‘Love Your Fate,’ which is in fact your life,” Nietzsche whispers to all such fated martyrs.

The Nazarene once cried out in Gethsemane, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But then, moments later, after recalling “to this end was I born,” he retracted his plea. “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt,” Jesus finished.

As [the] King neared the end of the final speech, he boldly hinted at having already locked eyes with Death yet refused to blink. He then prophesied:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead.

But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place.

But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.

And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.

I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.

And so I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Just over 12 hours after his last speech, an assassin shot a hole in [the] King’s dream…

…Some forty years later, the princely Obama would help to fill that hole.

II. King & Obama Share Life’s Most Important Virtue

Given that we’re in Capricorn season, I’ll try a hand at showing why God hides in the details.

Stephen Hawking and Sir Isaac Newton were both born under the Capricorn sign. So too was MLK and Obama’s wife, Michelle. And so, with that being said…

…Stephen Hawking was the most celebrated physicist since Albert Einstein.

Hawking’s death-day was on Einstein’s birthday. Also, Hawking was born on the very same day the “Father of Modern Science,” Galileo, died.

As for Galileo’s death-day, it occurred the same year Sir Isaac Newton was born. In short, all four of history’s greatest physicists are links on the same scientific chain.

Given that [the] King’s death-day was Maya Angelou’s birthday (April 4), which ties into our 44th president’s August 4 birthday, perhaps Prince Hamlet put it best:

“There’s something in this more than natural, if philosophy can find it out.”

— Shakespeare

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”

— Maya Angelou

It took courage for [the] King to stand on that podium, knowing he’d been sentenced to death.

Indeed, everybody wants to go to Heaven, but who wants to die for the free trip?

Ahh, but to become the noun — you have to be the verb… right?

So from the very moment Stanley Ann Dunham’s only son dared to do the impossible, on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, where “Courageous Abe” had also kicked off his political career, Obama announced a quest to be the nation’s first Black president.

Given that every quest assumes a question, perhaps [the] King whispered the following in Obama’s 3rd ear: “ ‘[Because] courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles,’ are you courageous enough to continue my dream, dear princely one?”

Sure, we love being mentally strong but shrink from situations that allow us to showcase our mental strength.

Bolstered by his personal mantras “hope” and “change,” perhaps Obama’s wife — who happens to share a birthday with the courageous Muhammad Ali — reminded her husband of this:

“History has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of it’s own.”

— Michelle Obama

III. A Worthy Heir to the King’s Throne

“His success elated us,” Michael Eric Dyson wrote. “But then, we spent eight years worrying for his life.”

That magical election night in 2008, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson was on hand. Indeed, if in his- and her-story King plays the part of Jordan and Obama plays LeBron, Jackson is Kobe!

Jackson was [the] King’s protégé, if not heir. In fact, Jackson stood next to [the] King on the balcony that fateful evening. So when the jumbotron flashed an image of Jackson’s face soaked with tears of joy, it also revealed tears of concern. Grave concern…

…“As I viewed Mr. Jackson’s watery eyes, I couldn’t help but associate him with Dr. King and the fear that our newly elected president might be assassinated,” Dyson wrote.

The above merely frames the atmosphere surrounding Obama’s presidency.

If Dyson and Jackson thought it, Obama had to have sensed it. But again, the mere fact Obama dared to be great, despite reportedly having “received 400 percent more death threats than his predecessor,” as reported by Ronald Kessler in 2009, highlights why — he’s the worthy heir to the King’s throne.

From Napoléon Bonaparte to Fidel Castro, Leo is the sign of the courageous, natural-born leader. Indeed, Obama’s superpower is courage.

Becoming a great president is “sort of like [being] an athlete,” Obama once explained on a podcast. “You might slow down a little bit, you might not jump as high as you used to — but I know what I’m doing, and I’m fearless.”

Bingo!

As for the reference to being an athlete, unsurprisingly some of the greatest leaders in pro sports were all Leos — Tom Brady, Magic Johnson, Deion Sanders, Usain Bolt and so on ad infinitum.

Like [the] King, it took courage for the heir to the throne to deliver rousing speeches while death threats lingered.

Perhaps Brother Barry reasoned — given that death is unavoidable for us all, the “when” or “how” is irrelevant… ultimately. Or as Brother Malcolm once put it:

“If you’re not ready to pay that price don’t use the word freedom in your vocabulary.”

— Malcolm X

IV. The Takeaway

The Delphic Oracle crowned Socrates the wisest philosopher of all. Socrates in turn blessed the world with the method of the gods: “the beginning of wisdom is the definition of words.”

Armed with the Socratic method, it becomes apparent why Dr. Angelou was convinced courage is the very DNA of virtue.

The core of courage is in fact that — “cor.” The word courage, after all, comes from the Latin root cor (‘heart’). Courage, then, differs from other virtues so far as it comes from an individual’s character, not personality.

Again,

Courage differs from other virtues so far as it comes from an individual’s character, not personality.

“All the world’s a stage,” wrote Shakespeare, “and all the men and women” are merely actors.

Indeed, given that a personality belongs to a person, which belongs to a persona (Latin: ‘actor’s mask’), each personality merely reflects the role in which each actor is cast.

Circumstances always serve to reveal each actor’s character — i.e., the true persona that hides behind the mask.

Aha! So when a young Mike Tyson asked his iconic trainer Cus D’Amato, also born on January 17, what’s the difference between a hero and a coward, the Wise Old Man taught his pupil as follows:

There ain’t no difference! They both feel exactly the same on the inside: they both fear dying and getting hurt. It’s what the hero does that makes him a hero.

Bingo!

It’s what [the] King did that makes him a hero…

…Surely, the sign of the times served to remind Brother King they’d already assassinated Brother John (Kennedy) and Brother Malcolm.

Yet despite the Grim Reaper sitting in the pews that grim night, on April 3, King courageously stared Death down. He then reminded Death why “I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”

Indeed, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway,” John Wayne once said.

It’s what Obama did that makes him a hero…

…Surely, from those bleak windows of his cramped Yorkville apartment, Brother Barry looked out into one of New York’s most violent neighborhoods.

Indeed, those dreams from his father must’ve initially seemed fanciful at best, delusional at worst.

Yet despite there never having been a Black president in history, Obama courageously embraced those insurmountable odds. And then, bet on himself! And then, reminded the oddsmakers of this:

Keep dreaming. Keep asking why. Don’t settle for what you already know. Never stop believing in the power of your ideas, your imagination, your hard work to change the world.

From these two shining “Royals of the Soul,” perhaps the takeaway lesson on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 95th birthday is simple:

→ Because fear and worry only exist in the mind, to be fearless — we merely must adopt a fearless state of mind.

Bingo!

In short, either be courageous or pretend to be. After all, here’s why princely Obama embodies the King’s spirit.

*A Genius Birthday Week

Happy Birthday —

• Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15)
• Michelle Obama (January 17)
• Muhammad Ali (January 17)
• Benjamin Franklin (January 17)