Today we commemorate the birth of the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Unlike most years when we take this moment to recall King’s life and legacy, the federal holiday actually falls on King’s actual birthday. Were he still with us, he would turn 89. Today, when strife so fills the air, let’s all take time to reflect on King’s message of peace and harmony.
Ironically, the occasion of the birth of one of America’s most celebrated advocates for peace also commemorates the anniversary of our nation’s most recognized symbol of war.
On Jan. 15, 1943, the federal government dedicated the new home of the War Department, commonly known to us as the Pentagon. The immense five-sided, five-story office building, which covers 6.5 million square feet and houses about 26,000 workers, took just 16 months to build at a cost of $83 million (or $1.2 billion in today’s dollars).
Prior to construction of the Pentagon, the key administrators of the nation’s military were spread across several sites in Washington, Maryland and Virginia. In the summer of 1941, Congress told the War Department to develop an ultimate solution to the growing agency’s space problems. The answer became this building located on an abandoned airport in Arlington, Virginia.
In his 2006 book “House of War,” historian James Carroll reported a moment that seems fitting with King’s holiday.
Visiting the campus shortly before its dedication, President Franklin Roosevelt inquired why it had more than 200 restrooms. Roosevelt learned that was to accommodate Virginia’s racial segregation laws. FDR told crews “to get rid of the Whites Only signs at once,” Carroll wrote, and thus “the Pentagon would for a long time be the only place in Virginia where segregation was not allowed.”
GARLAND: Given today’s holiday, we applaud the city of Winter Haven for recently renaming six blocks of Avenue T for Dr. King. Per The Ledger, the city had dedicated a street to King in 1993, but changed its name to Unity Way in 2010. The latest change came after a pair of local ministers approached the city with a petition featuring more than 400 names, and after three-quarters of the affected property owners on the route who replied to a city poll supported the renaming.
GIG: Also in light of King’s holiday, we gig President Donald Trump. Last week the president used a crass, disgraceful expletive to describe nations in Africa in questioning an immigration reform proposal that referenced changing policies for accepting future immigrants from the continent. Lawmakers pitched that at a private meeting discussing ways to prevent the deportation of young illegal immigrants who were brought here as youngsters by their parents.
To his credit, Trump has been faithful to his campaign pledge to vigorously enforce the nation’s immigration laws, and to work to curb illegal immigration. Trump’s point about the circumstances in these countries is arguable, given the chaos, poverty and corruption that grips much of Africa, and that many of those nations are a source of terrorism. But this word choice was uncalled for and will set back Trump’s efforts on this issue. Surely, the president could have found a better way to express his question.
GARLAND: We garland Samantha Swafford, a sixth-grade teacher at Bartow Middle School. As The Ledger reported earlier this month, Swafford was concerned about the high number of students who wore inadequate clothing. So using donations from friends, fellow faculty and local businesses, she set up a secretive boutique within the school where needy children could discreetly find clothes and personal hygiene supplies. Well done.
GARLAND: Kudos to the city of Lakeland for recent reforms to parking prices. The city opened up the Main Street garage for free during select hours and reduced prices in lots further from the city core, cutting a break for those willing to walk a bit to get downtown. The idea is to encourage people to stay downtown longer, thus boosting businesses there. It’s a smart move and we hope it succeeds.
GARLAND/GIG: On New Year’s Eve, Michael Lester was driving near Winter Haven when he called 911 to report a drunk driver. For that, he gets a garland. Turns out, the drunk driver was Lester. He had reported himself. For driving drunk, we gig him. Thankfully, Lester listened to the 911 operator’s instructions to pull over and await the arrival of Polk deputies, who arrested him.
GARLAND: Kudos to the Polk Education Foundation. Recently the Caruthers Institute, a St. Petersburg-based nonprofit think tank that analyzes educational and social programs affecting children, ranked the foundation 21st among those located in the nation’s 200 largest school districts. The rankings were based on annual revenues, revenues per student, total assets, assets per student, investment income, total program expenses, expenses per student and volunteers. Great job for the foundation, which seeks to raise private funds to support public education programs.