Clad in a black suit over a white T-shirt, Dr. Derek King, nephew of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sat in Emancipation Garden Friday night talking of St. Thomas, which he has found in his brief stay to be "addictive."
But, mainly, he talked of his career and his mission in life: teaching nonviolence. "I'm not through yet," he said.
But how did he wind up in St. Thomas for this occasion?
"Well," he said with a smile, "do you know how cold it is in Indiana this time of year?"
Thoroughly engaging, and with the family charisma of his aunt and late uncle, the 46-year old King told of how he got here, what he is doing now and his feelings about his "Uncle Martin."
While attending a Red Cross HIV/AIDS workshop in Little Rock, Ark., a short while ago, he ran into Jeffrey Moore, a local Red Cross HIV/AIDS outreach worker. King is an instructor in African American AIDS fundamentals for the Red Cross. Moore invited King for the World Aids Day memorial, and, according to King, "I thought, well, why not? I've traveled a lot but I've never been to the Virgin Islands. And it's warm."
He was also deeply aware of the need to spread the message in the territory, to educate about the disease, which he did later Friday evening in a warm, moving and deadly serious address at the World Aids Day memorial service.
He illustrated just how devastating this disease can be with a story from a colleague of his who attended the World AIDS Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in June. The friend said he noticed something was bothering him at the conference, but at first couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then he realized one whole generation appeared to be missing from the congregation, which numbered in the thousands.
"My friend said he realized there was almost nobody from the 18-to-30-year-old age group—an entire generation lost," he said. "They just weren't there."
King said he currently is working on a compilation of sermons to give to preachers on AIDS. The sermons focus on how to approach the subject from a spiritual perspective, from a perspective of faith. King said it's as simple as "What would Jesus do? How would he deal with this situation?" And he stressed the need for understanding the disease.
King was just 14 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated. "He wasn't Dr. King to me, he was Uncle Martin," he said. "It's not a question of who did it that bothers me; it's what was behind it. It was the ignorance, the anger, the hate and prejudice that killed him."
King has been trying to address and heal that hatred throughout his career. His career has closely followed that of his famous uncle. He has taught religion and sociology at several Southern colleges, is a pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and is active in youth development and teaching "Kingian Nonviolence" workshops.
He now lives in Indianapolis with his family.
King seemed to be quite taken with the island. He said he is a golfer, and was looking forward to 18 holes on Saturday. Would he be playing with local golf and radio personality Sam Topp?
"I really don't have any idea who I'll be playing with," he said. Obviously, a nice, warm golf course was quite welcoming to him. "And I'm set up for a home cooked West Indian meal Saturday night," he said.
Fish and fungi? "What's fungi?" he said.
King will address the annual volunteer recognition ceremony and meeting of the local American Red Cross from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel. Anyone who has given blood or otherwise donated to the Red Cross this year is welcome.
After the World Aids Day ceremony Friday, King was busy having a bite to eat, surrounded by his new friends. Would it be possible to bring his nonviolent message to the territory? A big smile, "I said I didn't think it was the last time I'd be here."
