Royal Bobbles Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobblehead

It all began quietly more than two decades ago. Long before graduation ceremonies, before marriage proposals and wedding bells, before career moves and children, there was MLK weekend. There were eight of us that first year, representing a broad spectrum of studies at a large southern university. Although we came from different geographies, we shared a common heritage and ancestry. We also shared a common ideology. We sought a more just world, equality, an end to racism and prejudice, and an increased role in the future of our nation. It was that shared background that brought us together during our college years - we became aquainted in dorm rooms, classrooms, fraternity gatherings, and religious ceremonies. While most of our fellow students, white and black, indulged in filthy decadence, we busied ourselves with our studies, self improvement, and community service projects.Juniors most of us were that year, just back from winter break, feasting at the dining hall one afternoon when the topic of the upcoming MLK day - and the associated 3 day weekend - was brought up. Now as you can imagine, most of the student body was looking forward to a drunken debauchery filled break. We, however, decided to celebrate the birth of Dr. King by focusing on his work, his teachings, and his life. But how? Where? We knew that we wanted to get out of our cesspool college town and away from all the buffoonery. We could scrape together the funds for a rudimentary road trip, but we hadn't the money to travel as far as Atlanta to visit his tomb, nor to stay in even the trashiest hotel in the city. What to do then? What manner of excursion would be fitting of Dr. King? A trip to the beach? Too cold. A trip to some other civil rights Mecca? Too insignificant. We were stumped. And then, like an epiphany, the solution came to us.As a token to the accusations that Dr. King often endured, one of gang (we use the term derisively), Theo perhaps, or maybe Tavares, no one remembers exactly, suggested that we do something completely opposite of logic, common sense, and sound judgment. He proposed that we go....camping. Not just camping though, backpacking. Real camping, outdoors, hiking, campfire and tent camping. Brilliant it was, simply brilliant.None of us had ever done anything like that before. No serious backpacking in our urban upbringing. In fact none of us had ever done any true backpacking at all. The closest any of us ever came to backpacking was maybe lugging an overstuffed bookbag around campus. Nor had any of us ever really slept outside before, save an occasional weekend revival at the church campground. And that was in canvas tents with bunk beds.Yet there we were bright and early on that frigid January Saturday morning with our rented camping gear; old smelly sleeping bags and ancient backpacks stuffed every warm garment we could cram into them, along with a few packs of with ramen noodles and cans of tuna. We were a sight I tell you. Unfortunately no one thought to snap a few pictures for posterity.Off to the Great Smokys we went. We hiked. We set up camp. We froze. So we built a fire. A big fire. A big, big fire. A fire so hot that it melted the soles of sneakers (hiking boots? Pfff!) sitting too close to the conflagration. To this day that legendary blaze is still fondly recalled. It set the standard by which any inferno ever started by any of us is measured. And as we sat around that bonfire cooking any exposed skin, we took turns reading from the speeches and letters of Dr. King. We read our favorite passages of his writings and discussed the meaning of each, how it impacted our lives and visions of the world. We spent hours in conversation and debate before sliding off to our worn out tents and sleeping bags. And we froze. Lord was it cold those nights! But we survived and made it back to campus. Our friends and neighbors bragged to us about their conquests, their new lows, the voids in their memories. We had our own stories to tell.And so the tradition began. Every year since then, we have made a pilgrimage to some distant forest to celebrate the blessing that was Dr. King. We have ventured to national parks, wildlife preserves, and here lately, state parks throughout the southeast.Over time, our excursions have gained a certain amount of civility. Some years have found us slumbering and feasting in rented RVs, venturing outdoors only for brief, comfortable dayhikes in some nearby nature preserve. On these particular non-backpacking weekends we strive to compensate for our comfort by performing some type of community service. We have fed the poor in soup kitchens, cleaned abandoned cemeteries, picked up trash along roadways, and chaperoned Boys and Girls Club groups to the circus and professional basketball games.Over the last few years, the time on the trail has diminished while the time doing service work has increased. Now don't get me wrong, the weekend is not completely spent working tirelessly for others, no sir. We do indeed like to spend our Sunday afternoons resting as the good book commands us to do. And what manner of relaxation do we prefer? Golf. That's right, the game of the elite. We long ago realized that the good Dr. King would have been most pleased to see us commemorating his birthday by playing 18 rounds at a club that only a few decades ago would have forbidden our presence, unless we were there to wash the dishes or clean the toilets in the locker room.As with any group, we have gained a few members and lost a few over the years. Yet as the core mission and beliefs of this group has never wavered we have each found it impossible to attend every single year. There have been illnesses, new babies, work obligations, and even a brief incarceration. Therefore, one of our members long ago began a tradition of bestowing gifts to the others in the group as a token of his appreciation for their attendance. This has evolved into a minor holiday in itself. We have exchange gourmet foods, embroidered jackets, monogrammed umbrellas, adult beverages, and cigars.And so this year, I wanted to give a unique gift that would serve as a reminder of why were gather. After years of gift giving and receiving, we had all collected more than our share of Dr. King memorabilia: shirts, posters, hats, etc. Still, I wanted to provide a gift like none before, something different, something that could be cherished and passed down. A search of the internet turned up the Dr. King bobblehead. Believe me, I was skeptical at first. How could a spring-necked figurine possibly represent Dr. King in any manner other than as a mocking caricature? However, upon carefully studying the ad and pictures, I realized that this is not some cheap silly door prize like the ones they give away at a ball game. This is a beautiful, artistic, realistic recreation of Dr. King. Just smaller. Much smaller. I made my purchase and I can't even describe how pleased everyone was when they unwrapped their Dr. King bobbleheads! One Dr. King was placed on the mantle over the fireplace in our cabin, watching over our festivities all weekend.We spent Saturday helping build a house for Habitat for Humanity, Sunday morning in prayer and singing spirituals, and Sunday afternoon searching for lost golf balls. We finished off our weekend that night with some bodacious barbeque and cake. Then we moved the furniture aside and danced raucously all around the cabin.Dr. King stood quietly there on the mantle, nodding approvingly.

I purchased this bobblehead of Martin Luther King, Jr. to sit beside the bobblehead of Martin Luther we have at our Lutheran Church. The kids at church kept confusing the two Martin Luthers. No longer. Who would have thought a bobblehead could be so educational.

Well I figured that we had/have lots of sports figures why not history figures if so offered. Nice detail in a light way. Well done and nice price make this a welcomed addition

I love it. I am a big collector of Dr. MLK and this just added to my collection. Arrived quickly and in great shape as described.

I give the to a special friend of mine who loved it. She has started collecting bobble heads and I knew she would like this one.

Great gift!

Very durable, & well made

Fun to collect..great quality..