Longtime readers may have heard me make this point before — probably so. Martin Luther King is almost always referred to as “Dr. King.” As our Rick Brookhiser once observed, he is basically the only deceased person habitually known as “Dr.” Somebody. (Another one is Johnson, as in Samuel.) (You might cite Doolittle, too, but let’s not get silly.)
Bill Bennett, when he was education secretary, did something really, really neat. One year, on King Day, it was his turn to go down to Atlanta and represent the administration. And, throughout his remarks, he referred to King as “Reverend King” — not “Dr. King.” This placed King as a religious figure, not a mere Ph.D.-holder (and let’s not get into that controversy, either).
At the Democratic convention, it was mainly “Dr. King,” of course. But once — from one of the introducers — it was “Reverend King.” And that made me smile (and think of Bennett).
CORRECTION: Rec’d this charming note from a reader: “Jay! Dr. Dolittle is spelled with one ‘o.’ The general (Jimmy) is spelled with two ‘o’s. Please! I should know.” Signed, Paul Doolittle.