Below is a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr's last sermon, written the day he was shot:
"There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right. I believe today that there is a need for all people of goodwill to come with a massive act of conscience and say in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "We ain’t goin’ study war no more." This is the challenge facing modern man."
In tears after watching an hour long show dedicated to him, I realized he was my age when he died. This one man that did so much to change this country and this world. This man who, after his death, still had stringent opponents to what he accomplished. He'd already received a Nobel Peace prize at the age of 35. What were you doing at that age?
This piece in the Washington Post tells us how close this nation was to not honoring this man with a day out of the year (that puffed up lover of mankind, Jesse Helms had a showdown with Ted Kennedy on the floor of the Senate).
There are many places online to access speeches, writings and photos. Here is a small list:
MLK Online
The Martin Luther Ling, Jr Research and Education Institute
Build the Dream - Home of an effort to have a memorial built
3 comments:
That Jesse Helms is living long enough to have his rough edges softened is a crime and a sin. Zappa and he were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the same year. Frank is gone but this old evil bastard lives on.
But today is not the day to hold hard feelings. Today we should honor a man who will live long past Jesse Helms' toxic influence.
Great post - moving, and makes you think -
Ali
Hard to believe that there was a time in this country, and not that long ago, that a man could be killed for promoting racial equality.
Post a Comment