Dr Martin Luther King, Jr: I have a dream... : IntentBlog

intent is the emerging asian consciousness giving birth to a global mind shift

Featured Posts

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr: I have a dream...

DK Matai - January 15, 2007

Today is the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, who started his I have a dream speech by stating, "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation..."

-- Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, a Baptist minister, born on 15th January 1929, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950s and the 1960s both within the United States and across the world. In 1963, King and his staff focused on Birmingham, Alabama. They marched and protested non-violently, raising the ire of local officials who unleashed water cannon and police dogs on the marchers, whose ranks included teenagers and children. The bad publicity and break-down of business forced the white leaders of Birmingham to concede to some anti-segregation demands.

Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, where he was arrested and jailed, King organized a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he evoked the name of Lincoln in his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What follows is Dr Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech delivered on that very day at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC --

...Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

[ENDS]

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, was a vital figure of the modern era. His lectures and dialogues stirred the concern and sparked the conscience of a generation. The movements and marches he led brought significant changes in the fabric of American and Global life through his courage and selfless devotion. This devotion gave direction to thirteen years of civil rights activities. His charismatic leadership inspired men and women, young and old, in this nation and around the world.

Dr King’s concept of “somebodiness,” which symbolised the celebration of human worth and the conquest of subjugation, gave black and poor people hope and a sense of dignity. His philosophy of nonviolent direct action, and his strategies for rational and non-destructive social change, galvanised the conscience of this nation and reordered its priorities. His wisdom, his words, his actions, his commitment, and his dream for a new way of life are intertwined with the American experience.

This is perhaps one of the most instantly recognisable and inimitable speeches of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, whose birthday is today. What are your thoughts, observations and views on his birthday. Do you have some similar favourite memories and thoughts to share?

With warm wishes to you and family

DK with family

DK Matai
The Philanthropia, ATCA, mi2g.net

Digg this entry Add to Del.icio.us Share on Facebook Subscribe

Posted by DK Matai at January 15, 2007 05:26 AM

Comments

Aloha

I had the wonderful gift of seeing Martin Luther King, Jr. It was at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Ca. What I remember of his speech (sermon) was: Kill them with kindness and Stick a baby's pacifier in your mouth:) Martin Luther King is a gift that doesn't stop giving. I loved how he said with Agape Love, he could love those who would kill his children. love patty

1. Posted by patty on January 15, 2007 06:07 AM

I was only seven years old, in 1963, when King first appeared in our classrooms, and his "dream" became our current events topic...

our teachers had us learn "current events" in a special 30-minute session of discussion.

Our teacher often brought in pictures, or reel-to-reels.... as most kids didn't have tv's at home yet... (we didn't have a tv until I was ten.)

WE discused Kings dream....

and, even at age seven; I remember saying:

"What a beautiful dream."

Sadly though; during the New Orleans is sinking fiasco/horror post Katrina; the US president, and the like; showed the world; how much they don't like black people....

an ex-presidents wife; making comments like: "these people are poor, and are better off in the dome than they were at home." something to that effect... how very pro-descriminatory was that!!

presidents, ex-presidents.. showed the world post_Katrina.. their intolerance for anyone "not white."

with loving kindness,
North

2. Posted by North on January 15, 2007 06:15 AM

Dear Patty, North, and DK,
I too remember the power of the words of Martin Luther King - and really understanding in highschool where I studied his words and life,
and feeling
stirring within me,
a belief in freedom - where the color of your skin did not determine your value as a person.

It has been the way of living for myself to embrace diversity and to never stop dreaming, all kinds of dreams.

With love,
~ Kate

3. Posted by Kate... on January 15, 2007 11:55 AM

Ahh . . .

To Dream . . .

4. Posted by empyrius on January 15, 2007 12:54 PM

Hey D.K.!

My bad, you were right on the ball

and I jumped the gun.

I knew you had it in ya, though.

Thanks! We do have to stay in the current.

Now to expose myself somewhat...

I don't have any...golly, what's the

politically correct term nowadays?

I have no "real" friends of African descent.

Actually, all my best friends are pale like me.

That's not saying we all look alike, btw.

Back where I come from there are railroad tracks

dividing the city between black and white.

"They" had there own schools, we only met them during

sporting events...and no, they didn't win them all.

They were the competition, no doubt.

If my parents had to take us to their part of town

we would lock the doors in the car and only tread

that path during the day. Needless to say then,

I was quite afraid of these people.

When we moved here I was in 11th grade.

They had blacks in school, I just happened to go

to the one with the most of them...still scared.

That was 1974 folks, not really that long ago...is it?

Now 2007, the schools in town are still this way.

The poor parts of town are similar everywhere.

So how far have we come, folks? Sorry Jr., we

have not fulfilled your dream, not even close!

I can't truthfully say that I'm ashamed of the way it still is.

I can't, in my heart, say I am prejudice-free.

I'd like to think that, but you know minds...

they will tell you what you want to hear.

Are there any black folk who participate right here?

If not, then why not? Any Muslims at all of any color?

As a regular, I feel that this is one area I wish

to see an improvement on. So you say,

"It shouldn't make any difference what color one is."

Right you are, indeed! So why would I want to know?

Probably because of my upbringing...lame excuse.

Maybe I don't want to "say the wrong thing".

And as Walter Cronkite would have said,

"And that's the way it is...January 15, 2007."

5. Posted by Keith on January 15, 2007 04:52 PM

Dear Kate... even as a child, I was told by many adults I had an old soul... I was the one always dreaming and contemplating... finding solace in no "thing" other than peace for everyone everywhere.

Sir King... taught us, that "as" chosen beings to be human; we are all relevant, we are all brothers and sisters of the same ancientness of this planet earth, and all its inhabitants.

I cried when King was murdered; because no matter how far, humankind as a compassionate "entity" tries to overcome human weakness's of corruptions, and discrimination, and excess's like we see in any political arena anywhere today around the globe...

All I can say is:

"I am whom I chose to be; because great men and women in history; like King, Lincoln, the Kennedy brothers, Gandhi, Lennon... transplanted thier great ideals into my soul, and found mine there also reflected these principles of lif. Well, from their influence...I am who I am, b/c of them.

Hero's are always killed, to keep evil alive aren't they?

Greed, corruption, poverty, deprivation, prejudice, descrimination; all seeds of evil....

I have put myself on the front lines years ago, as some of you know...

I was first, embraced.

Then, the evilness of community and social evilness; turned the tide; I even had a telly-call to my place, from a "suit" in the "House" but, would not identify himself; this, was when I was at my peak advocataing... but, b/c this guy was so arrogant, I recognised his voice... it was P.Martin his-ego-self(dark aura) then, I find myself... here... at dead end lane...under "government control."

As you can all tell.. I am always, advocating using myself as the "image" and as Al Gore also said, I speak : "An Inconvenient Truth" and I will never stop, neither!

Until.. I see change, for disabled people in Canada.. living almost 20-30% below poverty-lines... deprived of opportunity, acceptance, and prosperous hope for a better life for themselves; is a severe violation of moral rights and obligation of a nation.

This.. I learned from Sir King, Lennon, Gandhi, Lincoln.

BE the voice; for those.. who's voices are never heard.

"Can you hear me now?"

"I have a dream"

How many phrases, and lives; like these great men, will it take...

to stop evil from continuing?

All these men and women... ever wanted, was equality of life. I wrote so many news articles published in newspapers... all over.

Things did get "disturbing" and I had reason to fade into the sunset.. and here I am..

Squeaking the wheel at IB.. hoping most people can read between the lines...

Why.. is that too much to ask for, in such rich country's around the world?

with loving kindness... s'cuse my self-reflecting.. but, perhaps now most of you here have come to know me "as" anyway, may understand..

I only emmulate those in history for my whole fifty years of my life.. that spoke of equal life for all; because my soul, also believes in only "of" this way.

I thank them for this.. and Kate.. I knew this about you, after reading only a few of your posts... but, you are a silent breeze; myself.. the eye of the "storm?"(gentle smiles.)

God Bless.. the sqeaky voices that cry out in the wilderness.. for equal life, for all! : )

North

6. Posted by North on January 15, 2007 06:08 PM