Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Martin Luther King, Jr., “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” 1967
Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Why We Can't Wait,” 1963
The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” 1967
I'd never seen those quotes before, which made me wonder if that's just because I'm in the UK, or if they're less famous than some of his other statements because the messages they contain are ones that a lot of people don't want to hear. That made me think of something that Hélder Câmara said: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
ReplyDeleteLet Freedom Ring.
ReplyDeleteA powerful reminder of what still needs to be done...
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting.
Fourty one years later and it appears as if the spirit has definitely passed away. I didn't know King spoke those words.
ReplyDeleteI also haven't seen that video before. That's scary because I love good, strong music. Those sistas put it down on that song. Hard.
RIP Left Eye & Aaliyah.
What a lovely tribute, Gwyneth! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLaura ~ Dr. King was very vocal about the war and poverty in his later speeches. I love the quote you included from Camara. It is very fitting.
ReplyDeleteShelia ~ Amen.
Chicki ~ Yes, we have a long way to go.
Don ~ I think we spend so much time on The Dream speech that we often forget he said anything else. And since the dream has been co-opted and commodified we need to start looking at what else the man said. The song was actually from the Panther soundtrack. I love it!
Bettye ~ Thanks!
For folks who want to check out other lesser known quotes from Dr. King, you can find them here:
http://www.mlkonline.net/quotes.html
Thank you, Gwyneth! It is so important to remember this man and what he taught us about ourselves. A great man, no matter how many have tried to mar his image! Thank you for this! :*)
ReplyDeleteThose are some of the timeliest and most poignant messages. Thanks Lady Gwyneth...
ReplyDeleteblessings,
angelia
Those extra quotes are also very moving/inspirational/challenging. Thanks so much for the link, Gwyneth.
ReplyDeleteAnd I get the impression that as well as having a lot of very wise things to say, King also had an extremely dry sense of humour.
Tyhitia ~ That's so true. Thanks for checking out the post!
ReplyDeleteAngelia ~ I was amazed at how relevant the quotes were for our times. It really makes you wonder how much has changed...
Laura ~ Your welcome! :-) I think you're right about his sense of humor.
Gwyneth
Talk about a throwback video -- Pebbles, a young Queen and Mary J., SWV -- the estrogen in that vid is mighty powerful.
ReplyDelete*Heart full*
Thanks for the wonderful tribute to a great man and an amazing time in our history.
Thanks, Michelle. I love this song. Having all those talented sistas on the same track is amazing. :-)
ReplyDeleteGwyneth
@ gwyneth: you said a mouthful then. I really don't know of but maybe 3 other speeches he made. I have never read any extensive material concerning MLK. Sad, aint it.
ReplyDeleteI have read alot about Malcolm X, though. He grabbed me more.
I wrote a poem about MLK on my poetry blog: http://depthpoet.blogspot.com/
Tell me what you think?
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