There is really nothing I can say about what the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was trying to teach us all and motivate us all to accomplish that he did not say himself. Given that reality, here he is in his own words. The Other America (1967):
The Three Evils of Society (1967):
Beyond Vietnam (1967):
Finally, as I wrote in last year’s Independence Day post, during the years prior to the Great Rebellion, America abolitionists rewrote the lyrics to My Country Tis of Thee. This abolitionist variant, done in a minor key, becomes a haunting spiritual begging the divine providence cited by the Founders in the Declaration, Constitution, and their other writings to finally bring liberty to all. This variant is below:
I will only say, in honor of the day and the man it is named after, that if one is not considered equal, then none of us are equal. And if one is not free, none of us are free. That has always been the challenge of America’s ideals versus America’s reality. It is up to us to do the hard work, small and large, to bridge that gap and to truly form a more perfect Union. Open thread!
japa21
Nothing to add. Thank you Adam.
HinTN
Each and every day.
Thank you, Adam.
Adam L Silverman
I will add this roll call of paragons of patriotism:
ETA:
glory b
Watching “I Am Not Your Negro” on PBS, Independent Lens.
Amaranthine RBG
We really need to develop a national tradition about what we do to observed MLK day.
Unfortunately, now, it’s pretty much like “President’s Day” or something – just another three day weekend.
Many people see it as a “day of service.” And do something – anything to observe it: serving at the soup kitchen, trail maintenance, bla bla bla.
We need a better idea.
sheila in nc
Adam, thank you for the abolitionist My Country, ‘Tis of Thee. The minor key is so effective and the production of the vocals, adding a new harmony with each verse, is beautifully done. Was also listening to a lot of good protest music on the radio earlier today.
raven
I mark the day that the NFL took the Super Bowl away from Arizona and the final nail in the coffin of racism that my father fell into. It’s funny, I posted a picture of me, when i was a child, as a cheerleader mascot on the high school team my dad coached in the 50’s. On Sunday the whole team would come to our house for breakfast, black and white kids all. There always seemed to be an approval of integration partly from his service in the Pacific in WW2 and his sensitivity to African-Americans in the Navy. His objection to the loss of the Super Bowl was not really about the MLK holiday, more about how Arizona was punished when others were not. There was no changing his mind and it was one of the saddest things I saw in his life because he did become a racist in his old age.
raven
I see the shithead troll is here. You have fun talking to it, I won’t even stay in a thread is appears in.
raven
Jeffro
Thanks, Adam.
And tough shit, Meghan McCain.
Miss Bianca
Nice, Adam. Thanks for the ass-kicking inspiration, as always.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Easy there. It’s fine.
Adam L Silverman
@sheila in nc: You’re welcome. @HinTN: @Jeffro: @Miss Bianca: You all two.
rikyrah
Thanks for the videos. His words were prophetic.
Planetjanet
@Amaranthine RBG: I spent the day as I have the last eight years serving a meal in a homeless shelter. I made my favorite bbq so others may have a hot meal on a cold day. Why was this a bad way to honor MLK?
lurker dean
Thanks, Adam. Sorry about your father, Raven, that must have been tough to deal with.
Amaranthine RBG
@Planetjanet:
I certainly don’t mean to criticize your activities on MLK day.
I am just proposing that we need to develop some kind of national tradition that specifically honors Dr. King and the civil rights struggle.
It seems to me that there is no real focus and that MLK day more resembles the basically meaningless President’s Day and I think he, and his legacy, deserve better.
I especially notice it with parents of young children. People have cobbled together their own “traditions” such as screening some of his speeches, reading some of his letters, etc. But these activities are so atomized and there isn’t really a national observance.
justawriter
How I try to remember the day, by not being a moderate …
First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. – MLK, Letter From Birmingham Jail
mvr
I’m just so impressed by how young he was in this talk, and yet how confidently he just rolls his argument out. Wish I could do that presenting much easier material to much more forgiving audiences.
Amir Khalid
@Amaranthine RBG:
The world awaits your proposal with bated breath.
AxelFoley
@Amaranthine RBG:
So spending the day in service doesn’t cut it for you? What do you suggest, oh wise one?
Nevermind. Just fuck the fuck off.