NationStates Jolt Archive


Dr. King's dream

Zooke
17-01-2005, 19:23
In honor of a great man on Martin Luther King Day.

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand 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 captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still 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 languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have 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 would be guaranteed the inalienable 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 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.

So we have 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 rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. 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. 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. 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 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 their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall 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 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 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.

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 cells. Some of you have come from areas where your 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 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, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, 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 slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four 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 the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, 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. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. 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.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a 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. 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 snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks 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 every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let 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!"
Nikoko
17-01-2005, 19:30
Zeh Bump.
Zooke
17-01-2005, 19:41
Zeh Bump.

Thank you.

Bumpity-bump, bumpity-bump, bumpity-bump...

Dancing around like no 54 year old woman should.
GoodThoughts
17-01-2005, 19:47
Thank you. We had about twenty-five people over to the house yesterday to celebrate MLKjr and we read that speech, along with saying prayers and readings from several different several different religions. It was a very nice time. Can you tell me where these quotes come from:

And they who believe on God and his Apostles, and make no difference between them--these! we will bestow on them their reward at last. God is Gracius, Merciful!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

There is only one eternal law:
Hate never destroys hate; only love does.

God has created us all human, and all countries of the world are parts of the same globe.

By Me, Unmanifest in form,
This whole universe was spun:
In Me subsist all beings,
I do not subsist in them.
Saipea
17-01-2005, 19:49
I'm waiting for a flood of people to come in here to start criticizing King.

To be honest, the more people knock his character and methods, the more susceptible I am to listening and believing, especially if the people are historians, liberals, or people who I respect.

I still, however, refuse to believe that he was a sex fiend, and therefore often refuse to listen to people who claim such.
The Gongites
17-01-2005, 19:52
King dreamt so much becuase he slept so much.
Alomogordo
17-01-2005, 19:57
King dreamt so much becuase he slept so much.
I don't know if that was malicious or if it was a joke, but it wasn't funny. We shall overcome!
Alomogordo
17-01-2005, 19:59
I'm waiting for a flood of people to come in here to start criticizing King.

To be honest, the more people knock his character and methods, the more susceptible I am to listening and believing, especially if the people are historians, liberals, or people who I respect.

I still, however, refuse to believe that he was a sex fiend, and therefore often refuse to listen to people who claim such.
Right. I could post that Newt Gingrich was a bank robber on 20 websites just as easily. One website that claimed he was a womanizer had connections with the Klan. Just to give you an idea.
The Gongites
17-01-2005, 20:00
Hey, you'd be tired too if you were fighting for equal rights all the time while bigots just kept arresting you!
Hialti
17-01-2005, 20:05
Seriously, that brought tears to my eyes for that day still hasn't come yet.
Saipea
17-01-2005, 20:06
Right. I could post that Newt Gingrich was a bank robber on 20 websites just as easily. One website that claimed he was a womanizer had connections with the Klan. Just to give you an idea.

Woah, dude. I know that. But if you look at this and the other topic, it's been brought up at least once by someone who actually believed it.

And while it fucking pisses me off, I'm sure it comes from the fact that people are tired of hearing about King as though he were the second Jesus (King was far better), and making a huge deal about him every friggin year.

It's tacky, and as the man didn't really have any profound ideas or any original thoughts or statements (much like Lincoln, Reagan, Clinton, etc.) I think that's why people are so willing to propagate this "womanizing" lie.
Zooke
17-01-2005, 20:12
Can you tell me where these quotes come from:

And they who believe on God and his Apostles, and make no difference between them--these! we will bestow on them their reward at last. God is Gracius, Merciful!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

There is only one eternal law:
Hate never destroys hate; only love does.

God has created us all human, and all countries of the world are parts of the same globe.

By Me, Unmanifest in form,
This whole universe was spun:
In Me subsist all beings,
I do not subsist in them.

I'm not sure, but aren't these all from the Holy Quran?
GoodThoughts
17-01-2005, 20:17
I'm not sure, but aren't these all from the Holy Quran?

Nope, only one. Which one?
Zooke
17-01-2005, 20:37
Nope, only one. Which one?

I would say the first. In talking with a friend, Aziz, I believe I remember him quoting that teaching, or something similar. He was telling me of shared prophets (apostles), Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Jesus and telling me of the 124,000 prophets. Please forgive me if I have mixed this up.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Isn't that in one of the Psalms? I should have recognized this the first time.

There is only one eternal law:
Hate never destroys hate; only love does. My husband says that this is a Yoga teaching.

By Me, Unmanifest in form,
This whole universe was spun:
In Me subsist all beings,
I do not subsist in them. He also says that he thinks this is Indian theology.

God has created us all human, and all countries of the world are parts of the same globe. I'm at a loss on this one. Help please.
GoodThoughts
17-01-2005, 20:47
I would say the first. In talking with a friend, Aziz, I believe I remember him quoting that teaching, or something similar. He was telling me of shared prophets (apostles), Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Jesus and telling me of the 124,000 prophets. Please forgive me if I have mixed this up.

Isn't that in one of the Psalms? I should have recognized this the first time.

My husband says that this is a Yoga teaching.

He also says that he thinks this is Indian theology.

I'm at a loss on this one. Help please.

You're right on the first one Quran.
And the Unity one comes from OT

Hope I didnt miss any of them?
One Etrnal law is Buddist.
Unmanifest is Hindu.
And the last one is Baha'i.
Zooke
17-01-2005, 20:56
You're right on the first one Quran.
And the Unity one comes from OT

Hope I didnt miss any of them?
One Etrnal law is Buddist.
Unmanifest is Hindu.
And the last one is Baha'i.

Which basically says that we are all one people with one teaching, no matter the source faith. Thank you.
GoodThoughts
17-01-2005, 21:22
Which basically says that we are all one people with one teaching, no matter the source faith. Thank you.

That we are all one people is the central or pivotal teaching of the Baha'i Faith. If the world would truly accept that one principle much of what is wrong in world relations would not exist. It is a simple but very profound concept. And I believe that Dr King undersood that principle very well.
Roach-Busters
17-01-2005, 21:23
I'm waiting for a flood of people to come in here to start criticizing King.

I did the other day, but some bastard called me a KKK member. Suffice it to say, the mods did nothing.
Manstrom
18-01-2005, 01:53
Happy Robert E Lee day everyone. I would like to take today to celebrate someone I admire (Robert E Lee) rather than someone who slept around and who was communist (King). What he did overall was great, but the person he was was not.
GoodThoughts
18-01-2005, 03:24
"The belief that God
will do everything for man
is as untenable as the belief
that man can do
everything for himself. It too,
is based on a lack of faith.
We must learn that to expect
God to do everything while we
do nothing is not faith,
but superstituion."

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Goed Twee
18-01-2005, 09:43
I'm waiting for a flood of people to come in here to start criticizing King.

To be honest, the more people knock his character and methods, the more susceptible I am to listening and believing, especially if the people are historians, liberals, or people who I respect.

I still, however, refuse to believe that he was a sex fiend, and therefore often refuse to listen to people who claim such.


Happy Robert E Lee day everyone. I would like to take today to celebrate someone I admire (Robert E Lee) rather than someone who slept around and who was communist (King). What he did overall was great, but the person he was was not.


BAM! Enjoy!