Friday, April 04, 2008
Forty Years and Still Counting
Forty years ago today, Martin Luther king Jr. was killed in Memphis. His speech the night before almost foretold his death. It is a moving speech, not only for that reason.
Forty years ago I remember sitting at the dinner table at friends of the family (my parents were out of town) and having heard about his death, and hearing clips from this speech on the news, I wanted to discuss: should we boycott Sealtest Milk and Wonder Bread. I was told the speech was not for me, and of course, we would not boycott these companies. But I realized that the speech was as much for me as for the black citizens. The speech still moves me.
Forty years and still counting. Equality is still elusive.
Here is Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Mountain Top" speech. His last speech. He was in Memphis to support the sanitation workers' strike. This speech is a stroll through history, a look at a different nonviolent use of political power--economic clout. We can all learn.
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/mlking.html
On this site you can read his speech an see a clip of MLK jr delivering the conclusion
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f0a_1179859741
Forty years ago I remember sitting at the dinner table at friends of the family (my parents were out of town) and having heard about his death, and hearing clips from this speech on the news, I wanted to discuss: should we boycott Sealtest Milk and Wonder Bread. I was told the speech was not for me, and of course, we would not boycott these companies. But I realized that the speech was as much for me as for the black citizens. The speech still moves me.
Forty years and still counting. Equality is still elusive.
Here is Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Mountain Top" speech. His last speech. He was in Memphis to support the sanitation workers' strike. This speech is a stroll through history, a look at a different nonviolent use of political power--economic clout. We can all learn.
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/mlking.html
On this site you can read his speech an see a clip of MLK jr delivering the conclusion
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f0a_1179859741
