Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King

[Franklin]

It's a little late, but in the event of the passing of Coretta Scott King, this seems like a good time to honor the legacy of Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King had a dream of a just and egalitarian society brought about without the use of violence. He knew that his dream would not be realized during his lifetime, but he continued the great work up until his death and his widow has carried on and furthered the cause for the last 38 years. Mrs. King worked tirelessly to help fulfill the Dream even while raising four children.

From the King Center website at http://www.thekingcenter.org/csk/bio.html

Since her husband's assassination in 1968, Mrs. King has devoted much of her energy and attention to developing programs and building the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living memorial to her husband's life and dream. Situated in the Freedom Hall complex encircling Dr. King's tomb, The King Center is part of a 23-acre national historic park which includes his birth home, and which hosts over one million visitors a year. For 27 years (1968-1995), Mrs. King devoted her life to developing The King Center, the first institution built in memory of an African American leader.


The Kings never backed away from the Dream in spite of intense governmental harrassment, hatred and prejudice. And the Dream is coming true. Some say not quickly enough. But the changes that have occured in the relatively short incubation of the Dream are nothing short of phenomenal. It is a Dream nurtured by a belief in the goodness of people, not in crude and forceful overthrow of evil.

Here is an excerpt from Doctor King's famous speech, Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963:

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.

[WileyCoyote]

Yeah, Ghandi and King did great things with their non violence and faith in the inherent goodness of people. We pay lip service to King by honoring his birthday but not learning anything from his example. First reaction always seems to be to use force. In the case of Dubya's invasion of Iraq, it wasn't even a reaction but a pre-action. He decided to invade and then find a justification. He had no business being at Coretta's funeral since he has contempt for everything King stood for.

[Destiny]

Yeah, Ghandi and King did great things with their non violence and faith in the inherent goodness of people. We pay lip service to King by honoring his birthday but not learning anything from his example. First reaction always seems to be to use force. In the case of Dubya's invasion of Iraq, it wasn't even a reaction but a pre-action. He decided to invade and then find a justification. He had no business being at Coretta's funeral since he has contempt for everything King stood for.

I totally agree with you Wiley. Why would he show up at the funeral other than to try to make himself look good.

Now if there could be more people like the Kings the world would be a much better place to live. And you are right force is always used first. What happened to the idea of people thinking before acting or reacting?

[Beatrix]

I remember having read Dr. King's speech during high school, yet not understanding fully well its significance. People like the Kings are courageous people for standing up publicly for what they believe in. A lot of people are cowards, saying a lot of things but not daring to repeat or live up to them when the opportunity calls for it. Still, I am glad that so much have changed since then.

[DJDizzy1]

I agree with everyone above. King was so poetic and had an ability to reach out and connect with people the way our current administration just can't seem to grasp. It's a lesson Bush needs to learn, non violence can accomplish so much more than spreading democrary through terror. You can't preach reason with a weapon.

[nightgirl]

Despite all that he had experienced in his childhood, Martin Luther King had been a very good persona for all his life. The fight against racism is truly one of the things I remembered him the most. If not for him, discrimination in the country wouldn't cease to exist.

[womanistic]

Martin Luther King made the effort to cease the discrimination in America. Without him, the whites will still consider the black americans as slaves. Thanks to him, eventhough black people are still discriminated, they already have their rights and they can have the arms of the law to protect them.

[NicoMoon]

Without him, the whites will still consider the black americans as slaves.

Surely you can't believe that Martin Luther King's crusade is the sole reason that whites don't still consider black americans as slaves?

Lincoln issues his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. According to the Census of 1860, this policy freed nearly four million slaves. Legally, the last 40,000 or so slaves were freed in Kentucky by the final ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitu tion) to the Constitution in December of 1865.

Lincoln was white, so was the Congress that legally abolished slavery, and so was every voter who elected all of them.

Thanks to him, eventhough black people are still discriminated, they already have their rights and they can have the arms of the law to protect them.

Yes, some black people still suffer discrimination, it's true. So do old people, short people, skinny people, fat people, and redheads, among others. I doubt that there is any group one could name that can't make a case that they're discriminated against.

Martin Luther King did not represent the idea that black Americans should overcome racism only to become racists themselves, or to receive special treatments and entitlements because of it. His dream was a world where all people lived in peace and harmony.


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'm quite sure that MLK did not dream that one day someone's four little white children would live in a nation where they would be judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character either.

[eldragon]

Here in Mississippi, discrimination is alive and well.

Where I live, 22 miles from the Gulf Coast, blacks and whites are basically separate.

Last month, I heard two white people call two black people by the "n" word.

Still, black people have and are making big progress without the help of whitey. More black kids are going to college than not, at least from around here. Especially black women.

They are making their own futures, and earning respect.

But I have to make a comment about Lincoln freeing the slaves. Yes, he did. But what did they have once they were freed? Nothing. They were actually forced to do almost worse work - by becoming sharecroppers.


It took over 100 years before black people started to rise up and fight for their rights. From 1860-1960 - virtually nothing was done in the south.

Blacks were still forced to drink out of separate water fountains and ride in the back of the bus until the late 60's in parts of Misssissipi and Alabama.

BTW - the vote that freed the slaves - was won by NORHERNERS. I guarantee you that most of the people in the south would still have slaves if they could.

Sad but true.

[Franklin]

Bringing to top in honor of Dr. King's birthday.