English Wordplay ~ Listen and Enjoy
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 1929-1968
I just hope that my message will continue to play in a loop, impacting each new generation, letting them see and feel that the struggles can be won.
An American Baptist minister, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement, today he is recognized as a Saint by two Christian churches.
He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and his efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, establishing himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination, through non-violent means.
By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.
| PETER: | Your grandfather and father were Ebenezer Baptist Church pastors in Atlanta, Georgia. You were served there as co-pastor with your father for eight years until your death in 1968. |
| KING: | I chose to come into a family that had a history of service and preaching; so that from an early age with my words I could help to change the flow of rivers. |
| PETER: | Is it fair to ask the black community to assimilate into the white community? Don't they have a rich culture of their own? |
| KING: | In order to become a part of the world, there has to be a certain amount of integration, to take the black and the east Indian and the Eskimo and bring them together as a people to move forward and accomplish something. They bring the richness of their backgrounds and families to the table, and it is that richness that increases the productivity of the entire world. |
| PETER: | What is your wife, Coretta, doing now? |
| KING: | She is actually organizing a lot of the children as they pass over - helping with their acclimation to being back home, the decision of what to do next, where to go, helping them understand some of the lessons that were stopped in mid-stream because they chose to return early. |
| PETER: | You said, "I refuse to accept the idea that man is unable to influence the unfolding of events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality." Do you still hold that view? |
| KING: | Absolutely. |
| PETER: | The tenor of your "Dream" oration was angry. The founding fathers had signed a promissory note for every American. "This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." From your perspective at Home, how much of this promise has now been fulfilled? |
| KING: | It is a battle that will constantly be waged upon the planet, because the planet is a duality. We can't get to a point where everybody has everything, because then you won't be able to experience anything. |
Toni comments: I felt like a very eager little acolyte at the feet of a master, trying to get a grasp of how you do this thing called life, how you go through this learning of the life lessons, what you can accomplish - not only for yourself, but for those around you - while you're going through these lessons. It was a fascinating, but also a deeply emotional interview.
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