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Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr .

January 15th, 1929: "HAppy Birthday, MLK"

This January the 15th, Blue Water Area Transit says, "Happy Birthday" in remembrance of a hero: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ultimately ended with the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses to be unconstitutional. MLK approached this, and other Civil Rights protests with honor, valor, non-violence, and love; And for that Dr. King, we salute you.

the montgomery bus boycott

Dr. King's memoir regarding the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 'Stride Toward Freedom', was officially released on September 17th, 1958. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Encyclopedia quotes Dr. King as stating that this memoir is “the chronicle of 50,000 Negroes who took to heart the principles of nonviolence, who learned to fight for their rights with the weapon of love, and who in the process, acquired a new estimate of their own human worth”.

Resident's pictured in the photo chose to walk, rather than ride public transit, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.

In the episode below of 'American Freedom Stories', you will hear how Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a community to overcome adversity and how the Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the "greatest examples, in the 20th century, of civic engagement".

'Walk to Freedom', Detroit, MI

On June 23, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave an empowering speech at the end of the Walk to Freedom march in Detroit, MI. This speech was later noted as the "precursor" to his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech (7). According to Wikipedia, Detroit's "Walk to Freedom" was "the largest civil rights demonstration in the nation's history" at that time.

"Tell 'em About the Dream, MArtin!"

Just months after speaking at the Walk to Freedom rally in Detroit, Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Historians note that this renowned speech was mostly improvised, thanks to a friend calling out from the audience, "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!"(8).

'I've Been to the Mountaintop'

Martin Luther King delivered his last, seemingly mantic speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop", on April 3rd, 1968. According to The Guardian's adapted excerpt from 'Redemption: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Last 31 Hours', this last speech was improvised with no notes. The Guardian's excerpt continues that Martin Luther King, Jr., a born leader, often spoke "off the cuff" even when the "stakes were high".

Within this excerpt, King later goes on to say, "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!", as if to foreshadow the events that would occur the following day (2).

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. For many years leading up to this tragic day, King prophesized his early and untimely death. However, just two months before he gave his historic "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, King began to contemplate his own Eulogy (2).

Revered Samuel Billy Kyles, fellow civil rights activist and close friend, recounts his memories of MLK's last days in the 'NPR, Special Series, 1968:Remembering MLK's "Mountaintop" Speech'. Reverend Kyles was with King the night he delivered his last speech. He was also with him the following day, when Dr. King was assassinated on his motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

Happy Birthday, Dr. King.

Citations:

  1. COPY BlackPast, B. (2012, January 17) (1955) Martin Luther King Jr., “The Montgomery Bus Boycott”. Retrieved from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1955-martin-luther-king-jr-montgomery-bus-boycott/
  2. Rosenbloom, J. (2018, April 4). Martin Luther King's last 31 hours: the story of his final prophetic speech. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/04/martin-luther-king-last-31-hours-the-story-of-his-prophetic-last-speech
  3. (2017, April 26). Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Educatio. kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott
  4. (2016, January 18). 11 Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes About Love That Are Worth Repeating. www.bustle.com/articles/136118-11-martin-luther-king-jr-quotes-about-love-that-are-worth-repeating
  5. Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. (2020, August 04). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/stride-toward-freedom-montgomery-story
  6. King Encyclopedia. (2017, October 10). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia
  7. Detroit Walk to Freedom. (2020, December 25). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Walk_to_Freedom
  8. 'Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!' (2013, August 28). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/tell-em-about-dream-martin

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