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.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
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”.
"And I won’t rest; I will face intimidation, and everything else, along with these other stalwart fighters for democracy and for citizenship. We don’t mind it, so long as justice comes out of it. And I’ve come to see now that as we struggle for our rights, maybe some of them will have to die. But somebody said, if a man doesn’t have something that he’ll die for, he isn’t fit to live."
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!"
“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.”
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 say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.”
'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".
"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land."
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).
“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr, tried to give his life serving others … [that he] was a drum major for justice.”
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:
- 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/
- 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
- (2017, April 26). Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Educatio. kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott
- (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
- Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. (2020, August 04). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/stride-toward-freedom-montgomery-story
- King Encyclopedia. (2017, October 10). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia
- Detroit Walk to Freedom. (2020, December 25). Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Walk_to_Freedom
- '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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