Today we celebrate the 81st birthday of the great Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Dr King was born on January 15, 1929 and was killed on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. Let us remember this is more than just "a day off." It is a celebration of the fight for freedom, equality and dignity for all races and people, however, there is still much work left to be done. I give credit to our progress and to the fact that it was only a short year ago that this country elected its first African American President but we cannot lose sight of the prize.
About the MLK holiday:
- After 16 long years, the bill was passed by both the House & the Senate and signed into law on Nov 2, 1983
- The first holiday took place on Jan 20, 1986
- All 50 states officially observed the holiday for the 1st time in 2000
- There were 2 hold out states, AZ (1990) and the last state to recognize the holiday was SC
- Outside of the US, the Japanese city of Hiroshima also observes the holiday
Martin Luther King Jr delivered the moving speech "I Have a Dream" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of over 200,000 civil rights supporters on Aug 28, 1963.
"Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
"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."
"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
On this day and everyday may we all be inspired to carry on his work of peace & unity through non violence.
I'm Just Sayin
2 comments:
Didn't know Hiroshima observed King's birthday. :)
As a northern girl, I have to admit that I was VERY surprised to see all the interracial mingling that goes on down here in the south.
I would never have believed it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes.
King's Dream IS being realized in America. Slowly but we're getting there. :)
See ya learned something new
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