Today
January 21 2013 we remember world
peace maker Martin
Luther King, Jr; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was a principal leader of the
non-violent Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. He not only began the Civil
Rights Movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he himself became an icon for the
entire movement. Since King was, in part, famous for his oratory abilities;
Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." That is, Jefferson declared
that all citizens have the rights to be free from oppression and have equal opportunities in pursuing their goals. These ideals have been called the
American Dream.
Between 1955 and 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped change America. He brought to the world's attention how
unfairly blacks were treated. He had the help of millions of Americans, but his
strong leadership and unprecedented power of speech gave people the faith and
courage to keep working peacefully even when others did not. This led to
new laws that ended the practice of keeping people of different backgrounds
apart, making life fair for everyone.
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the
youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his
selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to
the furtherance of the civil rights movement.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony
of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march
in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.
Why Martin Luther King is honored throughout the world
especially in America?
- He brought to the world's attention how unfairly blacks were treated. He had the
help of millions of Americans, but his strong leadership and unprecedented
power of speech gave people the faith and courage to keep working peacefully
even when others did not. This led to new laws that ended the practice of
keeping people of different backgrounds apart, making life fairer for everyone.
- He was a person who believed in peace and justice, to win more freedom for
black Americans Martin Luther King, Jr. was that man.
- He believed that darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- He was taught that one day we must come to see that peace is not merely
a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that
goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through
peaceful means.
What a legacy to other nations
- What we learn from him for our nation Tanzania is that happiness in life, as
many a disaster, can be due to chance, but the peace within us can never be
governed by chance. Peace must be cultivated, protected and honored. It is due to top leaders to make sure
that citizens enjoy this peace according to rules
as established in the Constitution;
- If our leaders will do that always God blesses the peacemakers for bringing joyful
environment; they will make people to live in harmony with one another.
- Martin Luther King Jr legacy is for leaders to
be honest in their t responsibilities, hey need to
remember that they have been honored by citizens to bring peace to the nation,
- Leaders they are required to come up with policies and rules which promotes peace and not
promoting killings or riots which at the ends destroy the peaceful atmosphere
of a given nation;
Famous quotations from Martin Luther King
Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 16 April 1963
We must learn to live
together as brothers or perish together as fools.
-- Speech in St. Louis, Missouri, March 22, 1964
The ultimate measure of a
man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy.
The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life
for the welfare of others.
-- Strength to Love (1963)
We will have to repent in
this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling
silence of the good people.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
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" speech, August 28, 1963
Nothing in all the world
is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
-- Strength to Love (1963)
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 . . . So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried
about anything. I'm not fearing any man.
-- "I've Been to the
Mountaintop" speech, April 3, 1968 (the day before his assassination)
If a man hasn't
discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
-- Speech in Detroit, Michigan on June 23, 1963
The means by which we
live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We
have guided missiles and misguided men.
-- Strength to Love (1963), Ch. 7
Freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
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 Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963
I submit that an
individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is
unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail in order to arouse the conscience
of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing
the very highest respect for the law.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
It may be true that the
law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.
-- Quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Nov.
13, 1962
A nation or civilization
that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan.
-- Strength to Love (1963)
We who engage in
nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that
is already alive.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
I believe that unarmed
truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is
stronger than evil triumphant.
-- Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 1964
Shallow understanding
from people of good will is more frustrating than
absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
We were here before the
mighty words of the Declaration of Independence were etched across the pages of
history. Our forebears labored without wages.
They made cotton 'king'. And yet out of a bottomless vitality, they continued
to thrive and develop. If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.
. . . Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may
be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in
every waking moment
of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted
as truth in the society dominating them.
-- "Where do we go from here?" speech, August 16, 1967
When we let freedom ring,
when we let it ring from every tenement 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 spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are
free at last."
-- "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963
Martin Luther King, Jr legacy was promoting peace and equal
rights and opportunities to all despite our differences;