Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man I aspire to be like in my life.  May his words of wisdom and love pour out on each person as we remember his unprecedented sacrifices.  Praise God for this mighty man of honor. 

Thank you Kathy.

DR Martin luther king was a great and Godly man a true inspiration to us all

thanks Kathy God Bless you 

A few more great thought-provoking MLK quotations, chosen from brainyquotes.com.  (What immense wisom he possessed and lived out!)

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"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."

"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! 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."

"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."

"Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."

"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?""

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

Did you know that many wanted him to be the Vice-President with President Kennedy instead of Johnson=  The following from my anagram collection came to mind when I tought of Mr. King just now:

F --   fear not

A --   assurance from God's Word

I --    in God's love

T --   trust in God and the Bible

H --   holiness with Holy Spirit and Bible help

C --   commitment to God's truth

O --   obedience to the Holy Spirit

U --   understanding God's desires

R --   revival spiritually

A --   attentiveness for opportunities to minister

G --   gratefulness to God, especially for His protection

E --   enduring in faith of our Lord Jesus Christ

Since videos won't post on comments (I'm guessing.  I've never really tried!), I just posted a new video blog.  One of the many songs that unite all us baby boomers:  Dion's Abraham, Martin and John.

It's always easier and comfortable to live with the status quo.  Embracing change is not something people do by nature.  MLK's an inspiration to me because he foresaw the change that needed and was going to happen.  Then he stepped out in faith, embraced this change, and worked to facilitate that change.

I was at the Rethink Conference yesterday where Larry King spoke about his experience with MLK outside of a hotel that he has just been denied to stay at.  They were sitting on the steps outside the hotel, when after a while (a small crowd had come to protest what was happening) the hotel owner finally came out and asked him several times "WHAT do you want??!!"  

After several deafening silent moments, he said "My dignity."

Isn't that a beautiful statement.  Simple, powerful and beautiful.  It is never too much to ask for something like that.

Never!

Amen, Pastor Tim!  Unfortunately churches have traditionally been the last to accept social change.  We have much for which to repent individually and corporately!  Thanks for your observation, which btw, never qualifies as "simply an observation!"   Your thoughts and insights are always add substance!

Great post Kathy!  I just linked your blog directly from the Youtube page for this video.  

In addition to your 2 movie recommendations, I would also suggest Citizen King.  One of my favorite documentaries.  I remember one of the first lines in the film was a confidante of MLK's saying "In order to understand Martin Luther King you must start with the fact that he was a minister. That is the key to who Martin Luther King Jr. was. If you try to take him as a, quote, civil rights leader, or a political leader, you will miss the real King. He was first and foremost a minister."

Yes he was and yes he did!  Thanks, woman of joy!

I teach American History on the high school level. We just wrapped up the civil rights movement. I had my students listen to the recorded speech and follow along with the printed out version. It was really moving, there were a few knuckleheads that were not "into it" but for the most part it reached them and they had some interesting comments to make on it. Thanks for speaking out on the subject.

Brandy 

I surely agree with you all. MLK is a real hero.

I would say that the verse quoted above from first John doesn't apply. It's about Christians loving other Christians. The Bible seems to speak of a neighborhood of mankind and a brotherhood of Christianity. In context within first John I think we can see clearly this is a verse about us loving one another as Christians. But I understand the confusion. Don't get me wrong I'm no theologian. Ha.

The trouble with the world since King's speech in my eyes, is that he assumes that humans have a great worth given by God, much as our founders did. However, today, humans are seen as just another animal. In fact, since we couldn't evolve (sorry to use such a charged word) rights, there is no reason to even believe that we have rights. That is how an honest Atheist would see it, and our world is sadly turning more and more to the secular. Just discussing this as King being a great leader is important, but I think in our culture it's more important to discuss him as a great Christian, who believed what he believed because of the moral absolutes that were a part of the Christian faith. Without those, there is no reason not to hate because of skin color.

God Bless you all.

~ Martin

Coax, I'm sure from Bosnia and Herzegorina your perspective of MLK's dream is one of a depth that most of us Americans cannot begin to grasp.  Indeed it is not a dream that belongs to America, but a longing for all the world to lay aside hatred for each other.  Thank you for sharing here, welcome to MyChurch, and Peace! 

Great words, Joel!  And thank for the addition to the movies list!

Racist in a taxpayer-paid suit
Posted: February 24, 2009

by Mychal Massie (a 100% black man)

For many the name “Cliburn” is immediately thought of as being preceded by “Van” as in “Van Cliburn”, and is associated with masterful piano arrangements by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. However, we now know that, spelling notwithstanding, the name isn't that of an accomplished pianist extraordinaire; rather, it is spelled “Clyburn” as in Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and that he is a bigoted, desperate politician who has made a career out of the loathsome practice of pushing set-asides, pork projects, increased government intrusion and race-baiting.

The third-ranking member of the congressional leadership, who is himself black, as noted in a press release by the conservative black think tank Project 21-The National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives, has taken the detestable behavior of race-baiting to new depths.

Speaking to reporters Feb. 19, Clyburn called opposition to the so-called stimulus bill “a slap in the face of African-Americans.” He specifically targeted any opposition to the bill by southern governors. His injecting race into concerns for fiscal responsibility and a desire to prevent the expansion of government programs is shameful.

In a letter to President Obama, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas wrote: “I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the lending has dried up.” I ask you – how is said concern “a slap in the face” of anyone – specifically, how is it “a slap in the face of [blacks]”?

The obvious answer is, it isn't. But such is the character of Clyburn and his elapidal counterparts and the depths they are willing to sink to further their own ends. The bottom line is the stimulus bill isn't about stimulating anything – it is about restructuring the corporate/business climate, rewriting the Constitution by fiat juxtaposed to amendment; it is about eliminating any inclusion of “the people” from legislative directives, and it is about extracting, i.e., taking, our money to fund wasteful spending on a gargantuan level. It is about government intrusion on a heretofore never witnessed scale.

The expansion of government programs that will result from the stimulus bill will enslave future generations of taxpayers with a debt-load that will be unending. With no exception that comes to mind, government programs do not end or diminish – they grow and expand. They become more entangled in other federal programs. The directors of same demand larger and larger budgets. Worst of all, they become agencies of corruption, waste and unprecedented mismanagement. I offer into evidence the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Head Start and the Department of Education.

The Clyburns of today's Congress are a disgraceful lot, caring only for themselves and their anarchistic benefactors. They pontificate, egesting rehearsed lines of “the American people want …” like a laser through butter.

In reality they don't give a whit about what we want – if they did they wouldn't need to resort to the minatory practices they do. We, the American people, are not stupid, and we know an act when we see one. Clyburn's use of race was an attempt to force fiscally conscience leadership into submission to an ill-fated bill that is the spending equivalent of the HIV virus and that like same, has no cure – only a protracted period of suffering.

There is one more point that needs mentioning pursuant to Clyburn. Imagine what the spirit and core being of a man so easily willing to stoop to such hateful commonality is like.

Either he is filled with anger, bitterness and hatred for whites in general and those that dare oppose him specifically – or he is a dishonest person using race because he can offer no substantive argument against the governors. Equally intriguing is what support, it any, will Clyburn's comments garner from blacks.

The ease with which fraudulent accusations flow from the lips of race-baiters like Clyburn unambiguously shows he and those like him have learned little from the Jim Crow era.

It was wrong when racist whites dressed in sheets and hoods to hide their identity as they terrorized blacks – it is just as wrong for Clyburn to demagogue whites while dressed in suits paid for by the taxpayers, wearing the ugly expression of a race-monger.

Mychal Massie is chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 – a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit, columnist and the host of radio talk show “Politics and Beyond with Mychal Massie“, which airs and streams Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern on WHP 580-AM. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, he is also a member of the conservative public policy institute National Center for Public Policy Research.

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