One comes to mind today who influenced, affected, impacted, our lives tonight in the person of Martin Luther King Jr. An African American Minister, Preacher, Pastor A Prominent Leader of the civil rights movement-50’s and 60’s A man with magnified speaking abilities, A man whose eloquent pleas won the support of millions, A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nonviolent demonstrations. Author of 4 books, A man whose life began in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929, A man whose life ended in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, One quarter of a mile from the 501 Pontotoc Apartment C, which is the place where we lived in those days. I still remember, standing down the stairs on the porch of our apartment and holding on to my Moma’s leg, while hundreds by the multiplied hundreds of black men and black women, white men and white women marched in front of our house. The Memphis Sanitation Strike 1968. They were striking because of years of poor treatment, They were striking because of discrimination, They were striking because of dangerous working conditions, In those days they were called Garbage Men, and the Black Garbage men had to empty Garbage in tin cans and carry the cans on thier heads, and while on their heads the garbage would run down their heads, and necks, and bodies. Two Memphis garbage collectors, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death by a malfunctioning truck. 1300 black sanitation workers walked off the job in protest. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March, King considered not returning to Memphis, but decided that if the nonviolent struggle for economic justice was going to succeed it would be necessary to be there. He spoke to a crowd of dedicated sanitation workers who had braved another storm to hear him. A weary King preached about his own mortality, telling the group, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life--Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now… 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” He spoke words of exhortation, words of inspiration, words of consolation, words of encouragement.
Martin, Like Abraham, Like Moses, Like Joshua, like David was a man that we remember because of the unique way in which God used him. Martin Luther King, Jr. was concerned about his people, and he recognized all of God’s children as his people, he was concerned about the welfare of little black boy’s and little black girl’s, injustice and freedom. Martin stood in Washing DC in 1963 to give his famous “I have a dream” speech. He said then to the crowd of more than 1 million Blacks and Whites, that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed four score years ago. That decree came as a beacon light of hope for millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of injustice. King said the Emancipation Proclamation came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But to King’s dismay, 100 years later, Negroes still were not free, 100 years later, the lives of the Negro was still sadly crippled by segregation and the chains of discrimination. 100 years later, the Negro was still languaged in the corners of the American Society. And King went to that hallowed spot in Washington, to remind the Negroes to remind Americans the urgency of now. Sounds like many writers of the Holy Writ, who yet reminds you and me alike of the urgency of Now. King had a way with Nows, King’s Nows reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s Nows. King said, Now, is the time to Rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sun lit paths of justice. King said, Now, is the time to bring justice to all of God’s children. King said, Now, is the time to lift our theme in which we stand for racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. King said, even though we face the difficulty of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream that’s rooted deeply in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. Jacob said, I laid down one night, I took stones for pillows, fell asleep, and I had a dream. I dreamed, I saw a ladder set up on the Earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and I dreamed I saw Angels ascending and descending. King had dreams, He dreamed that sons of slaves and sons of former slave owners would be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood. He dreamed that prejudice states of injustice would be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice, He dreamed that his four little children would one day live in a Nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. King had a dream, He dreamed that one day black boys and black girls would be able to join hands with white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. King had a dream, He dreamed that every valley would be filled, Every mountain and hill would be made low, The crooked made straight, The rough ways would be made smooth King had Paul Like qualities, King had Isaiah like qualities, King had Jacob like qualities, King had Faith like Abraham, King told the crowd, “I’m going home with Faith, With this Faith, “We will be able to hue out the mountain of despair, a song of life.” With this Faith, “We will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a symphony of brotherhood.” With this Faith, “We will be able to” Struggle together, Go to jail together, Stand up for freedom together.” Faith in God will see you through your struggle, Faith in God will help you in your physical and spiritual jail. Today, We celebrate the Life of Martin Luther King Jr, We celebrate the life of the man who had a dream, We celebrate the life of the man who gave his life for freedom, Tomorrow, We celebrate the reality of the dream, We celebrate Barack Obama, We celebrate a man who was not judged by the color of his skin, a man who was not judged by his church or his preacher, a man who was not judged by his friends or his enemies, We celebrate a man who was judged by the content of his character, We celebrate a man who is judged by his education and preparation, by his message of hope, by his message of change, by his message to the Nation, "Yes we can" Today, Its Martin Luther King Jr, Tomorrow, Its Barack Obama, The day after, It's Education Reform, It's Guantanamo Bay, It's the War in Iraq, It's the Stimulus Plan, It's the Failing Economy, It's the Trillion Dollar Deficit, It's the Plummeting Employment, It's the 350 Billion Dollars of Bailout,
Martin, Like Abraham, Like Moses, Like Joshua, like David was a man that we remember because of the unique way in which God used him. Martin Luther King, Jr. was concerned about his people, and he recognized all of God’s children as his people, he was concerned about the welfare of little black boy’s and little black girl’s, injustice and freedom. Martin stood in Washing DC in 1963 to give his famous “I have a dream” speech. He said then to the crowd of more than 1 million Blacks and Whites, that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed four score years ago. That decree came as a beacon light of hope for millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of injustice. King said the Emancipation Proclamation came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But to King’s dismay, 100 years later, Negroes still were not free, 100 years later, the lives of the Negro was still sadly crippled by segregation and the chains of discrimination. 100 years later, the Negro was still languaged in the corners of the American Society. And King went to that hallowed spot in Washington, to remind the Negroes to remind Americans the urgency of now. Sounds like many writers of the Holy Writ, who yet reminds you and me alike of the urgency of Now. King had a way with Nows, King’s Nows reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s Nows. King said, Now, is the time to Rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sun lit paths of justice. King said, Now, is the time to bring justice to all of God’s children. King said, Now, is the time to lift our theme in which we stand for racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. King said, even though we face the difficulty of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream that’s rooted deeply in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. Jacob said, I laid down one night, I took stones for pillows, fell asleep, and I had a dream. I dreamed, I saw a ladder set up on the Earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and I dreamed I saw Angels ascending and descending. King had dreams, He dreamed that sons of slaves and sons of former slave owners would be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood. He dreamed that prejudice states of injustice would be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice, He dreamed that his four little children would one day live in a Nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. King had a dream, He dreamed that one day black boys and black girls would be able to join hands with white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. King had a dream, He dreamed that every valley would be filled, Every mountain and hill would be made low, The crooked made straight, The rough ways would be made smooth King had Paul Like qualities, King had Isaiah like qualities, King had Jacob like qualities, King had Faith like Abraham, King told the crowd, “I’m going home with Faith, With this Faith, “We will be able to hue out the mountain of despair, a song of life.” With this Faith, “We will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a symphony of brotherhood.” With this Faith, “We will be able to” Struggle together, Go to jail together, Stand up for freedom together.” Faith in God will see you through your struggle, Faith in God will help you in your physical and spiritual jail. Today, We celebrate the Life of Martin Luther King Jr, We celebrate the life of the man who had a dream, We celebrate the life of the man who gave his life for freedom, Tomorrow, We celebrate the reality of the dream, We celebrate Barack Obama, We celebrate a man who was not judged by the color of his skin, a man who was not judged by his church or his preacher, a man who was not judged by his friends or his enemies, We celebrate a man who was judged by the content of his character, We celebrate a man who is judged by his education and preparation, by his message of hope, by his message of change, by his message to the Nation, "Yes we can" Today, Its Martin Luther King Jr, Tomorrow, Its Barack Obama, The day after, It's Education Reform, It's Guantanamo Bay, It's the War in Iraq, It's the Stimulus Plan, It's the Failing Economy, It's the Trillion Dollar Deficit, It's the Plummeting Employment, It's the 350 Billion Dollars of Bailout,
2 comments:
You my Brother, did your thing today at the Eastman. Congratulations on such a wonderful presentation.
You are truly a blessing,not only to your Mt. Olivet family, but to the whole Rochester community. I have been going to the Rochester MLK service at the Eastman since they began and I have NEVER seen people literally moved to tears (by the speaker). In fact,this was the best MLK service that Rochester has ever had!!! You are truly an anointed man of God who I feel blessed to have as part of my family. You will be in my prayers, because as you know, there's much work to do and though you may get weary at times, you ARE the man that God has brought here to continue His vision for Mt. Olivet and the Rochester community.
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