As we enjoy our three day weekend I challenge you to think about the man we are celebrating. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who inspired millions of people to stand up against injustice. It is one thing to have a dream. Another thing to believe in something so strongly that you are willing to risk your freedom and even your life to see it fulfilled. It is yet again another thing to inspire a nation to share your dream. Dr. King suffered insults and violence and maintained his creed of peaceful protest. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, four years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. MLK day was not established as a national holiday until 1986. This was the year that I was in Kindergarten. We kicked off the first annual MLK day celebration in Ashland, OR by marching our entire elementary school population up to the college campus to participate in a community ceremony.
In my opinion, Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I have a dream" speech is one of the most inspirational moments in our nations history. View an excerpt of his speech below or follow the link to a video of the entire speech. You can also access the text of the speech here.
My favorite MLK Quotes:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
"Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
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