Photo courtesy mmwm, used under a creative commons license.
People all over the country have come together today to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his death. King was gunned down by James Earl Ray with a high powered rifle on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee while on a visit to help organize a strike for sanitation workers.
The Lorraine Motel which is now the National Civil Rights Museum will take you on an amazing journey that literally walks you through the reality of the of the struggle! From the buses to the lunch counters, the letters from Burmingham to Black Sunday, and from the march from Selma to the march on Washington!
Now, we have gone from Martin Luther King having a dream, to living out his dream. There will be several activities going on in Memphis this weekend that include panel discussions and lectures on Dr. King’s legacy. Congressman Lewis of Georgia gave a speech here in Washington D.C. at the National Cathedral last Sunday in honor of the anniversary of Dr. King’s last speech.
Though we aren't a perfect nation, we have come a long way. I'm thankful for those who have gone before me and sacraficed their lives so that I may enjoy the very freedom that I have today. Dr. King's dream was truly a blueprint for our future.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the tragic assassination of the beloved Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. I hope that we can all take time and remember all the great things that he has done for this society; a society that sometimes seems unwilling to change the status quo. It is imperative that we never forget his general teachings. Dr. King not only fought for civil rights, but humanity of all. Although 40 years have passed, I still cannot believe that we had a man who believed in a cause so much that he died for it.
Martin Luther King Jr showed so much passion and committment to equality, and if he never stood up for civil rights, I don't know where we would be today. In honor of his 40th anniversary, people will be gathering in Memphis to march for the legacy of Dr. King. May his words continue to inspire us and may his “dream” continue to motivate us to do what is right for our family, friends, and ourselves.
I am incedibly thankful for those before us that have sacrficed their lives so that the things we are doing today are possible. When you think about it 40 years is not that long ago... We have definitely come a long way.
The morning opened today with a panel on learning lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. The panel included former presidential candidate and Rev. Jesse Jackson, Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Wilkins, and King biographer Taylor Branch. Read More »
When Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, he was in the midst of an anti-war, anti-poverty campaign that ostracized him from the mainstream. CNN.com features a pretty decent reminder about King's legacy, and how "I have a dream" has been manipulated to create an icon rather than a complex man.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech at the Riverside Church in New York City.
Entangled by complex and dangerous times, attentive clergy and concerned citizens alike listened as Dr. King called upon Americans to save the soul of their country.
The United States of America in 1967 was characterized by heated racial tensions simmering to a boil- scalding black and white Americans in red and blue states alike. The United States faced sweeping class disparities, observing concentrated prosperity and widespread poverty within the borders of the world's wealthiest nation. The futures of America's heroes were unnecessarily slaughtered in the endless death toll of young soldiers in Vietnam.
The struggle for civil rights, children growing up in poverty and American armed forces strained by an open-ended occupation of a foreign land- demons that haunted Martin Luther King and his fellow Americans in 1967; demons that haunt Americans and citizens of the world today.
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