MARCH ON WASHINGTON The August 28, 1963, march on Washington was the most significant and moving demonstration for freedom and justice in the history of the United States. Washington had never seen a spectacle of the size and grandeur that assembled there. Among the nearly 250,000 people, there were dignitaries and celebrities. But the most […]
Read More...Pete Seeger, singing We Shall Overcome. An important part of the civil rights movement was the freedom songs. King called them the “soul of the movement,” as old as the history of the African-American in the U.S. There were songs of sorrow, the shouts for joy, the battle hymns, and the anthems. Words like, “Woke […]
Read More...BIRMINGHAM LETTER On April 3, 1963, King’s nonviolent tactics were put to their most severe test in Birmingham during a mass protest for fair hiring practices and desegregation of department store facilities. On Good Friday, April 12th, King and his friend and mentor, Ralph Abernathy, led the march, singing freedom songs. Nearing the downtown area, […]
Read More...On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools. The Court affirmed that “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal. To segregate a child on the basis of his race is to deny that child equal protection of the law. It furthered the black person’s sense of dignity. King commented on how […]
Read More...NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE During the time of the bus boycott, King overcame arrest and other violent harassment, including bombing of his home on January 30, 1956. The inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi began to exert its influence…People who had never heard of him had become familiar with who he was. “Nonviolent resistance emerged as the technique of […]
Read More...From 1999 when I published my first book, Riding the Roller Coaster, I’ve tried to persuade readers that living with mental illness is not the end of the world. Despite our struggles, we can have a life worth living. If we trust God and the person he made us to be, we can do more […]
Read More...Words from Martin Luther King Jr – words I make my own as well: “I have always felt that ultimately along the way of life an individual must stand up and be counted and be willing to face the consequences whatever they are. And if he is filled with fear he cannot do it. My […]
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