Lessons about freedom from the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lesson 1:
"What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another...the feeling of justice toward those who still suffer in our country whether they be white or whether they be black."----Robert Kennedy, April 5, 1968.






Lesson 2:
"America, be true to what you put on paper."  and "We as a people will get to the promised land."---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



Lesson 3:
Optimism
"I am very optimistic about the future.  Frankly, I have seen certain changes in the United States in the last two years that surprise me! I have seen levels of compliance with the Civil Rights Bill that have been most surprising."---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In an interview with the BBC's Bob McKenzie in 1964





Lesson 4:
"I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and in an audacious faith in the future of mankind.  I refuse to accept despair as a final response to the ambiguities of history." ---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 




Lesson 5:
"Some times I feel discouraged and feel my work's in vain."  and  "There is a Balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.  There is a Balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul."




Lesson 6:
August 25, 1963
"We must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.  The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a mistrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers as evidenced by their presence here today have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny." --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 25, 1963 "I have a Dream" Speech.



Lesson 7:
"I want you to be first in love.  I want you to be first in moral excellence."---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, February 4, 1963




Lesson 8:
"He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That is a new definition of greatness...by giving that definition of greatness, it means everybody can be great because everybody can serve."---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, February 4, 1963



Lesson 9:
"Believe in yourself, and believe that you are somebody...Nobody else can do this for us....Be proud of our heritage."---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.




Lesson 10:
"However difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long because truth pressed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long because no lie can live forever. How long?  Not long because you shall reap what you sow. 
How long? Not long.

Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne, 
Yet that scaffold sways the future, 
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own."---Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, 25 March 1965 See Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March

In loving memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy Birthday to You....
From the 1980 LP "Hotter Than July."

Stevie Wonder wrote this song in protest of the refusal to recognize Dr. Kings birthday as a national holiday. In 1983 Ronald Reagan signed the law declaring the recognition of Dr. Kings birthday as a holiday.

Sadly, it would be an additional three years until the first observance of this holiday on January 20, 1986.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
(January 15, 1929 -- April 4, 1968)


Did you know that Dr. Kings birth name was Michael King Jr.? After traveling to Europe Dr. Kings father changed his name, & the name of his Son to honor "Martin Luther" the former catholic priest who left the religion to oppose injustices within the religion.

RIP Dr. King!
kacobb1



See also:  Why Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is still remembered.