Most of us probably haven't read the whole speech, but we should. I hadn't remembered this part:
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, 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 distrust 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. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
Read the whole thing here.
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
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Truly a moving speech my Dr. King. But the job isn't done yet.
I say this because my SO is black and I've seen with my own eyes the discrimination still faced by black people in even liberal bastions like Rhode Island.
When I see it the disgust I feel is overwhelming. I've actually called people on their institutional racism on several occasions.
It's 2007 - get over the false prejudices. But then it seems that people always need a whipping boy, be it black people, gays, immigrants, etc.