I have a dream…
On January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, South Georgia, Martin Luther King Senior and Alberta Williams King had a son, Martin Luther King Jr.
He was a very bright boy. He started college at the age of 15, earlier than his peers. He attended one of the best high schools for blacks at the time, Morehouse in Atlanta. After graduating with a degree in sociology, he began studying at Crozer Seminary in Pennsylvania. Martin was, as expected, the best student in the class. He continued his education at Boston University. The subject of his interest was the philosophy of religion. He studied Christianity, but also Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism, etc.
He also met his future wife, Coretta Scott, in Boston. Like him, she was born and raised in South America, in the Federal State of Alabama. In Boston, she studied music at the New England Conservatory. In 1953, Coretta and Martin were married. M.L. served in the Baptist church in Montgomery. In the meantime, he also earned a doctorate in theology. Soon Coretta and M.L. became parents. First the Yolanda girls, and then Bunny, Dexter Scott, and Martin III came into the family).
In 1955, M.L. gave a speech at the church, as an introduction to the bus boycott over the Rosa Parks case. Martin Luther then became known to the public. His speech is a kind of beginning of the unification of the black community and the struggle for their civil rights. Opponents of his fight threaten him, insult him, a bomb is thrown at his and Corett's family house and just by chance the family is not killed. The church on Dexter Avenue is burned, and police often arrest Martin Luther.
In January 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was established and Martin Luther became its president. At the promotion of her book "Step to Freedom" in New York, in 1958, a mentally ill middle-aged black woman attacked and wounded Martin Luther with a knife. That year Martin moved with his family to Atlanta where he continued to serve at Eben-Haezer Baptist Church, along with his father.
In Washington in 1963, he gave his most famous speech in front of 250,000 people, which we remember from the words "I have a dreram". Martin is a breathless speaker, an inspiring person, a fighter for human rights, and especially the rights of the disenfranchised black community. Despite persecution, hatred and insults, attacks on him and his family, Martin did not give up. He persevered and pushed the boundaries…
In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In April 1967, he gave a speech in New York in which he opposed the then US policy towards Vietnam, pointing out how many innocent people, especially children, had been killed in the conflict by the US military.
The day before his death, Martin gave a speech known as "I was on top of a mountain." In that speech, he told those present that God had shown him the promised land to which he might not reach, but the black people would. His most important task was to fulfill the will of God. He said he was happy and not afraid.
On April 4, 1968, at 6 p.m., a sniper shot rang out in Memhis. At the age of 39, Martin Luther ended his life. His funeral was attended by 300,000 people.
On the tombstone of his grave are the verses of the black spiritual song "Finally Free":
I’m free at last
Finally free,
finally free,
thank you almighty god
I am finally free.
He wanted to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked and love humanity." His favorite song was "Take My Hand, Dear Lord."
He received 20 honorary doctorates and later through posthumous recognitions, and his most important achievement is a selfless and painstaking struggle to empower the black community, raising public awareness of the problems of the weak, disenfranchised, for peace and equality of all people..
Who assassinated Martin Luther? The court concluded that it was not a lone killer, James Earl Ray, but a wider conspiracy behind the mafia and powerful people from the top of the then government. Whoever it is, it is about people and politics that opposes everything that Martin Luther advocated and lived for - peace, equality among people, civil equality, freedom.
His most famous statements:
"Darkness cannot drive away darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive away hatred, only love can do it."
"Faith is when you take the first step even though you don’t see the whole stairs."
"A man who is not ready to die for something is not even ready to live."
"A nation that spends more money year after year on the military and armaments instead of social programs is doomed to a spiritual curse."
"I decided to stick to love. Hate is too much of a burden to bear."
"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
"Our scientific powers have surpassed our spiritual powers. We now have guided missiles and stray people."
"He who passively accepts evil is involved in it to the same extent as he who helps to bring about that evil. He who accepts evil without protest is in fact cooperating with him."
"Others can’t ride you just if you bend them."
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period is not the cruelty of bad people, but the apathetic silence of good people."
"Our lives begin to end the day we begin to be silent about important things."
"A lie cannot live."
"The constant and most important life question is: "What do you do for others?"
"We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will disappear together as fools."
"It’s always the right time to do what’s the right thing to do."
"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal!"
"Being a Christian without prayer is nothing more possible than being alive without breathing."
"Love is the only force that can turn an enemy into a friend."
"We may all have come by different ships, but now we are all in the same boat."
