MLK’s Call To Conscience

Sorry for the infrequent posting. I’ve been away, though with today’s technology, that excuse goes out the window (especially since I have two cell phones, a Blackberry and my trusty broadband card). Ok, let’s try that again.

I’ve been really busy, juggling the day job, reading submissions, researching a few projects, jumping on a political campaign, and reading for leisure. No matter what I do, or where I go, I have to take at least an hour to read something. Not just something on a computer screen, but an author’s labor of love that I can hold in my hands.  

As I said in an earlier posting, I’m about to start Martha Southgate’s “Third Girl From The Left,” but I had to take some time to remember Dr. King’s legacy, his demand for equality and the challenge that he left to all of us. I wasn’t around in the 60’s (for the record, I didn’t come through until the latter part of the 70’s) , but I still feel as if I’m a child of MLK.

In fact, we all are. Dr. King was an unoffficial father, mentor and source of inspiration to millions of African-Americans and supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. Without him, as well as other fearless leaders like: Thurgood Marshall, the Little Rock Nine, Rosa Parks, Dr. Cleveland Sellers, James Meredith, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, SNCC, SCLC, etc., we wouldn’t have the wealth of opportunities that we currently enjoy (and take for granted).  

When I think of their challenge to all of us as Americans, it pushes me to work harder, to reach back and to lift those around me. Although Dr. King is regarded as one of the world’s greatest orators, it’s important to dig into the significance of his words, which are a living call to action for all of us.   

I highly recommend ”A Call To Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr“ by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard, and Carson’s “A Knock At Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr,” which he co-authored with Peter Holloran.

Dr. King’s words are timeless, and I hope that we’ll continue to share and celebrate them with future generations.