Thursday, August 29, 2013

Fifty Years On


Fifty years ago 

yesterday, 

over 250,000 civil-rights 

marchers came to Washington DC.

To march for jobs, voting rights,

 and social equality.


The marchers, from all over America, 

heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s

 “I Have a Dream” speech that day.


But the TV news cameras

 had already left.

 Those famous words were NOT 

in the written speech,

or prominently reported. 

Majorities of white Americans

 around that time told pollsters

 they thought that

 Dr. King 

was a troublemaker. 



 - We would do well to recall
 that day itself also belonged 
to those ordinary people 
whose names never appeared
 in the history books,
 never got on TV.
Many had gone to segregated schools
 and sat at segregated lunch counters,
 had lived in towns where they couldn't vote,
 in cities where their votes didn't matter.
 There were couples in love who couldn't marry, 
soldiers who fought for freedom abroad 
that they found denied to them at home. 
They had seen loved ones beaten 
and children fire- hosed. 
And they had every reason 
to lash out in anger 
or resign themselves to a bitter fate.
And yet they chose a different path. 
In the face of hatred, 
they prayed for their tormentors. 
In the face of violence, 
they stood up and sat in 
with the moral force of nonviolence.

 Because they marched, 
America became more free 
and more fair, 
not just for African-Americans 
but for women and Latinos, 
Asians and Native Americans, 
for Catholics, Jews 
and Muslims, 
for gays, 
for Americans with disabilities.
America changed 
for you and for me.
And the entire world 
drew strength from that example, "

President Obama

Yesterday,

 50th anniversary 

of the March on Washington




50 years. Half a Century.
It has been a long road.

I was glad to be a child,
too young to face the terrors
of a ride a bus through angry counties,
to register voters, to face police dogs,
spittle, shouts, shots, fire, explosion,
like Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney
had. Link

Thank You for sharing my memories,
for listening to my experience
of history;
and thanks for 
sharing Your Own!

Your Friend, cloudia

27 comments:

  1. Quite right in the I have a Dream...and everything that came after that moment in DC was extemporaneous...Dr. King had pushed aside his prepared remarks according to those on the platform and simply began to speak at the point where he made those words famous and that speech one of if not the most notable of the civil rights era.


    But June 23, 1963 in Detroit in part Dr. King said to a fairly large crowd...

    "I have a dream that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers.

    I have a dream this afternoon (I have a dream) that one day, [Applause] one day little white children and little Negro children will be able to join hands as brothers and sisters.

    I have a dream this afternoon that one day, [Applause] that one day men will no longer burn down houses and the church of God simply because people want to be free.

    I have a dream this afternoon (I have a dream) that there will be a day that we will no longer face the atrocities that Emmett Till had to face or Medgar Evers had to face, that all men can live with dignity.

    I have a dream this afternoon (Yeah) that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin. [Applause]

    I have a dream this afternoon that one day right here in Detroit, Negroes will be able to buy a house or rent a house anywhere that their money will carry them and they will be able to get a job. [Applause] (That’s right)

    Yes, I have a dream this afternoon that one day in this land the words of Amos will become real and "justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

    I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream this afternoon. [Applause]

    I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and "every valley shall be exalted, and every hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." [Applause]

    I have a dream this afternoon that the brotherhood of man will become a reality in this day."

    Full text of that speech Here

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  2. A GREAT post... and a great speech from Dr. Martin Luther King he was a GREAT man....we will never forget him.

    Greetings, Joop

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  3. A historic day indeed! Good you posted on this.

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  4. greetings.. greetings to martin luther king. greetings to freedom!

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  5. those who prayed for their tormentors...that takes a lot of humility and yes it is built on the backs of many that never had their name in the history books beyond the mass of humanity crying out for what they deserved....

    aloha from va

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  6. I heard an interesting analysis of his speech, drawn from several in the past, and draws in people of all colours, to move forward together.
    What strikes me is that he didn't include women!
    'brotherhood of man'
    That said, we step forward one at a time and learn more as we go.
    Cheers from Cottage Country Ontario

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  7. strides forward and yet still so far to go in our humanity.

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  8. I got to hear a bit of the president's speech's yesterday, it was really good

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  9. Immense bravery shown by so many in those days.

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  10. His speech still gives me goosebumps. The fact that it along with many other factors has made this country better is something to celebrate. I hope we oontinue to improve in being more human, more connected to each other and in loving more. Great post Cloudia.

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  11. A great post and a wonderful speech. We could do with him again today in the world.

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  12. An inspirational speech indeed Cloudia - I read it over again the other day (I have a book with it in) - if only he could have lived to see the outcome. Although I suspect there is still a long way to go.

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  13. Great picture, the sun light beams down in the sea.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  14. We've come a long way in 50 years, but we need more changes to occur, sooner than waiting another 50. Wish the current Congress wasn't stalling what could occur. DrumMajor

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  15. And we need dreamers. So very badly, to show us possibilities...

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  16. I have a dream... I remember it all so well. I was almost 30. I have always admired MLK and later Nelson. Mandela. These men are determined to fight for their cause without hatred and they change the world little by little. I admire president Obama. I hope that he remains wise in the Middle East conflicts. I hate the fact that again governments are ready to sacrifice young lives for a war that is not our war.
    Aloha, Cloudia!

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  17. Inspiring post Cloudia, we have come a long way but there's still a ways to go right !

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  18. You've put in a great offering here! Rumi is wonderful and so also the pics as always! Nicely Cloudia!

    Hank

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  19. I was amazed to learn that everything he said in the speech was not on his originally planned and written speech. There are important parts that were spoken impromptu. Incredible!

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