Friday, January 15, 2010

Postcard Friendship Friday - A Man With A Dream


Today's Postcard Friendship Friday falls on the anniversary of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally named Michael King, Jr. His father renamed himself and his son in honor of the German Protestant leader, Martin Luther, after a visit to Germany in 1934.
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Dr. King did not formally graduate high school. He skipped his 9th and 12th grades and entered college at age 15. He went on to receive two BA's; one in sociology at Morehouse College and the other in divinity studies at Crozer Theological Seminary. He was awarded his Doctorate in philosophy at Boston College.

Anybody here see my old friend Martin?
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Dr. King understood the importance of non-violent activism "...as the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity" from his mentor, Howard Thurman and from the teachings Mahatma Gandhi, whom he visited in 1959.
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Can you tell me where he's gone?

Through the years Dr. King and many other activists in the civil rights movement resorted to boycotts, sit-down strikes, marches and other peaceful methods of protest against the many injustices that African Americans endured. Their peaceful protests were often met with violence, arrests and incarceration.
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He freed a lot of people but, it seems, the good they die young;

Doctor King was well aware that his own life was in danger, and spoke of the threats in his "I Have A Dream" speech in Memphis Tennessee after his plane to Memphis was delayed due to bomb threats. He told the audience "...I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you..."
Doctor King was assassinated the following day, April 4, 1968. He was just 39 years old.

I just looked 'round and he was gone.

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In essence, Dr. King's dream has been fulfilled.
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In reality, we all have a long road to travel.

Didn't you love the things that he stood for?
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Didn't he try to find some good for you and me?
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Lyrics "Abraham, Martin and John" copyright Paris Music Ltd. Click lyrics for song video
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Please stop by Marie's Voila Vintage Postcards for more Postcard Friendship Friday.

14 comments:

quid said...

This post was wonderful.

quidrock

Christine H. said...

Thanks for reminding us of the MLK anniversary.

viridian said...

Oh, I think many of us forget the reason for the holiday. thanks for your post.

LiT Web Studio said...

a wonderful post, love the balance between song lyrics and facts about MLK's life...

Aimee said...

Very interesting. I actually didn't know about the name change thing.

Mary said...

I love the song interspersed with the writing. Always one of my very favorite, although sad, songs.

ChaChaneen said...

Hi there!
Came by to say Happy Friday to you and I've appreciated your recent visits to my blog. Your comments have been missed! Have a great weekend with your hubby! I'm looking forward to a 3 day weekend - yahoo!

AnitaNH said...

Love your post today, especially the song lyrics. It's a very nice reminder.

Terry said...

Howdy Muse
Happy PFF .
You are just too clever today :)
I like the way you connected everything and pulled it all together .
Song lyrics have always been a great way for me to remember things .
Yes we still have far to go my friend.
Thank you for the fabulous post.
Hugs
Happy Trails

Kat Mortensen said...

Hey! Good to see you jumping on board with Sepia Saturday. It seems like people can really relate to these explorations of personal histories and they are fun and in many ways cathartic as well.

Thanks for the tip about the social security form. I'm not sure if in my Great-Grannie's case it will be that easy to accomplish.

I'll check you out tomorrow.

Postcardy said...

I must be the only person who wasn't familiar with that song.

Lyneen said...

Wonderful post this PFF... sad his life ended so early, his memory is now older than he was left us.

THANKS for sharing and thanks for stopping by and your kind words.

Debby said...

What a wonderful post. Musey, I'm glad you're back. I've been missing you. And now, if you could drag Lavvy back into blogland...

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

Fascinating post! So much of that I didn't know.