Civil War continued: The Civil Rights Movement Against Racism
Here we look at key speeches that relate to our theme of the use of violence to solve social conflict.
Perhaps more so than any other advocate for peace, Martin Luther King, Jr offered humanity a realistic alternative to war.
He began his activism as a young Christian pastor he sought to apply the teachings of Christ to "love your enemy and do good to those who spitefully use you".
In one of his sermons he envisioned a world where war would become obsolete.
"If you will protest courageously and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say:
He began his activism as a young Christian pastor he sought to apply the teachings of Christ to "love your enemy and do good to those who spitefully use you".
In one of his sermons he envisioned a world where war would become obsolete.
"If you will protest courageously and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say:
'There lived a great people - a black people who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.' This is our challenge and our overwhelming responsibility."
This sermon was excerpted by King in his book Stride toward Freedom, pp. 61-64.
List of Books by King
Martin Luther King, Jr
Martin Luther King life in Pictures
Martin Luther King Timeline
1957
Loving your Enemies, A Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Montgomery, Alabama. 17 November 1957. Text and audio
1960
“Pilgrimage to Nonviolence”, Chicago, Ill. 13 April 1960.
In this lecture King explains his philosophy of Nonviolence as based on his understanding of theological truths. Students of the Civil Rights movement will read and study this speech carefully.
1963
About the Letter from the Bermingham City Jail.
Letter from the Bermingham City Jail, 16 April 1963.
Key Quote
For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;
when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?";
when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs.";
when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. MORE
1963
I have a Dream. 28 August 1963 at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. Audio and text.
I have a Dream. Full speech 17 minute video.
I have a Dream. 8 minute edited version.
Professor Duarte analyzes "I have a dream". 7 minute lecture.
Professor Nancy Duarte's Ted Talk on "I have a dream". 17 minutes.
Eulogy for the Martyred Children, background and text. 18 September 1963
Excerpts from the Eulogy for the Martyred Children. 18 September 1963
"Eulogy for the Martyred Children" Listen to audio of the Speech:
Martin Luther King on the Assassination of John F Kennedy. "Shocking". 23 November 1963. CBS News interview. 1.40 minute video.
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address. Text. 10 December 1964, Oslo Norway.
Dr. King is the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Peace at age 35.
"I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners: all those to whom truth is beauty and beauty truth, and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 12 minute video.
Malcom X
Malcolm X Trailer, 2.45 minutes
Malcom X explains his philosophy, 5.30 minute interview
Malcolm X on M. L. King. 3 minute interview
King on Malcolm X. 3 minutes
Malcolm X quotes from Ballot or the Bullet and other speeches
The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X. Cleveland, Ohio. 3 April 1964
Text: Audio:
1965
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, excerpt with link to text
The Death Of Malcolm X, 21 February 1965. 1.30 minutes with photos and Malcolm speaking
1967
Martin Luther King, Jr. Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence, 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City. Audio and text.
1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. I've Been to the Mountain Top, King's last speech the night before his death. 10 minute video.
I've Been to the Mountain Top, 3 minute clip.
I've Been to the Mountain Top, Text and audio
Key quote
"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. 4 April 1968. Series of videos
Robert F Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy's Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Speech, 4 April 1968. 5 minutes. Full text and video.
Key quote:
"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another." Robert Kennedy.
1983
President Reagan's Remarks at signing the Martin Luther King national Holiday. 2
November 1983. 2.50 minutes.
Full Text of Reagan's remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a National Holiday. November 2, 1983.
2011
Obama speaks at MLK memorial dedication, 16 October 2011. CBS report 2.45 minutes.
Full text of Remarks by President Obama at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication, 16 October 2011.
"If you do not have a deep and patient faith in God, you will be powerless to face the delays, disappointments, and vicissitudes that inevitably come. Without God, all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights. Without him, life is a meaningless drama in which the decisive scenes are missing.
"But with him, we are able to rise from tension-packed valleys to the sublime heights of inner peace, and find radiant stars of hope against the nocturnal bosom of life's most depressing nights. "Thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it find repose in thee".
( Martin Luther King, Jr. Strength to Love, "Three dimensions of a complete life." 1968. )
Ancient Greek and Roman War Speeches
War Speeches in Literature and film
Making of American Speeches
Civil War Speeches
World War Two Speeches
Civil War continued: Speeches of Civil Rights Movement
Cold War Against Communism Speeches
War on Terror Speeches
War speeches of Barack Obama
This sermon was excerpted by King in his book Stride toward Freedom, pp. 61-64.
List of Books by King
Martin Luther King life in Pictures
Martin Luther King Timeline
1957
Loving your Enemies, A Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Montgomery, Alabama. 17 November 1957. Text and audio
1960
“Pilgrimage to Nonviolence”, Chicago, Ill. 13 April 1960.
In this lecture King explains his philosophy of Nonviolence as based on his understanding of theological truths. Students of the Civil Rights movement will read and study this speech carefully.
King explains his philosophy of Non-violent Direct Action. Watch this 8 Minute interview for more.
1963
About the Letter from the Bermingham City Jail.
Letter from the Bermingham City Jail, 16 April 1963.
Key Quote
For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;
when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?";
when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs.";
when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. MORE
1963
I have a Dream. 28 August 1963 at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. Audio and text.
I have a Dream. Full speech 17 minute video.
I have a Dream. 8 minute edited version.
Professor Duarte analyzes "I have a dream". 7 minute lecture.
Professor Nancy Duarte's Ted Talk on "I have a dream". 17 minutes.
Eulogy for the Martyred Children, background and text. 18 September 1963
Excerpts from the Eulogy for the Martyred Children. 18 September 1963
"Eulogy for the Martyred Children" Listen to audio of the Speech:
Martin Luther King on the Assassination of John F Kennedy. "Shocking". 23 November 1963. CBS News interview. 1.40 minute video.
Chairman of the Nobel Committee introduces recipient Martin Luther King, Jr. This speech gives a broad overview of the significance of King's contribution to peace and should be read carefully.
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address. Text. 10 December 1964, Oslo Norway.
Dr. King is the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Peace at age 35.
"I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners: all those to whom truth is beauty and beauty truth, and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 12 minute video.
Malcom X
Malcolm X Trailer, 2.45 minutes
Malcom X explains his philosophy, 5.30 minute interview
Malcolm X on M. L. King. 3 minute interview
King on Malcolm X. 3 minutes
Malcolm X quotes from Ballot or the Bullet and other speeches
The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X. Cleveland, Ohio. 3 April 1964
Text: Audio:
1965
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, excerpt with link to text
The Death Of Malcolm X, 21 February 1965. 1.30 minutes with photos and Malcolm speaking
Martin Luther King, Jr. Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence, 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City. Audio and text.
1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. I've Been to the Mountain Top, King's last speech the night before his death. 10 minute video.
I've Been to the Mountain Top, 3 minute clip.
I've Been to the Mountain Top, Text and audio
Key quote
"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. 4 April 1968. Series of videos
Robert F. Kennedy's Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Speech, 4 April 1968. 5 minutes. Full text and video.
Key quote:
"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another." Robert Kennedy.
1983
President Reagan's Remarks at signing the Martin Luther King national Holiday. 2
November 1983. 2.50 minutes.
Full Text of Reagan's remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a National Holiday. November 2, 1983.
2011Obama speaks at MLK memorial dedication, 16 October 2011. CBS report 2.45 minutes.
Full text of Remarks by President Obama at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Dedication, 16 October 2011.
___________________________________________________
Martin Luther King's Faith in God
Martin Luther King's Faith in God
"I would urge you to give priority to the search for God. Allow his Spirit to permeate your being. To meet the difficulties and challenges of life you will need him. Before the ship of your life reaches its last harbor, there will be long, drawn-out storms, howling and jostling winds, and tempeptuous seas that make the heart stand still.
"If you do not have a deep and patient faith in God, you will be powerless to face the delays, disappointments, and vicissitudes that inevitably come. Without God, all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights. Without him, life is a meaningless drama in which the decisive scenes are missing.
"But with him, we are able to rise from tension-packed valleys to the sublime heights of inner peace, and find radiant stars of hope against the nocturnal bosom of life's most depressing nights. "Thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it find repose in thee".
( Martin Luther King, Jr. Strength to Love, "Three dimensions of a complete life." 1968. )
__________________________________________________
Analysis of Central Figure in Civil Rights Movement
Analysis of Central Figure in Civil Rights Movement
The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr
Scene: Sum up the When and Where
Actor: What was King's biography and character?
Purpose: What did King want when faced with his struggle?
Obstacles: What kept King from his purpose?
Action: What did King do? What did he say in his famous speech?
Result: How did it turn out? What universal truth for humanity does King give us?
________________________________________
Speeches of War main menuAncient Greek and Roman War Speeches
War Speeches in Literature and film
Making of American Speeches
Civil War Speeches
World War Two Speeches
Civil War continued: Speeches of Civil Rights Movement
Cold War Against Communism Speeches
War on Terror Speeches
War speeches of Barack Obama
No comments:
Post a Comment