Happy 80th Birthday Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today would have been the 80th birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. I posted these quotes last year, but they remain applicable. Although the national celebration is next Monday his actual date of birth is January 15, 1929. Born Michael Luther King, Jr., he later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He would have been 79 years old today. This year is also significant because April 4th will be the fortieth anniversary of his assassination. Although he only graced us with his presence for 39 short years, he left a legacy that is shared throughout the world by millions of people. Rather than dwell on the negative aspects of his death, I will celebrate his life by sharing some quotes from the man himself.

A lie cannot live.

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

King's First Grandchild is Born

The first grandchild of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is a girl. A family spokeswoman says Arndrea Waters King, wife of Martin Luther King III, gave birth to Yolanda Renee King on Sunday at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. The mother and baby are reported to be healthy. The baby was named after her aunt, Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest daughter Yolanda, who died in May 2007, Tarver says. Martin Luther King III married shortly after his mother's death in January 2006, but the wedding was not made public until this year. He wis the first of Martin Luther King Jr.'s four children to marry and the first to have a child.

The newborn weighed in at 7.5 pounds. Her birth comes two years and two days after her parents were married. "We are excited about our precious gift from God and cannot express how fortunate we feel to have our beautiful baby girl. It is truly the happiest day of our lives. I know my parents are smiling down from heaven," the new father said in the statement released on Sunday.

MLK Monument

The centerpiece for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall has drawn criticism from a federal arts panel, which says the proposed statue looks "confrontational" and resembles the head of a socialist state more than a civil rights leader. The statue (shown on the left with the artist) is a one of the models of a 28-foot tall statue depicting King emerging from a chunk of granite, his arms folded in front of his chest, his legs firmly rooted, an intense gaze on his face.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews the design of projects in the capital area, said the design should be reworked to reflect a more sympathetic rendering of King.Members thought "the proposed treatment of the sculpture - as the most iconographic and central element of the memorial to Dr. King - would be unfortunate and inappropriate as an expression of his legacy". The panel went on to say that the statue resembled a genre of political sculpture that has recently been pulled down in other countries. I personally find nothing wrong with the artist's depiction of Dr. King. I am interested to know if others find the statue offensive. All opinions are welcome.

Thursday Thirteen # 17 – Thirteen Little Known Facts About Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

April 4th will mark the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III will lead a march to the hotel to commemorate this historical event. I will take time on Friday to reflect on how far the world has come in these 40 years and how much will still need to strive for both globally and in America. For this edition of Thursday Thirteen I will share some little known facts about Dr. King. 1. Dr. King was a Republican - Most people would assume that because Dr. King was black, and fought for the rights of the underprivileged, that he would naturally be a Democrat. But the truth is that by many accounts, Dr. King was a Republican, and more conservative in his views. 2. Dr. King was a dedicated Fraternity man – He was a member of Sigma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as the number 5 of his line in spring of '52. 3. He changed his name from Michael to Martin, but there is no evidence that he changed it legally. 4. In 1964, Dr. King became the first black American to be honored as Time magazine's Man of the Year. 5. King's efforts were not limited to securing civil rights; he also spoke out vehemently against poverty and the Vietnam War. 6. Besides his doctoral degree from Boston University, Dr. King was awarded 20 honorary doctoral degrees, from numerous colleges. 7. Dr. King became an ordained minister in 1948 at the age of nineteen. 8. Selected one of the most outstanding personalities of the year by Time Magazine in1957. 9. He entered Morehouse College at 15 and in 1948 he graduated with a B.A. degree in Sociology. 10. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover waged a bitter war of surveillance and harassment, declaring him "the most dangerous man in America. 11. He rejected a series of academic offers, opting instead to become pastor of Montgomery, AL's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. 12. The Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated became a civil rights museum in 1991. 13. Mrs. Coretta Scott King spoke at the funeral of her husband, eloquently stating, "The day that Negro people and others in bondage are truly free, on the day `want' is abolished, on the day `wars' are no more, on that day, I know my husband will rest in a long-deserved peace." Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Did James Earl Ray Kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

I have a problem with scenarios in which a single person is accused and held accountable for the assassinations of major political figures. I am sorry, I just don’t believe things are as simple as all that. The deaths of JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, are much more complex than one man could manufacture single-handedly. There is a new book by the brother of James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing Dr. Martin Luther King, which sets out to prove that Ray was not Dr. King's murderer.

“TRUTH AT LAST: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.” is a book written by John Larry Ray and Lyndon Barsten. In the book the 75-year-old brother of James Earl Ray, claims that there's forensic evidence that proves his brother did not assassinate Dr. King. The book also includes conversations between the brothers where James thinks he was being set up.

"Martin Luther King Jr. was a man admired by millions, but my brother didn't kill him," John told the New York Daily News. "I believe my brother was not only misused by conspirators within our government but also greatly misconstrued as a 'racist' and a 'murderer' by the media."
James Early Ray confessed to shooting Dr. King, but recanted three days later. He died in 1998.

What do you think about a possible "government conspiracy"?

Happy Birthday Dr. King

Although the national celebration of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday is next Monday his actual date of birth is January 15, 1929. Born Michael Luther King, Jr., he later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He would have been 79 years old today. This year is also significant because April 4th will be the fortieth anniversary of his assassination. Although he only graced us with his presence for 39 short years, he left a legacy that is shared throughout the world by millions of people. Rather than dwell on the negative aspects of his death, I will celebrate his life by sharing some quotes from the man himself.

A lie cannot live.

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

Martin Luther King, Jr.