In
an earlier blog I wrote about peace makers.
Since
today is a national holiday, where we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
birthday, it is appropriate to write about his contribution to peace making. Here is the link to his Nobel Peace acceptance
speech: The Nobel Peace Prize 1964.
We all have heard about Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech and are
touched by his determination to fight for that dream. Dr. King’s greatest contribution to
peacemaking is portraited in the recent release movie: Selma. In Selma we witness a chronicle of
Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march
from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
As
the story goes, from January to March of 1965 Dr. King along with hundreds and
thousands of fellow African-Americans as well as some white folks from the northern
states participated in marches between Selma
and Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. Even
though the demonstrations were peaceful several protesters were injured and
some even died. Their demands? The equal rights of American citizens to
vote. Finally, in August, President
Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
I
like to finish my tribute to Dr. King with a quote by the late Rev. Sun Myung
Moon who considered MLK “The Greatest American Citizen of the 20th Century.”
“On the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial, we recall Martin Luther King’s stirring ‘I Have A Dream’
speech which captivated and inspired all of us to put an end to racial
injustice and bigotry. We have before us the responsibility of fulfilling that
dream. Whether the coming future will bring war or peace depends largely upon
our efforts today.”
~ Reverend
Sun Myung Moon
No comments:
Post a Comment