Remembering King, part 1


This coming Friday (April 4th) sees the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Revd. Dr Martin Luther King Jnr.

Today and each day this week I’ll be posting a quote from him, and I invite you to comment on the relevance of parts of his message to contemporary people.

In 1964 Revd. Dr King was awarded the Nobel peace prize. In his acceptance speech he said,

I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life which surrounds him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight or racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centred men have torn down, other-centred men can build up.

Comments

simon said…
I like the phrase 'other-centred men'. That's a good definition of what Christians ought to be.
31/3/08 14:53
Jonathan said…
And it still seems audacious to believe that we'll ever get out of the mindless cycle of violence and hate.
1/4/08 14:35
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