Quote
‘In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the
free – honourable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly
save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth.’ Abraham Lincoln
News
On 28th August 1963, Martin Luther King stood
before a vast crowd of civil rights supporters in Washington DC and delivered
his famous ‘I have a dream’ address. In the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial he
spoke of his hope that his children would “one day live in a nation where they
will be not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their
character.”
Martin Luther King’s address is remembered as one of the
finest in modern history; one that still carries power today. Its profound
impact owes as much to King’s passionate oratory as to the strength of his
arguments. It is quite possible that the Civil Rights movement could have
unfolded very differently had the speech been a flop.
King used the language of his audience to build up rapport
and establish common ground. He appealed to shared American identity by referring
to Abraham Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, and then built on a sense of
historical continuity by placing the Civil Rights movement in this context.
This sent a message that racial equality was fundamental to the American way of
life.
Speaking of his ‘dream’, he painted a picture of American
neighbourhoods and workplaces where black and white adults and children lived
together in reconciliation, acceptance and mutual respect. King could simply
have encouraged his followers gain freedom through violence, but instead he
spoke of “our white brothers” and urged campaigners not to drink from the “cup
of bitterness and hatred”.
This emphasis on peace and reconciliation indicated a deep
concern for the common good of the races in American society. The Civil Rights
movement was not to be forged by narrow factional interest, but driven by a
vision of equality and a brighter future for all. How might this play out in areas of deep
conflict today?
Read on…
The full text of Martin Luther King’s Lincoln Memorial
speech can be viewed here.
Walk the talk
Do you have a clear vision for what you would like to see your
society look like in the future, one which is attractive not just to your
friends and neighbourhood, but to wider society as a whole?
The last word
From the Bible, Revelation chapter 21, verse 4: ‘He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
No comments:
Post a Comment