The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - MLK Day 2021 | Bonus

Episode Date: January 18, 2021

Paying homage by sharing some of Dr. King's words from his last speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" that are pertinent to America in 2021

Hello, everybody. Welcome to another bonus episode of the People Process Progress podcast on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021. I thought in this time of divisiveness, of seemingly no leadership or gosh, who knows what to call the state of leadership that we would celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an example of what it's like to lead others through your words, through your example, through your actions. By me sharing part of his speech, I've been to the mountaintop that he delivered in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. And it's the part that I think is most pertinent to America and the world at large. So I'm going to start in the third paragraph here. Here we go. As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time with the possibility of a generic and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the almighty one said to me,

Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in? I would take mental flight by Egypt through or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the Promised Land, and in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece and take my mind to Mount Olympus, and I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides, and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there.

I would go on even the great heyday of the Roman Empire and I would see developments around there through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and aesthetic life of a man. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I'm named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863 and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.

But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the early 30s and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation, and come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty and say, if you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy. Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement, but I know somehow that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.

And I see God working in this period of the 20th century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Akragana, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson, Mississippi, or Memphis, Tennessee, the cry is always the same. We want to be free. And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period Is that we have been forced to a point

Where we're going to have to grapple with the problems That men have been trying to grapple with throughout history But the demand didn't force them to do it Survival demands that we grapple with them Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace But now no longer can they just talk about it It is no longer a choice just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and non-violence in this world. It's non-violence or non-existence.

That is where we are today, and also in the human rights revolution. If something isn't done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world, of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding, and I'm happy that he's allowed me to be in Memphis. I can remember. I can remember when Negroes were just going around, as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now. We are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world. And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protests and

any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God's children and that we don't have to live like we are forced to live. Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court,

and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now, let us maintain unity and that is the end of again just part of the speech i've been to the mountaintop by dr martin luther king jr who was in memphis tennessee to connect with folks workers that were on strike at the mason temple in memphis and as you know, in the 60s, a huge part of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, a great leader of that movement, of bringing people together of all colors and creeds.

And I think his words, not just for what he did for African American people, but his words that speak to america right now particularly from the aspect of people that find themselves maybe not literal but virtual slaves to their political parties the false information that, the fear to being home from COVID for going on a year, for all the factors that are out in our world that are affecting us. I think this and other speeches in his example on this Martin Luther King Day 2021 should make us think about who we're beholden to and who we follow blindly and how together, all of us from all walks of life, if we come together, can rebuild the nation, can push off those that would do evil,

and can help us all keep moving forward. Stay safe, wash your hands hands and Godspeed everyone