Still Celebrating....

Dr. King was a great man, not a perfect man but a great man.  He risked his life to change the situation of his fellow human beings, not only the ones who believed in his position, but also those who did not believe. Now more than 30 years after the passage of civil rights legislation, how many of us are living our lives and making contributions that dignify the sacrifice made by Dr. King, Medgar Evans, and so many others? 

Yesterday, I was apart of two programs celebrating the life of Dr. King.  I applaud the efforts of those who are serving the community, raising their children, and impacting lives.  While we can most assuredly talk about our current condition and the things we need to be doing, rhetoric without action is worthless.  Our lives, our words and our actions must be in harmony in order to really effect the type of "King" change needed in the world today.

In closing, I am sharing a few more of Dr. King's quotes.  May they inspire you and me to action.  

Peace.




Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. --Martin Luther King, Jr , Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963


In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' --Martin Luther King Jr., Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963

Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.  --Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait, 1963.

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.  --Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.