I HAVE A DREAM.. 50 years ago today

[Colin]

I remember this day 50 years ago very well .

I was glued to our black and white television watching the BBC coverage of the Civil Rights March on Washington which culminated in the speech of Martin Luther King .

Perhaps because of the events of WWII , which had ended not many years previously , I had a detestation of racism in whatever form . I had followed the American Civil Rights Movement closely , and was inspired and ecouraged by it .

I am grateful to Martin Luther King and to all who struggled for civil rights in America at that time .

Just over two years later the 21st Ecumenical Council was to declare : "
No foundation remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, colour, condition of life, or religion. "


Unusual for this Council , the bishops used the word "reproves" . Good Pope John had wanted the Council to avoid "condemnation" , but the bishops found racial discrimination so abhorrent that they got as near as they could to declaring it anathema .



We all know that there is so much injustice in the world , but may we not lose hope , but rather be inspired by men like Martin Luther King , and may we continue to dream .

I HAVE A DREAM... MARTIN LUTHER KING - August 28, 1963 - YouTube

 

[Michie]

God bless him.

 

[S.ilvio]

Thank you Rawson.

Your words say it all. Men with the courage of MLK can only inspire those of us today who agree with his message but may be fearful of expressing it...

 

[Fantine]

May we continue to work towards freedom and equality for all, all across the world.

 

[Colin]

Thank you Rawson.

Your words say it all. Men with the courage of MLK can only inspire those of us today who agree with his message but may be fearful of expressing it...

Thanks S.ilvio .

There was a programme on BBC Radio 4 at 9a.m. on Martin Luther King's speech . It features , amongst others , Mary Robinson , John Hulme , your heroine Malala , and the Dalai Lama . You might want to listen to it on BBC iplayer .

There's also a documentary on BBC 2 at 9p.m. about Martin Luther King and the March on Washington .

Let's never stop dreaming .
joan baez- WE SHALL OVERCOME- live1965 - YouTube

 

[S.ilvio]

I'll check out the documentary tonight for sure...

 

[MKJ]

I thought people might enjoy this in this thread - Mahalia sung this just before the Washington march:

How I Got Over

 

[Michie]

Cardinal Wuerl recalls famed March on Washington

L’Osservatore Romano has published a reflection by Cardinal Donald Wuerl on the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at which the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famed “I Have a Dream” speech.

“The majestic statue of King at his new memorial in Washington reminds us of his towering achievement in bringing our nation to a fuller awareness of the equality of all people before God,” Cardinal Wuerl wrote. “His dream, with its roots deep in prayer and Sacred Scripture, continues to challenge us to see each other as brothers and sisters, children of the same loving God.”

After recalling that his predecessor, Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, delivered the invocation at the march, Cardinal Wuerl paid tribute to O’Boyle’s commitment to desegregation. The archdiocese today, he said, honors King’s and O’Boyle’s legacy by “providing educational opportunities for all children, but particularly for those who would otherwise be consigned to schools too often designated as ‘failing.’”

Cardinal Wuerl also linked the March on Washington to the annual March for Life.
“As Washington's archbishop, I have witnessed King’s vision of Americans praying and marching together for justice,” he wrote. “Each year at the March, Rallies and Masses for Life, hundreds of thousands of people from across the country gather to pray and then march together in defense of the dignity of human life in all its stages. Our faith can never be relegated to just an hour inside church on Sunday.”

The dream of Martin Luther King (L’Osservatore Romano)

USCCB: statement for 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s March on Washington (CWN, 8/14)

 

[Michie]

MLK: Bus boycott's foundation was the Christian religion

As the nation - and the world observes the 50th Anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream ...

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=52207

 

[Michie]

Make Justice a Reality to all of Gods Children: Dr. Kings Dream Includes Children in the Womb

On this day when we remember the dream - and honor the heroic life and death of a great Christian man - let us follow his example by ...

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=52200

 

[Gwendolyn]

May we continue to work towards freedom and equality for all, all across the world.