August 28, 1963. On this day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what is widely considered the greatest speech of the 20th century. While the March for Jobs and Freedom had many eloquent and poignant speakers that day, Dr. King’s speech effectively encapsulated the heartbeat of an entire people and still resonates with pertinence today.
This past weekend was the 47th anniversary of that wonderful event, and it made me think.
Talking head, Glenn Beck, decided to hold a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, the same place Dr. King delivered his speech, forty-seven years to the day. Coincidence? I think not. I'm not going to give a lot of time to that, but it's funny that he was hosting a "Restoring Honor" rally. This is the same man who called President Obama a racist and Muslim. (Not that anything is wrong with being a Muslim). During Beck's event, Rev. Al Sharpton and others organized an extremely less attended event designed to protest the other and actually commemorate the legacy of Dr. King's speech.
And back to that speech. I personally love that speech. Whether you hear it or read it, it is an amazing peace of literature. The "I have a dream" portion was apparently improvised in the same Southern minister style that my grandfather uses, but the sections that were written rival anything put to paper.
Sidenote: Why do many preachers sound like they have asthma or some other upper-respiratory infection when they are delivering their sermon? I've always wondered that. That's why I never wanted to be a preacher. It sounds too painful.
His use of metaphor and imagery. The pictures of pain and persistence he painted. His use of allusion to everything from the Bible to Shakespeare to Greek philosophers flowed effortlessly.
My favorite section of that speech, while it is hard to choose just one, is below:
"In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'"
I put it red because it's just that FIRE!!! Is this from 1963 or did someone just write this today?
The ability to take an embarrassing situation like getting NSF notice (I know all about it) and relating it to the failure of the government to honor it's own promises is evidence of true genius. Read it over a few times. It might lose you'll catch on.
Many of today's politicians hardly put their own pens to paper for the speeches they present. Same goes for many musical artists, even rappers. That's a shame. To be a rapper and have a ghostwriter is despicable. But...if you're a rapper and you need a little assistance, holla at your boy! The pen is deadly!
And another thing about MLK. Is it just me or was he one of the coolest dudes to ever walk the face of this planet? You never saw him rattled or shook. The cadence and tone of his voice made Billy Dee Williams jealous. Even in his mugshot, he looked as if he was ready to walk into a nice little jazz club or family restaurant or an alleged rendezvous. Now compare that to James Brown's mugshot.
One day, I hope to be half as eloquent, a quarter as cool, and have a fraction of the impact of Dr. King. That's my dream.
3 comments:
I think you're well on your way......
Although, he did accomplish a lot by the age of 39.....clock's ticking :-)
Post-'Post' Thought:
It's better to live your life pursuing a dream, then to never even dream at all 8^)
My second day of reading "The Darker Brother" I chose to read "It was All a Dream." The title compelled me to start rapping in my B.I.G. voice before seeing the actual text so I knew whatever the content, it had to be good, at least, it had better be.
It is. It's good because you were able to highlight the eloquence of Dr. King with your own. That's very difficult to do. It's like when legendary artists pass and their kids wish to merge or collaborate with this intimidating greatness, but somehow it just doesn't quite feel as great when they do--the Elvis',the Cole's.
So I find it brave that you, without being a preacher, venture after the kind of genius that immortalizes a mere man. I've got a thing for words. I really do. But my God, when the words become more than the words because of a man's heart-- you get coolness, you get eloquence, you even get gold-framed mugshots.
My favorite part of this speech has always been the part you highlighted in red. It is so honest and personable. It's effectual because those lines transcended race and the ambiguity of moral facts. If you were one of the negro people, those lines just made you shake your head with your eyebrows furrowed because it made too much damn sense; and if you were not of the negro people, you shook your head with eyebrows furrowed because it made too much damn sense in spite of you not wanting it to. That's some serious linguistic power!
It was all a dream...until the King got ahold of it and breathed into it. I often wonder, why is that, despite other speakers' and preachers' and teachers' use of figurative language and rhythm and well placed intonations, their words have not come close to having the kind of impact or memory stronghold as Dr. King's. And I often wonder, why is it that Dr. King's words no longer resound as it once did? I remember, standing at an unltra-packed MLK parade waiting for the float to come by blasting his words and everyone would listen. That doesn't happen anymore. Or is it just me? Naaah, can't be--how many people did you say were at Rev. Al Sharpton's honorary march again? I dare to think of the day when Dr. King's words are no longer echoed, memorized, recited, BELIEVED! That would be far from a dream... unless you're the talking head of Glenn Beck. How many people did you say were at his crap?
As before, thank you for the worthy read.
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