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Discovering Martin Luther King Jr.
Author: Raine
Date: 01/20/2014 14:56:20
This is the only known recording of this event. It was released today from the New York State Museum.
You can read the transcript here.
It's an amazing thing to read.
& 
Raine
On September 12, 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City to honor the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on the eve of its centennial anniversary. At a dinner organized by New York's Civil War Centennial Commission, Dr. King spoke on the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation in American history, arguing that the document proved that government could be a powerful force for social justice. He urged Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and President John F. Kennedy to hasten integration and progress towards full civil rights.
You can read the transcript here.
We are at one of history’s awesome crossroads. Our technological creativity is almost boundless. We can build machines that think. We can dot the landscape with houses and super- highways teeming with cars. We can now even destroy our whole planet with the nuclear weapons we alone possess. We have wrought distance and place time in chains. And our guided ballistic missiles have carved highways through the stratosphere. In short we have the capacity to re-build our whole planet, filling it with luxury – or we are capable of destroying it totally. The shocking issue of our age is that no one can confidentially say which we will do. Whether we will survive indeed depends upon whether we build moral values as fast and extensively as we construct material things. The struggle for civil rights is rooted in moral values. As we pursue our goals everywhere, everyone will benefit from the moral awakening our movement compels. We must all maintain faith in the future, and believe that the American dream can and will become a reality. This is my faith. I know that dark days still lie ahead. Gigantic mountains of opposition will still stand before us. We will encounter new setbacks, and some will still have to suffer persecution. But Valley Forge was followed by Yorktown. The persecution of Christians in ancient Rome was efficient and thorough, and yet it resulted in total failure.
There is something in this universe which justifies Carlisle in saying, “No lie can live forever.” And there is something in this universe which justifies William Cullen Bryant in saying, “Truth crushed to earth will rise again.” And this is the faith that will carry us on. And with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair, and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. And we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. This is the faith that will help us solve the problem. We have a long, long way to go before it is solved. But all of us can at least think of the fact that we have made some strides.
And so I close by quoting the words of an old Negro slave preacher who didn’t quite have his grammar right but uttered words of great symbolic profundity and they were uttered in the form of a prayer: “Lord, we ain’t what we oughta be. We ain’t what we want to be. We ain’t what we gonna be. But, thank God, we ain’t what we wuz.”
It's an amazing thing to read.
& Raine
Comments:
Order comments Newest to Oldest Refresh Comments
Comment by 
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 14:39:08
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 14:39:08
Continuing on your theme, Tri, Why does this country disrespect its holidays so much? I am at work.
Comment by 
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 14:43:51
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 14:43:51
Morning 
Comment by 
TriSec on 01/20/2014 14:53:01
Oh, me too. But I'm working from home - I embedded a spike in my right rear tire at Camp this weekend - off to get that fixed. More to your point, I didn't even have to call - I'm pretty sure all retail places are full-bore today.
TriSec on 01/20/2014 14:53:01
Quote by Mondobubba:
Continuing on your theme, Tri, Why does this country disrespect its holidays so much? I am at work.
Oh, me too. But I'm working from home - I embedded a spike in my right rear tire at Camp this weekend - off to get that fixed. More to your point, I didn't even have to call - I'm pretty sure all retail places are full-bore today.
Comment by 
Raine on 01/20/2014 14:58:16
New Blog posted.
Raine on 01/20/2014 14:58:16
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:10:49
It just isn't today. It is all our holidays.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:10:49
Quote by TriSec:Quote by Mondobubba:
Continuing on your theme, Tri, Why does this country disrespect its holidays so much? I am at work.
Oh, me too. But I'm working from home - I embedded a spike in my right rear tire at Camp this weekend - off to get that fixed. More to your point, I didn't even have to call - I'm pretty sure all retail places are full-bore today.
It just isn't today. It is all our holidays.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:21:56
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:21:56
Yes, I am cranky as all fuck today. 
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 15:29:31
Raine on 01/20/2014 15:29:31
Quote by Mondobubba:
Yes, I am cranky as all fuck today.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 15:52:12
Raine on 01/20/2014 15:52:12
Crank, Bunneh and kittens kilt das blog. Long live Das Blog.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:58:39
Awwwww!
Thanks!
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 15:58:39
Quote by Raine:Quote by Mondobubba:
Yes, I am cranky as all fuck today.
Awwwww!
Thanks!
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 16:01:01
I hope nobody here is doing crank, that stuff will kill you.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 16:01:01
Quote by Raine:
Crank, Bunneh and kittens kilt das blog. Long live Das Blog.
I hope nobody here is doing crank, that stuff will kill you.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 16:06:03
Raine on 01/20/2014 16:06:03
I've noticed these adds are playing on FreeSpeach TV -- I thought I would share them with everyone here, They are really smart informative and entreating. Click to launch and pick one to watch.
Comment by wickedpam on 01/20/2014 16:07:43
Monday morning
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 16:07:43
Quote by Raine:
Crank, Bunneh and kittens kilt das blog. Long live Das Blog.
Monday morning
Comment by 
Scoopster on 01/20/2014 16:26:22
Scoopster on 01/20/2014 16:26:22
Oh my goodness.. I've been in the Sunday bloggie talking to myself this whole time! : 
Comment by BobR on 01/20/2014 16:30:57
BobR on 01/20/2014 16:30:57
Our office is closed today, as well as President's Day next month. What I find disturbing are the "MLK Day" car ads.
Comment by BobR on 01/20/2014 16:34:42
Thanks for the link about the FOX "News" punditard.
BobR on 01/20/2014 16:34:42
Quote by Scoopster:
Oh my goodness.. I've been in the Sunday bloggie talking to myself this whole time! :
Thanks for the link about the FOX "News" punditard.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 16:36:58
Raine on 01/20/2014 16:36:58
Nice to see you Scoop!
Comment by Scoopster on 01/20/2014 16:41:58
Yeah for those who missed it, here's a recap:
Scoopster on 01/20/2014 16:41:58
Quote by BobR:Quote by Scoopster:
Oh my goodness.. I've been in the Sunday bloggie talking to myself this whole time!
Yeah for those who missed it, here's a recap:
You know, I don't usually read Reddit. I consider it to be one of the larger cesspools on the internet. But sometimes they point out something worth reading, and it makes my head explode.
Comment by 
livingonli on 01/20/2014 16:45:16
livingonli on 01/20/2014 16:45:16
Good morning, folks. After a week of quiet, it looks like we are about to get another deep freeze with 6 to 10 inches of snow tomorrow. Not good for my moods.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 16:50:52
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 16:50:52
When I am benevolent emperor of the US, all business will cease on on all federal holidays. If there is non-compliance, then other measures taken. 
The owner or CEO of the violating company will be shot and strung up from a lamppost in front of the building.
The owner or CEO of the violating company will be shot and strung up from a lamppost in front of the building.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 16:51:36
the link and the gif <---
LOVED this:
Raine on 01/20/2014 16:51:36
Quote by Scoopster:Quote by BobR:Quote by Scoopster:
Oh my goodness.. I've been in the Sunday bloggie talking to myself this whole time!
Yeah for those who missed it, here's a recap:You know, I don't usually read Reddit. I consider it to be one of the larger cesspools on the internet. But sometimes they point out something worth reading, and it makes my head explode.
the link and the gif <--- LOVED this:
Yes, who could forget the terrible Maple Curtain that fell during the Cold War! Or the Sydney Missile Crisis! I'd love to hear from specialists on those nations in the twentieth century, because I just cannot fucking believe how juicy this is.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 17:06:44
Personally, in the interest of non-violence, I'd prefer that you, as benevolent emperor, take away every damn tax loophole until they submit to observing federal Holidays.
Raine on 01/20/2014 17:06:44
Quote by Mondobubba:
When I am benevolent emperor of the US, all business will cease on on all federal holidays. If there is non-compliance, then other measures taken.
Personally, in the interest of non-violence, I'd prefer that you, as benevolent emperor, take away every damn tax loophole until they submit to observing federal Holidays.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 17:08:05
We can do that. We will still keep the violence card in the deck.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 17:08:05
Quote by Raine:Quote by Mondobubba:
When I am benevolent emperor of the US, all business will cease on on all federal holidays. If there is non-compliance, then other measures taken.
Personally, in the interest of non-violence, I'd prefer that you, as benevolent emperor, take away every damn tax loophole until they submit to observing federal Holidays.
We can do that.
We will still keep the violence card in the deck.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 17:09:24
Raine on 01/20/2014 17:09:24
Comment by Scoopster on 01/20/2014 17:09:44
Uhh what did Big Ed just say.. Rudy Guiliani to the NJ Gov's mansion?!
never mind I misheard...
Scoopster on 01/20/2014 17:09:44
never mind I misheard...
Comment by 
clintster on 01/20/2014 17:30:17
clintster on 01/20/2014 17:30:17
Just to share a little of the lighter side of Dr. King, here is a clip of him making a joke during an appearance on the "Tonight Show" back in '68.
Comment by 
Will in Chicago on 01/20/2014 18:07:36
Will in Chicago on 01/20/2014 18:07:36
Hello, bloggers!! I hope that everyone is well.
I think that we need to remind America that Dr. King fought for economic justice, in addition to racial equality, civil rights and social justice. I think that Dr. King would be happy about much of our progress but disappointed at income inequality and the poverty in our country. The best way to honor Dr. King, is not with discounts on cars, furniture and food, but by words and deeds.
I think that we need to remind America that Dr. King fought for economic justice, in addition to racial equality, civil rights and social justice. I think that Dr. King would be happy about much of our progress but disappointed at income inequality and the poverty in our country. The best way to honor Dr. King, is not with discounts on cars, furniture and food, but by words and deeds.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 18:46:21
Raine on 01/20/2014 18:46:21
More on Discovering MLK:
It's a short piece of audio, but WOW!
The civil rights leader is heard discussing Kennedy's role in securing his release from a Georgia prison after he was sentenced to four months of hard labor for a traffic violation two weeks before the election that sent Kennedy to the White House.
Then-Sen. Kennedy placed a call to Coretta Scott King against the advice of close advisers, expressing his concern to King's wife. His brother, Robert Kennedy also called the Georgia judge who had sentenced King to the chain gang and denied him bond. King was freed the next day.
The interviewer asked Dr. King if he thought Kennedy had any influence on his release.
"Well, I would say first that many forces worked together to bring about my release," King said. "I don't think any one force brought it about, but you had a plurality of forces working together. I'm sure that the interest of the public, in general, all over America had something, a great deal to do with it."
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 18:51:03
Read these few pages.
Raine on 01/20/2014 18:51:03
(Robert) Kennedy seemed to fret about what to do as John Seigenthaler drove him to the airport early that afternoon. He was flying to New York for a campaign event. Maybe, he told Seigenthaler, he should take the heat off his brother and act as a "lightning rod" by calling the judge himself. Seigenthaler, whose phone had been ringing all morning with calls of angry southern politicians protesting JFK's call to Mrs. King, urged Bobby to stay out of it. Bobby wearily agreed.
The next day, a press aide told Seigenthaler that the wires were reporting that the judge had released King -- at the intervention of Robert Kennedy.
Can't be true, Seigenthaler said; Kennedy had assured him he wouldn't call the judge. But it was true. Seigenthaler called Kennedy, who sheepishly disclosed the call. He said that, on the plane to New York, he had got to thinking about the whole matter. It was "disgraceful...It just burned me up," Kennedy said. "It grilled me. The more I thought about the injustice of it, the more I thought what a son of a bitch the judge was." So Kennedy called the judge and gave him a lecture on the constitutional right to make bail, and the judge agreed to release King. Later, speaking with Wofford, Kennedy said he told the judge, "If he was a decent American, he would let King out by sundown. I called him because it made me so damn angry to think of that bastard sentencing a citizen to four months hard labor for a minor traffic offense."
The impact of JFK's call to Mrs. King and RFK's intervention with the judge was immense. Daddy King, Martin Luther King's father, an extremely influential Baptist preacher, openly shifted his endorsement from Nixon to Kennedy. The Kennedy campaign brilliantly exploited the symbolism of phone calls with a samizdat campaign in the black community. Careful not to tout the Kennedy-King connection in the popular mainstream press, lest southern voters take umbrage, the Kennedy campaign published hundreds of thousands of leaflets and handbills that were distributed at black churches and bars. On one side, a flyer read: "Jack Kennedy called Mrs. King" On the other side it said: "Richard Nixon did not." Many political analysts believe that this PR offensive decided the election. In a half-dozen states in the East and Midwest carried by Kennedy by very narrow margins on election day, black turnout made the difference. Richard Nixon's chauffeur understood. "Mr. Vice-President," he told his boss after the election, "you know I had been talking to my friends. They had been all for you. But when Mr. Robert Kennedy called the judge to get Dr. King out of jail -- well, they just all turned to him."
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 19:41:49
To paraphrase "The Big Lebowski," Sarah, shut the fuck up. You're out of your depth.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 19:41:49
Quote by Raine:
Let me translate: Obama stop being a black guy.
To paraphrase "The Big Lebowski," Sarah, shut the fuck up. You're out of your depth.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:14:39
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:14:39
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:24:03
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:24:03
Apparently I am the Crazy Cat Lady.
So I took it again and got Monty Burns! Excellent! :hunches back, steeples fingers:
So I took it again and got Monty Burns! Excellent! :hunches back, steeples fingers:
Comment by Scoopster on 01/20/2014 20:25:45
Scoopster on 01/20/2014 20:25:45
Someone at Gawker wrote a what-if-MLK-was-alive-today fanfic.
Ehhh... I tend to prefer this account of "history":
Ehhh... I tend to prefer this account of "history":
Comment by livingonli on 01/20/2014 20:33:43
And I'm Lionel Hutz. You know that's dumpster-client privilege.
livingonli on 01/20/2014 20:33:43
Quote by Mondobubba:
Apparently I am the Crazy Cat Lady.
And I'm Lionel Hutz. You know that's dumpster-client privilege.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 20:34:46
Agreed. I saw that post over at Gawker and was all 
I saw this earlier and I really wish I could have seen it as reality:
Raine on 01/20/2014 20:34:46
Quote by Scoopster:
Someone at Gawker wrote a what-if-MLK-was-alive-today fanfic.
Ehhh... I tend to prefer this account of "history":
I saw this earlier and I really wish I could have seen it as reality:
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 20:38:24
Crazy Cat Lady -- me and mondo are very good friends...
Raine on 01/20/2014 20:38:24
Quote by livingonli:Quote by Mondobubba:
Apparently I am the Crazy Cat Lady.
And I'm Lionel Hutz. You know that's dumpster-client privilege.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:58:20
I like my second result much, much better.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:58:20
Quote by Raine:Crazy Cat Lady -- me and mondo are very good friends...Quote by livingonli:Quote by Mondobubba:
Apparently I am the Crazy Cat Lady.
And I'm Lionel Hutz. You know that's dumpster-client privilege.
I like my second result much, much better.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:59:05
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 20:59:05
Comment by wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:07:02
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:07:02
Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, want! Need! MUST HAVE! :foams at mouth: :passes out::
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:08:51
I want the cutaway Serenity myself!
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:08:51
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, want! Need! MUST HAVE! :foams at mouth: :passes out::
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
I want the cutaway Serenity myself!
Comment by wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:24:34
That cutaway is nice. T-shirts are cute, but what I want is that simple Engineered by Firefly bumper sticker.
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:24:34
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, want! Need! MUST HAVE! :foams at mouth: :passes out::
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
I want the cutaway Serenity myself!
That cutaway is nice. T-shirts are cute, but what I want is that simple Engineered by Firefly bumper sticker.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:25:09
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:25:09
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:27:09
Yes! I want one of those too. You not seen by totally sweet Kaylee's Shiny Space Ship Repair Service t shirt?
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 21:27:09
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, want! Need! MUST HAVE! :foams at mouth: :passes out::
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
I want the cutaway Serenity myself!
That cutaway is nice. T-shirts are cute, but what I want is that simple Engineered by Firefly bumper sticker.
Yes! I want one of those too. You not seen by totally sweet Kaylee's Shiny Space Ship Repair Service t shirt?
Comment by wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:35:22
oh yeah, think that one's been around for a little bit.
wickedpam on 01/20/2014 21:35:22
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, want! Need! MUST HAVE! :foams at mouth: :passes out::
*fans* Pretty good likeness - Captain Mal would be pleased.
I want the cutaway Serenity myself!
That cutaway is nice. T-shirts are cute, but what I want is that simple Engineered by Firefly bumper sticker.
Yes! I want one of those too. You not seen by totally sweet Kaylee's Shiny Space Ship Repair Service t shirt?
oh yeah, think that one's been around for a little bit.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 22:22:28
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 22:22:28
Okay, sorry that Mala and I drove the blog into yet another Firefly ditch.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 22:44:54
This is messed up.
Te postmaster general is wrong if he really says it isn't about privatization. If it weren't they could sublet space from Staples and use UNION WORKERS.
Shit, I'd be willing to pay a few extra pennies for that.
Raine on 01/20/2014 22:44:54
Quote by Scoopster:
What the fuck?!!?!!?
This is messed up.
Te postmaster general is wrong if he really says it isn't about privatization. If it weren't they could sublet space from Staples and use UNION WORKERS.
Shit, I'd be willing to pay a few extra pennies for that.
Comment by Raine on 01/20/2014 22:46:07
It's nice to see he's recovering from his very bad stroke last year, right?
and I kinda love that he did this.
Raine on 01/20/2014 22:46:07
Quote by Mondobubba:
I am askeert! Ron Jeremy does a "Wrecking Ball" parody.
and I kinda love that he did this.
Comment by Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 22:52:19
An an aneurysm near his heart.
Mondobubba on 01/20/2014 22:52:19
Quote by Raine:It's nice to see he's recovering from his very bad stroke last year, right?Quote by Mondobubba:
I am askeert! Ron Jeremy does a "Wrecking Ball" parody.
and I kinda love that he did this.
An an aneurysm near his heart.