Good Book - I Have a Dream

 

This volatile book, I Have a Dream, is a compilation of many of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s (MLK) "writings and speeches that changed the world".  It by no means encapsulates them all but a good portion of the more famous ones, such as the one of the same title as this book, as well as perhaps, some not so well known ones that may have been wanted to be kept secret by certain elements.  King's wife, Coretta Scott King was instrumental in putting this book together.

These writings and speeches portray the power and magnificence of the man's moral fiber and of his "mission" and the struggles with which his ethnic background was constantly fraught and how he valiantly strove to overcome, not just for himself but for his fellow man.  He seemed to never cease, even in real threat and great danger to himself and family, to not only be the peacemaker but to surge and forge ahead to be a world changer, almost as Jesus was.  He could not stand by and let the others carry the baton alone.

If you were so young, or not even yet born when Martin Luther King, Jr. was pro-active with his peaceful demonstrations and marches, etc. and you are not really sure of what it was all about, or of the great impact of his "messages" to his people and to those across the divide he strove to bridge, to raise up his people to be seen as people, and of people of equal worth, to hopefully "save the soul of America" ( & elsewhere could take lessons), this book could be the informer and changer of your views and life too.

I Have a Dream is laid out in four parts:  The Dream Bursts Forth (1956-1959); The Dream Enters World History (1959-1964); The Dream is Deferred (1963-1968) and lastly, A Prophet Foresees the Future (1967-1968).

Here's your chance to check out what this movement and the sacrifices, not only that King made but the one woman, Rosa Parks, who sparked it all off in the first place, have been about.  What has it all accomplished since then?  This book is still timely.  This especially in light of the recent "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations.  Things may have come a long way, after all there is a  Black-Asian, in the Vice President of the USA's chair now.  

As one of my Black friends in the USA posted on her facebook page a short time ago,

"Because Rosa sat, so Ruby could walk, so Kamala could run..."

...shows some progress; and some "it was all worth the effort and sacrifices".

However, prejudice is still rife as seen in the unjust and wicked death of several black men and women, notably, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, recently, but also through the ensuing years since MLK's assassination on 4 April 1968.   Let's honor this great man of faith, and the God and humanity he served, by doing what we can to help bring his dream to fuller fruition when and where and how we can.

There is still a long way to go.

Start by reading this book.

                                                       ~ERC  February 2021~

Sing, I Had a Dream, by ABBA.

MLK Jr.'s dream was not a fantasy nor a fairy tale but he did "push through the darkness" and was an "angel" in his own right.   His dream, "to cross the stream" was semi-realized.  Let's carry the baton on....