“The Time is Always Right to Do What is Right”
In ten years, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote more than two thousand five hundred speeches about segregation, prejudice, and racial inequality. He believed that “the time is always right to do what is right” in the broader concerns of humanity through his writings. Readers can find some of these speeches and other documents within the King Paper Project, a cooperative venture of Stanford University, the King Center, and the King Estate. YAAHA chose seven speeches and one event that began King’s laudable career in civil rights from 1955 to 1968.
In March 1955, Claudette Colvin, a member of the NAACP Youth Council led by Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white rider. The NAACP decided not to use her as a test case, so in December 1955, Rosa Parks, an NAACP activist, was chosen to challenge Montgomery’s busing ordinance. Black residents launched a bus boycott, and King was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. King gained national prominence during the year-long bus boycott.
Address at Freedom Riders Rally at First Baptist Church, (May 21, 1961) Dr. King declined an invitation to attend the rally but sent the letter of encouragement to SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). Freedom Riders challenged segregated southern travel at bus terminals. King thought voting rights were more important.
http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/undecided/610521-000.pdf
Letter From Birmingham Jail, (April 16. 1963), Dr. Martin Luther King was arrested during a peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter used ethos, logos, and pathos to enlighten the political and religious society about blacks’ injustices. Topics covered were Birmingham inequities, Brown vs. Board of Education, poverty, and social injustice.
I Have A Dream, Washington D.C. (August 28, 1963) Two hundred thousand people joined MLK on the National Mall to share his dream and vision for the Civil Rights Movement. An image where oppression is replaced by freedom and justice, and where his children would not be judged by skin color but by the content of their character.
Our God is Marching On, Montgomery, Alabama (March 25, 1965) Dr. King delivered this speech on the completion of the march from Selma to Montgomery. Two thousand people marched fifty-four miles to secure the right to vote.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/our-god-marching
Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, Riverside Church NYC (April 4, 1967) Dr. King delivered this speech and connected between the war in Vietnam and the struggle that he and others waged in the civil rights movement. The complete text of the speech provides a full understanding of Dr. King’s reasons for his opposition to the Vietnam War.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam
The Other America, (April 14, 1967) Martin Luther King gave this Stanford University speech to illustrate the disparity within the black and white communities. Some communities grew up in the sunlight of opportunity, and others grow up in despair and poverty.
https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/the-other-america-speech-transcript-martin-luther-king-jr
I’ve Been to the Mountain Top, Memphis, TN (April 3, 1968) This speech was given in support to striking workers in Tennessee. On April 4, 1968, MLK was assassinated.
https://www.afscme.org/about/history/mlk/mountaintop
The country celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., on January 18. YAAHA encourages the reading of some of Dr. King’s influential speeches in this blog to gain more insight into his prominence as a civil rights leader.