Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Martin Luther King, 28. ágúst 1963
Martin Luther King, 28. ágúst 1963

Martin Luther King yngri (15. janúar 1929 - 4. apríl 1968) var frægasti leiðtogi Afrískættaðra Bandaríkjamanna og mannréttindabaráttu þeirra á sjötta og sjöunda áratug 20. aldarinnar. Hann var ráðinn af dögum í Memphis. 18. júní 1953 kvæntist hann Corettu Scott og eignuðust þau fjögur börn. 14. október 1964 varð Martin yngsti maðurinn til að hljóta friðarverðlaun Nóbels.

[breyta] Tilvitnanir

Frægar tilvitnanir í ræðu sem Martin flutti 28. ágúst 1963 á tröppum minnismerkis um Abraham Lincoln að lokinni göngu fyrir vinnu og frelsi.

  • „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 inalienable 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 have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'“
  • „I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.“
  • „Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring — when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!“