A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On this day, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King dedicated his life to fighting for equal rights for all, and without his efforts, we would not be here on our journey for workplace transparency for all diverse employees.
We want to dedicate today’s content to Dr. King by highlighting some of his lesser-known speeches. Most of us are familiar with his iconic I Have a Dream speech that he made at the 1963 March on Washington, but we’ve included four other speeches below that you might not have heard before.
Our God is Marching On — March 25, 1965
“The battle is in our hands. And we can answer with creative nonviolence the call to higher ground to which the new directions of our struggle summons us. (Yes, sir) The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. (No) There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going.”
Also known as ‘How Long, Not Long,’ Dr. King delivered this speech in Selma, Alabama during the marches. The speech is said to denote the closing of the first phase of the Civil Rights Movement, which was focused on legal rights.
The Death of Evil upon the Seashore — May 17, 1956
“Above all, we must be reminded anew that God is at work in his universe. He is not outside the world looking on with a sort of cold indifference. Here on all the roads of life, he is striving in our striving. Like an ever-loving Father, he is working through history for the salvation of his children. As we struggle to defeat the forces of evil, the God of the universe struggles with us. Evil dies on the seashore, not merely because of man’s endless struggle against it, but because of God’s power to defeat it.”
Dr. King leaned on his Christian faith during his fight for civil rights, and he took every opportunity to incorporate his faith into his speeches. King gave this speech on the two-year anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling stating that separate was not equal relating to school segregation.
Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence — April 4, 1967
”Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.”
As he preached for nonviolent protest, Dr. King delivered this speech in New York City. He used this opportunity to speak out against the Vietnam War. At a time when many Americans were in support of the war, Dr. King was chastised for the speech, and he lost some support as a result.
The Other America — April 14, 1967
“But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear?… It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”
In this speech, Dr. King highlighted the growing income gap in the United States. He spoke about “two Americas,” one that struggles regularly to get by, and one that lives well above its needs. King points to various forms of inequality as the cause of this income gap. Incredibly, this message is still relevant today, as the income gap consists for racial minorities.
