SNAPSHOTS: Dr. Martin Luther King/Civil Rights Movement

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."- MLK

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."- MLK

“We have been repeatedly faced with a cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same school room.” – MLK, Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” – MLK, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

"As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course."- MLK

Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom.

Malcolm X, Source unknown

“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” – MLK, Letter from Birmingham Jail

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."-MLK

“The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers." – MLK, Strength to Love

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."-MLK

"Let no man pull you low enough to hate him".-MLK

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars."-MLK

Dr. King, we salute all your optimism, faith, love, perseverance and sacrifice on this day. At times I think about what you would say if you could see us now. Would you feel happy? Proud? Disappointed? Bittersweet? There are things we can all be proud of, but there are still many things to be ashamed of. Our work and our struggle hasn't ended because the full dream of PEACE and FREEDOM hasn't been achieved. When looking at the world we can't say that we are there, but we have made large strides to get there. It seems as though with each step forward we sometimes take 3 back. Looking back on this era, it almost seems as though it was better. Not better all around, better because people believed. My grandma told me this years ago before she passed. She said it was better because they were passionate about making a difference and would die for the opportunities we presently have. Why do we take what we are blessed to have for granted? Why do we spit in our ancestors face? Be responsible and dignified: vote, go to school and apply yourself, be kind to each other and try to empathize with one another. We should be building each other up, not breaking each other down.

 Thank you Dr. King for being a martyr of peace and equality.

XOXO,
Tia