Martin Luther King, Jr.

I'm currently studying the Civil Rights movement in my American History course and I'm really fascinated by a great many aspects of it that I think have either been forgotten, covered up, or are just missing from text books in today's day and age. This is a seriously interesting subject to me and I'm blown away with realizations. I'm afraid of saying too much, least it be the wrong thing, but I'm really grateful for how far we've come as a nation. There are things in our past that we should never have done. There are things to be ashamed of, most assuredly! Unspeakable atrocities have occurred. But we have come so far. I wrote out a time line for the Civil Rights movement last night and I'm just amazed at where we started compared to where we are right now.

Anyway, all THAT to say that I listened to Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech in its entirety tonight for the first time. (Sure, I'd heard the most popular parts, but I haven't listened to the entire 17:27 minutes of it until this evening.) Not saying you should listen to the whole thing (although I think you should) but go to the 15:15 mark and listen to the last two minutes.



I don't think I've EVER listened to a more engaging speaker in my life time. His voice is MUSICAL. When he starts quoting lines from songs you just want to shout out, "OH SING IT, DO!" I listen to him talk and ache to hear him sing! Spectacular voice. I meant to put the speech on and continue about doing other things while listening to it but his voice is so captivating and compelling that I ended up staring at the computer screen in pure rapture.

To ME history is alive and breathing. To know history and to learn it, to see where we've come and where we are going is a form of worship. I get excited about it and I am in awe of how God works and moves in the hearts of men to accomplish great things. And then I listen to this speech and am grappling with what it meant for our nation and I HEAR how God gave this man a voice that commanded attention and I just about want to cry. God gives everyone gifts. Some of us learn how to use our gifts well and some do not. I'm still learning about MLK but it's certain he knew how to put his voice to good use!

Seriously his voice is stunning . . . (I'm getting a little obsessed. If he'd recorded an album I'd buy it. I like Nat King Cole but MLK's voice is SILK compared to NKC!) And yes, I'm aware of the fact that this speech wasn't about his voice. That's not my point here either. Mostly it's, "See how God used a magical voice to change history?!" Every little detail matters. This one included. I'm just enjoying it.

Alright, I digress. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.