Fw: Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Day

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

To: cwolman@mcn.org

Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 1:09 PM

Subject: Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Day

January 17, 2005 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance "World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built." --Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1964 Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. A civil-rights leader and international hero, King is one of the 20th Century's most visible advocates of non-violence and direct action as methods of social change. Inspired by Gandhi's achievements through non-violent resistance, King played a vital role in achieving significant gains for humanity ranging from the desegregation of schools and other public facilities to the acceleration of civil rights as a government priority. Martin Luther King delivered one of the most passionate addresses of his career, his "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Later in 1963, King was designated Person of the Year by TIME Magazine. In 1964, at the age of 35, King was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his unyielding efforts. In his address, King spoke of war and nuclear destruction: "I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of nuclear annihilation... I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow... I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed." In his speech "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution," delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC, on March 31, 1968, King stated: "It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence. And the alternative to disarmament, the alternative to a greater suspension of nuclear tests, the alternative to strengthening the United Nations and thereby disarming the whole world, may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation, and our earthly habitat would be transformed into an inferno that even the mind of Dante could not imagine." King was assassinated four days later on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King is one of the few social leaders to be honored with a national holiday. To commemorate Martin Luther King Day, read the following and pass the message onto your family and friends: A Biography of Martin Luther King; "I Have a Dream" delivered on August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; TIME Magazine Person of the Year Award to Martin Luther King in 1963; Martin Luther King's Nobel Peace Prize address in 1964; "Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution," delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., on March, 31 1968; Martin Luther King's Quotes on War and Peace. More Information on Martin Luther King Jr. Click here for more information on Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement; Visit the website of Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change; Visit the National Civil Rights Museum, originally The Lorraine Hotel where King was assassinated.

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