Tag Archives: Dr. King

4th of My Fave Five Dr. King Quotes: On Service

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Service (Grace and Love)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday has become synonymous with a ‘Day of Service.’  We are encouraged to not have a day off, but a day on.  It’s hard to feel hopeless when you have the right perspective and are helping other people.  That brings me to my third favorite quote of Dr. King, Service.

“Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

One of the most important services we can offer is to teach, protect, and guide the innocent children and youth.  In the early 90’s, I volunteered with the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission working to work on youth leadership programs.  One year we took the youth to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit Central High School and to teach them, among other things, about the courage of the Little Rock Nine.

What Has History Taught Us?

Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. King, was Chairperson of the Commission at that time and the thing I remember most about her is that she loved children and dedicated a great deal of her time to encouraging them.  Their son, Dexter Scott King, when reflecting on the importance of history and youth wrote:

“To most young people history is just that, with no relevance to the present or future.  With our new technologies and new-found freedoms, what can we learn from a civil rights movement that took place before this generation was born?  If you cannot understand and respect the lessons which our ancestors learned through hard struggle, then we are condemned to relive those same struggles over and over again.  If history has taught us nothing else, it has taught us that.”

February will be here before you know it and with it come Black History Month.  Please take advantage of the opportunities and programs organized to help us remember the lessons and leaders of the past who have contributed so much to our current freedoms, successes, and opportunities.  Click to read my 5th favorite Dr. Martin Luther King quote on Unity http://wp.me/ppImQ-eJ

Barbara Talley is a keynote speaker, author, poet, and trainer who can be reached at www.thepoetspeaks.com.  Still looking for a keynote speaker for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, or Administrative Professional Day, phone Barbara at 301-428-4831.

2nd of My Fave Five Dr. King Quotes: On Justice

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Martin Luther KingMy second favorite quote has to be about justice.  Unfortunately far too few people care enough about the less fortunate to actually do something unless something happens to someone they personally know and care about.  In my work, I teach people to understand and respect diversity.  Rarely do I conduct a Diversity class that I don’t hear comments against Affirmative Action, even though the purpose of Affirmative Action is not to give any group an unfair advantage.  Instead, it is merely a legal remedy to address proven injustices by helping to create a level playing field for all Americans.

Some people think we should be satisfied with the advances we’ve made.  But, Dr King’s standard for justice was much higher.  It was based on Amos 5:24 in the Bible:

“No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” In the book, Why We Can’t Wait, he wrote, “It is impossible to create a formula for the future which does not take into account that our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years.  How then can he be absorbed into the mainstream of American life if we do not do something special for him now?”

Each day, in schools across America, kids end their pledge with the words, “liberty and justice for all.”  And yet there still  isn’t liberty and justice for all.  We must each rise up and do our part.  Dr. King said,

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy …was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

To read about my third favorite Dr. King quote on Perspective and Sacrifice, click here. http://wp.me/ppImQ-eq

Barbara Talley is a keynote speaker, author, poet, and trainer who can be reached at www.thepoetspeaks.com.  Still looking for a keynote speaker for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, or Administrative Professional Day, phone Barbara at 301-428-4831.