Category: MLK Day

Martin Luther King, MLK Day, poetry

Seldom Read Poems about MLK, Jr.

Mona Alvarado Frazier
MLK, Jr. Memorial Washington, D.C. photo by m. alvardofrazier

Martin Luther King Jr.’s brilliance as an orator is well documented in many books, movies, and over seventy-five quotes.

For my Sunday Share, I specifically looked for poems that described him, his work, and his legacy.

It is documented that the renowned poet Langston Hughes and MLK Jr. were friends for several years.

Examples of their connection are expansive. In 1956, King recited Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son” from the pulpit to honor his wife Coretta, who was celebrating her first Mother’s Day. That same year, Hughes wrote a poem about Dr. King and the 1956 thirteen-month bus boycott titled “Brotherly Love.”

Two other poems left a lasting impression on me:

Martin Luther King Jr., April 4, 1968

A man went forth with gifts.

He was a prose poem.
He was a tragic grace.
He was a warm music.

He tried to heal the vivid volcanoes.
His ashes are
     reading the world.

His Dream still wishes to anoint
     the barricades of faith and of control.

His word still burns the center of the sun
     above the thousands and the
     hundred thousands.

The word was Justice. It was spoken.

So it shall be spoken.
So it shall be done.
----

Gwendolyn Brooks

Aurielle Lucier takes an intersectional approach to recognize how Dr. King’s values still live on while also challenging America to be better and truly honor his legacy:

The truth buried does not rot, it roots.
The King buried does not die, he blooms.

The five-minute poem performed by Lucier is worth watching for its full effect and understanding.

The White House issued a proclamation for MLK, Jr. Day 2023:

 From the pulpit to the podium to the streets, Dr. King devoted his life to the quest for this Beloved Community in our Nation.  His activism and moral authority helped usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

He gave a voice to the restless spirit of millions yearning for change.  He gave us a roadmap to unify, to heal, and to sustain the blessings of the Nation to all of its people.

But the work continues because it remains unfinished.  

Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the USA

These poems and the proclamation inspire me to continue the ‘unfinished work’ through my actions, words, and deeds. I hope you are inspired to do the same.

Until next week, a wish for every good thing in your life to come into being.

MLK Day

“You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mona Alvarado Frazier

We can make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day one of honoring his life and legacy by applying his principles to our actions. Although his famously inspiring speech was fifty-six years ago, we still need his words to inspire us to do better.

Here are two quotes from MLK, Jr. which resonant with me today.

One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.

 

Nathan Phillips, an Omaha tribe elder, confronted and mocked by Catholic high school students 1-19-19

 

This screenshot from a video is disgusting when one sees the smug look on this teenager’s face who mocks Nathan Phillips, an Omaha tribe elder, and Vietnam Veteran.

The other boy has an open mouth, no doubt yelling in support of his high school buddy and MAGA hat wearer. This group of over 100 students jeered and shouted, “Build that wall.”

The group had been yelling at African American’s representing another group a few minutes before they turned their hate on the indigenous people’s group.

It’s 2019, to far along in the millennium and decades from Martin Luther Kings, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream Speech,” on August 28, 1963.

The hate’s still there. The age is younger, blatant, conceited and entitled.

Nathan Philips continued his drumbeat, his chant for peace.

“It was getting ugly, and I was thinking: ‘I’ve got to find myself an exit out of this situation and finish my song at the Lincoln Memorial,’ ” Phillips recalled. “I started going that way, and that guy in the hat stood in my way, and we were at an impasse. He just blocked my way and wouldn’t allow me to retreat.”

Phillips kept drumming and singing, thinking about his wife, Shoshana, who died of bone marrow cancer nearly four years ago, and the various threats that face indigenous communities around the world… Washington Post

For decades, Mr. Phillips has gone to the Arlington National Cemetery every Veterans Day with a peace pipe to pay tribute to the soldiers.

“They’re (the boys) just responding to a president that is giving license to racists and bigots who have no place in our society,” he said. “I wouldn’t even wish ill will on those kids,” he said. “My job has always been taking care of the fire, to keep the prayers going.”

This isn’t an isolated incident of hate crimes. You can Google ‘hate crimes’ and see all the conflicts this month: a Sikh man in Oregon attacked, Somalian immigrants in Kansas City targeted with a bomb to their apartment, and the list goes on.

But the purpose of this post isn’t to harp on the negative because hate cannot win. Everyday people can make a positive difference, whatever their age, ethnicity or race.

Today, promise yourself that you’ll seek social justice in whatever way you can. Be an inspiration. Find out about other cultures and ethnicities through conversation, reading, and exploring connections with others.

This is something you can do on MLK, Jr. Day:

Take yourself and/or your kids to any of the many MLK celebrations in cities and town throughout the USA. Take your kids, nieces or nephews, grandkids, your favorite kid to the library and have them read any of these children’s books

or the ones found on these sites: Pragmatic Mom, MultiCultural Kids Blog, or ask your friendly librarian for a suggestion.

 

Children’s Book on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahalia Jackson

 

You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.