Rather than lock horns with reaction, he chose compromise and reason. Rather than direct and open confrontation, he chose peace and civil disobedience. Rather than shed blood he opted for dialogue and compassion. He pitied the oppressor and the white racists, but he also believed that they too were children of God. But King was a realist. In his famous 1963 speech “I Have A Dream” King clearly outlined the realities of the American Nightmare. It was King who accused America of forcing Blacks onto a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. It is the same thing that is happening today.
In 1964 King was named Time’s “Man of the Year,” and in December of that same year he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet King will be remembered for his pioneering efforts to get Blacks the right to vote and to make discrimination and racism crimes. Admittedly, United States society still has a far way to go until King’s dreams can come true and the struggle today, in 2008, is more acute and vicious as ever. But if Blacks are to triumph over the obstacles placed in their path by adversity, then it might be wise to revisit King’s blueprint for action.
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