by Shana Black
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“Nothing is more socially inexcusable than unemployment in this age.”
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From a young age many of us were taught about the 1963’s March on Washington where Dr. King gave his historic and arguable most famous, I Have a Dream Speech. Sadly many of Dr. King’s words are shrunk to soundbites or quotes for today’s audience while steering us away from the big picture of America’s ongoing problems of racism, poverty, and war.
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“Another indication that progress is being made was found in the recent Presidential election in the United States. The American people revealed great maturity by overwhelmingly rejecting a presidential candidate who had become identified with extremism, racism, and retrogression. The voters of our nation delivered a telling blow to the radical right…”
Yesterday I came across a thread on Twitter wondering what other speeches from Dr. King should be taught. Then I came across Ben and Jerry’s post on Instagram.
I realized that many of us (myself included) need to get acquainted with or reconnect ourselves with the words, speeches, and messages of Dr. King. I’ve also learned while compiling this list and listening to many of these speeches, especially in his later years, Dr. King spoke to social and economic conditions like minimum wage, unemployment, government, and other topics that we’re still discussing today.
So as we honor Dr. King today, here is a list of his speeches, sermons, and books. I’ve also included a few YouTube videos of Dr. King’s speeches below.
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What’s Your Life’s Blueprint- read an excerpt of the speech here
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The Drum Major Instinct Dr. King’s sermon delivered exactly two months before his assassination. Read The Atlantic’s Revisiting One of King’s Final and Most Haunting Sermons Listen to the sermon on YouTube
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The Other America (1967)
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I’ve Been to the Mountaintop– Dr. King’s last speech delivered in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968
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The Eulogy for the Victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
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Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Dr. King’s last book before he was assassinated
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Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence “A time comes when silence is betrayal”
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The 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott Speech- “There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair..”
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1967 Interview with Dr. King by NBC news– While this is not a speech, I believe it’s one of the few times I’ve seen Dr. King speaking in color.
What Is Your Life’s Blueprint- 1967