Today is indeed a very special day for all Americans, not only does it mark our 44th president, Barack Obama, an African American, inauguration [the 57th], but also marks Martin Luther King Day, the third Monday in January, a Federal holiday of service honoring the civil rights leader.
Both men desired a better nation, one that embodied freedom, equality and prosperity for all Americans. Though MLK died 45 years ago, his dream is still alive today, in 2013.
We are reminded of the progress Americans have made since 1968.
President Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Sunday
Our president's second inaugural opening remarks on Monday, January 21, 2013:
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equals—the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.
The Rev. MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.
Aug. 28, 1963
His famous speech...
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.
If you could have a direct conversation with the President, what would you talk about?
Write a few topics and ideas you would discuss with President Barack Obama or write him a letter.
Aug. 28, 1963
His famous speech...
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Martin Luther King and some of his famous quotes:
I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character.
The ultimate measure of a man
is not where he stands in moments
of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times
of challenge and controversy.
In the End, we will remember
not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends.
We must develop and maintain
the capacity to forgive.
He who is devoid of the power
to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
There is some good
in the worst of us
and some evil in the best of us.
When we discover this,
we are less prone
to hate our enemies.
The function of education is to
teach one to think intensively
and to think critically.
Intelligence plus character -
that is the goal of true education.
A lie cannot live.
I have decided to stick with love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Select one of his famous quotes and write what you believe he meant and what it means to you.
Has his dream come true? Think about the ways in which it has, and the ways it has not.
Write a letter giving your advise and suggestions to solve the problems you believe exist.
Be Well.
The Teach
