Today we celebrate and reflect on the life and moral teachings of the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.
It's a time for all Americans to reflect on his legacy - and the legacy
still unfulfilled. It's also a National Day of Service, designated as a day for Americans to volunteer to improve their communities, the kind of activism Dr. King would applaud. Here's where to start to find volunteering opportunities near you.
This is an excerpt from his "How Long? Not Long" speech in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 25, 1965. It's in these remarks -- which are part speech, part sermon -- that he uses the rhetorically resonant "the arc of moral history is long, but it bends toward justice" formulation (a line paraphrasing the words of abolitionist Theodore Parker) to great effect. (Right- wingers make a bad faith attempt to co-opt Dr. King's teachings when they selectively quote the line that people should "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," which they deploy to argue against any race prejudice remediation.) There are many more King speeches in film and audio archives, and we encourage you to experience them.
