The Semicentennial is still 13 days away, but let us begin to commemorate one of the greatest events in modern American history.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a quarter million marchers.
The FBI took notice of the speech:
[QUOTE=William C. Sullivan, head of FBI Counter-Intelligence]
In the light of King’s powerful demagogic speech yesterday … he stands head and shoulders above all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.
[/QUOTE]
The FBI tried various tactics to weaken Reverend King’s resolve:
[QUOTE=FBI anonymous letter, as quoted by Wikipedia]
The American public, the church organizations that have been helping—Protestants, Catholics and Jews will know you for what you are—an evil beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done. King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days in which to do (this exact number has been selected for a specific reason, it has definite practical significant [sic]). You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy fraudulent self is bared to the nation.
[/QUOTE]
Amazing, not so much how far we’ve come, but how degraded we were at the time, to hold simple equality of the races to be a threat to the existence of the nation.
Also sad that we haven’t made better progress, and that racial discrimination in housing and hiring is still extant.
King spoke truths that should have been self-evident.
How nice, a thread commemorating my 50th birthday! Wait, what?
I have been collecting memorabilia about the March on Washington and particularly the “I Have a Dream Speech” ever since I first learned that it took place on the day I was born. Earlier this year I went see this fascinating exhibit at the Smithsonian, commemorating both the 50th anniversary of the March and the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. It included a lot of really interesting stuff about the March that I hadn’t seen before, such as invitations sent to celebrities, with detailed plans for buses from various locations, and the budget for the event.
