♡♥ 2007 November‧亞特蘭大‧Atlanta‧Georgia‧The King Center‧Auburn Historic District ♥♡－忻日子 by Sheena

... Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

小時候在芝加哥的那兩年其實最有印象的節日不是Christmas、不是Thanksgiving，也不是Easter，而是Martin Luther King, Jr. Day。只是，原因其實跟MLK沒有很大的關係。

1929年1月15日，Martin Luther King, Jr.出生於亞特蘭大，父親是教會牧師。十五歲的時候，King跳級進入Morehouse College，1948年拿到社會學學士。1951年King從賓州的Crozer Theological Seminary拿到神學學士，1955年成為Boston University的神學博士。

1955年12月1日，黑人婦女Rosa Parks因為在公車上拒絕讓出座位給白人而被捕。King立即發起Montgomery Bus Boycott，至此他成為美國民權運動的領袖人物。1963年King組織了爭取黑人工作機會和自由權的March on Washington。1964年，他被授予諾貝爾和平獎。1968年4月4日，39歲的King在田納西州Lorraine Motel的306號房間陽台被射殺身亡。

1986年1月，雷根總統（Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004）簽署法令，訂定每年一月的第三個星期一為Martin Luther King Jr. Day。到今天，美國只有三個個人紀念日的法定假日—華盛頓（George Washington, 1732-99）、林肯（Abraham Lincoln, 1809-65）跟金。

下一張(熱鍵:c)

The King Center



下一張(熱鍵:c) Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King's tomb @ The King Center



King's funeral wagon @ The King Center
1968年載運King棺木穿過亞特蘭大街道的馬車。



下一張(熱鍵:c) Birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. @ Auburn Historic District



King's childhood neighborhood @ Auburn Historic District






下一張(熱鍵:c) Fire Station No. 6 @ Auburn Historic District





Ebenezer Baptist Church @ Auburn Historic District



下一張(熱鍵:c) Behold Monument @ Auburn Historic District