MLK Day

I thought of spending at least few minutes commemorating MLK Junior on this holiday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person.

While studying at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, King heard a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolent civil disobedience campaign that he used successhifully against British rule in India. King read several books on the ideas of Gandhi, and eventually became convinced that the same methods could be employed by blacks to obtain civil rights in America. He was particularly struck by Gandhi's words: "Through our pain we will make them see their injustice". King was also influenced by Henry David Thoreau and his theories on how to use nonviolent resistance to achieve social change.

BTW, Gandhi was also inspired by Thoreau and he cited Thoreau as one of the fore most influences in his life. Here are a few MLK quotes I loved.

- Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.

- Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.

- Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

- 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.