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| January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968 |
I was only a girl when John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were slain, but I can clearly remember the shock and grief of my parents, the angry gun shots thundering in the neighborhood, and the ghostly, empty playground at my school.
These are the impressions I have of that time, but today, on Dr. King's birthday, should we be enraged and filled with sorrow, or would these men want us to use our memories and imaginations in ways that improve our society?
In my opinion, there is no greater issue facing writers and self-publishers today. In a way, Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," written in longhand on April 16, 1963, to critical Alabama clergymen was a self-published manifesto declaring his vision of nonviolence and social justice.
Thus it is fitting, on this the commemoration of Dr. King's birthday, to serve up his own words to inspire, motivate, and stimulate you to write and publish with your full heart and complete conviction for the betterment of humankind.
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Happy birthday, Dr. King!
Donna Marie
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