Transcripts

text | pdf |

---

GARY EICHTEN: Welcome back to Midday on the FM news station. I'm Gary Eichten. Well, today, of course, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day to remember America's preeminent civil rights leader of the 20th century. King was born 66 years ago on January 15, 1929. He was assassinated 27 years ago, April 4, 1968.

Special Martin Luther King Day program is underway at Concordia College in St. Paul today, with Juan Williams delivering the keynote address. We're going to be broadcasting his comments live just as soon as Mr. Williams is ready to speak. Things are running a little bit behind. In the meanwhile, let's hear from Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who spoke at that rally just a few minutes ago.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

PAUL WELLSTONE: Thanks, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you. It is my honor as United States senator from Minnesota to speak on this important day. And I too will be brief.

To the students, let me just say one thing to you. When I was a student at the University of North Carolina, I was lucky enough to be a part of the civil Rights movement. And I consider that to be the proudest part of my life. But I don't want to look back. We can't just look back.

I want to say today here at this gathering that we can do much better in the United States of America. Now that I'm older, I understand what Dr. King stood for. I have three children, two grandchildren. And when those grandchildren were born and I saw those new infants, I knew what he stood for. I knew what the beloved community was.

The beloved community is when every infant, regardless of color of skin or income of family or where born, will have the same opportunity to be all that he or she can be. That is the beloved community. That is what we believe in. That is what we struggle for. That is what we speak for. That is what we March for. And we're not yet there in America.

Every 5 seconds, a child drops out of school in the United States of America. That's not our beloved community. Every 30 seconds, a child is born into poverty in the United States of America. That is not our beloved community.

Every 2 minutes, a child is born to a woman who had no prenatal care. We can do better than that. Every 5 minutes, a child is arrested drug-related arrest. Every 7 minutes, a child is arrested alcohol-related arrest.

Every 2 hours in our country, a country we love, a child is murdered. And every 4 hours in the United States of America, a child takes his or her life. We can do much better than that in the United States of America. That is why we are here today. That is why we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

[APPLAUSE]

I come from a state that had a great senator, Hubert Humphrey. And I'll leave you with these words. 17 years ago, our Senator Humphrey said, "The test of a government and the test of a society is the way we treat people in the dawn of life, the very young, the way we treat people in the twilight of their lives, the very old, and the way we treat people in the shadow of their lives, those that are struggling with an illness or a disability or those that are poor."

We are turning away from that prophetic vision in the United States of America today. We are about to turn that clock back. And I say here, I shout it from the mountaintop, if we want to reduce the deficit, and we should, let's reduce the deficit by cutting subsidies for oil companies, not child nutrition programs, not health care, not education. That is why we're here today, to fight for what we believe in.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

I leave you with these words, the words of Rabbi Hillel. "I am the son of a Jewish immigrant from Russia." Rabbi Hillel said to Jewish people, but this is for all of us, "If we don't speak for ourselves, who will? The voice has to come from our community. We are our own leaders. We speak for ourselves. We stand for ourselves."

And Rabbi Hillel said, "But if we speak only for ourselves, who are we? This isn't a struggle just for Black us. This is for Black us. This is for white us. This is for Native American us. This is for Southeast Asian us.

This is for old us. This is for young us. This is for St. Paul us. This is for Minneapolis us. This is for all of us in the United States of America." And Rabbi Hillel said-- and Rabbi Hillel said, "If not now, when?" Thank you for inviting me to speak here with you today. Thank you, everybody.

GARY EICHTEN: Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone speaking at the Martin Luther King Day program underway at Concordia College in St. Paul. He spoke a few minutes ago. We're still standing by now for the keynote speech at that ceremony.

Juan Williams, Washington Post writer, the author of Eyes on the Prize-- America's Civil Rights Years, 1954 to 1965, is delivering the keynote. And as soon as he's ready to go, we'll be going live to that event at Concordia College.

Meanwhile, entertainer Harry Belafonte was the featured speaker at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Hilton this morning. Harry Belafonte told the group about one of his meetings with the Reverend King when they worked together in the civil rights movement back in the '60s. Here's an excerpt from his remarks.

HARRY BELAFONTE: Last time I saw Martin was in my home in New York. We met there frequently, sometimes just socially. Most of the time, it was to bring together folk who quietly worked behind the scenes strategizing.

And on this particular night, the group met. We hammered out our agenda for 7 hours on what to do with the Poor People's Campaign, his trip to Memphis, and how to deal with the White House and the federal forces. And at the end of what we thought was a rather productive and imaginative gathering, Dr. King was quite solemn and appeared to be very troubled.

And I bought him a little glass of bristol cream sherry. It was a drink. He liked he was not a drinking man. But it's very sweet and soothing. And we kept a bottle just for him. And he used to mark it to make sure that no thieving hands would ever touch--

[LAUGHTER]

--his preferred beverage socially. I said, what's the matter, Martin? He says, I'm in trouble, Harry. I'll tell you who was there. Andy Young was there, Bernard Lee, my wife, Dr. King, and myself, five of us.

Took his shoes off. His tie was open. I said, what are you troubled about? He says, I have come upon something that I don't know quite how to deal with. He says, we fought long and hard for integration, to get rid of these unjust laws. And I'm sure we will be successful. But I've come upon something that truly, truly profoundly disturbs me.

And this is right after he wrestled with the death of John Kennedy. He said, there's no question that we will win this struggle. But I'm afraid that perhaps we may be integrating into a burning house because I'm not too sure about where the soul of this nation is going.

There's too much violence. There's too much cruelty. And it is not enough to drive the evil underground. We've got to get rid of it all together. And if it's buried in the soul of this nation, I don't know that I have the strength or the wisdom to reach that soul. But I tell you, it's too late to turn back. We're going to have to go forward.

We thought that at best, Dr. King might have been overstating it because certainly the mood in America at that time was positive, the Great Society, so many programs which suggested that America would be a far better place in the next 10, 15, 20 years.

So he took it easy. And we went on with it. And then the cruel awakening came when he was murdered. And we had to take a look at the soul of America. And then Bobby Kennedy was murdered. And we had to take a look at the soul of America.

And now today, I hear about the contract with America. And I have to once again take a look at the soul of this nation because there are those who have risen up in the name of Christianity who says they're doing the work of God and Jesus and the Bible. And in fact, they are the corruptors. I will not be convinced that by blaming the lame, the poor, the weak, the underclass for the ills of this nation, that we are going to make this a better place.

[APPLAUSE]

GARY EICHTEN: Harry Belafonte speaking at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast this morning at the Minneapolis Hilton, one of the special ceremonies being held today to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day around the nation.

As I said earlier, we are standing by. The big event is underway right now at the Concordia College auditorium in St. Paul. We heard earlier from Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. There have been a raft of speakers.

The keynote speaker Juan Williams still a couple of minutes away, apparently, from the stage. Things are running a little late. As soon as we get to Mr. Williams is ready to speak, we'll be going live to that event.

But we thought we'd bring you yet another-- some comments from another person who spoke a little earlier this morning, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, who, of course, last year made history when she was sworn in as the first Black and the first woman to serve as mayor of the city of Minneapolis. Here's Sharon Sayles Belton.

SHARON SAYLES BELTON: Good morning.

SPEAKER 1: Good morning.

SHARON SAYLES BELTON: It's my pleasure to be with you.

[APPLAUSE]

I have to tell you that when I first got the message a couple of weeks ago that the march was moving away from the state capital and the cathedral and it was moving to Central High School and Concordia, I asked myself, why? And I hoped that it wasn't because there was a movement to move this march and the message of this march away from where policymakers make decisions about our lives.

[APPLAUSE]

Because we have to make sure that they understand the kinds of decisions that need to be made. But when I heard Lester this afternoon or this morning tell me that the message really was and tell you that this was an attempt to bring this movement much closer to the people and draw politicians in our midst, I thought, well, that sounds good too.

[APPLAUSE]

But as we have them in our midst, and I'm one of them, we need to, as a community, make sure that they hear the messages of violence, the messages of injustice and inequality that still exist in our community, and that they might be propelled by hearing those messages to take that message back to the halls of the legislature, the city councils, the school boards and make change in our community so that we can replace violence with peace, injustice with justice, and inequality with equality. That's what we need them to do for us.

[APPLAUSE]

Every year, I come to the Martin Luther King celebrations. And I bring my family, all of them. And they're here, right here in the front. So if you hear a noise up here, it's them. And I bring them here because I think that the holiday celebration is an opportunity and an obligation for the adults in this community to pass on the history and the richness of this celebration to our children so that they can carry on this legacy.

If we do not do that, then I'm sorry. But the marketeers will turn this important and significant holiday into something that we would all be ashamed of. And we cannot let that happen.

[APPLAUSE]

As I have participated in a variety of King celebration activities over this past weekend, there is a reoccurring theme that I've heard consistently. And that's that people are asking all of us who are participating to be called to action. And I have to underscore that message.

Henry Belafonte this morning said, wake up. Wake up, America. Wake up. This is an opportunity for us to really make true those commitments of Dr. Martin Luther King. He reminded us that we are losing ground. In spite of the fact that we have much to celebrate every year, we are still losing ground.

He reminded us that there is a voice somewhere out there in the wilderness, somewhere over there on the East Coast that's not necessarily advocating a position of generosity, of compassion. These are the traditions of our country. These are the traditions of our democracy. This is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

If we want that voice, if we want that voice of separation, if we want that voice that suggests that one of us is better than the other, if we want that voice that suggests that the poor and the downtrodden are responsible for their own positions, if we want that voice to prevail, let us not act tomorrow. Let us not act tomorrow. And that voice will prevail in this country.

That is not the spirit of Minnesotans. And I don't believe very honestly that it is the spirit of this nation. But that voice will prevail, unless we stand up and take this call to action. I'd like to see all of us--

[APPLAUSE]

--I would like to see all of us starting tomorrow go into our places of work, be they our school buildings, our nonprofit organizations, our political halls, go there with a focused, focused, focused commitment to address violence, unemployment, those issues-- housing, those issues that are the core of anybody's ability to be self sufficient.

I want to take this special opportunity, if I could, to tell the Twin Cities community, the Twin Cities community that we have an opportunity. We have an opportunity that was just given to us two days ago by Housing and Urban Development.

They said to the city of Minneapolis, I will give you $100 million if you will address the problems and issues that you have faced in your Twin Cities community around housing opportunities, around the fact that you have concentrated pockets of poverty in Minneapolis and St. Paul and you haven't given people an opportunity to have freedom of choice in housing.

I want to ask people on this day to help me, the mayor of the city of Minneapolis, help the Met Council of the state of Minnesota, and all of our suburban mayors around this Metropolitan area and all of their HRAs, their housing and redevelopment authorities, open up the door of opportunity for people across this community to live wherever they want to. If we do that--

[APPLAUSE]

If we do that in 1995, Martin Luther King Jr. will look down upon this Twin Cities community and say, a job well done. And what are you going to do for me next year? Thank you all for being here.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

GARY EICHTEN: Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton speaking a little bit earlier today at a special ceremony underway at Concordia College in St. Paul, a special Martin Luther King Day program underway at Concordia College in St. Paul.

As the mayor indicated, of course, historically, what's happened, there was always a rally up at the State Capitol. And then people would march down to the Civic Center. And they would have the official state celebration at the State Capitol, then at the Civic Center.

A change this year, though. First of all, there was a little rally at St. Paul Central High School and a march to Concordia College-- nearby Concordia College in St. Paul, where a number of speakers have been addressing the crowd today. We've had a number of musical groups, awards of one sort or another to active community members.

The keynote speaker is Juan Williams, who is a national correspondent for The Washington Post, covering political and social issues. He's also written for several other publications, appeared on several TV programs. In fact, he's written some TV documentaries.

But Juan Williams is probably best known as the author of the 1987 bestseller, Eyes on the Prize-- America's Civil Rights Years, 1954 to 1965. He was scheduled to start speaking all half hour anyway but-- ago. Things have been delayed just a little bit. We're going to be broadcasting his comments live just as soon as he's ready to begin.

Meanwhile, of course, we're summarizing some of the other activities that occurred at the Concordia College ceremony earlier today. We've heard from Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. We heard from Sharon Sayles Belton, the Minneapolis mayor.

There was also another ceremony over at the Hilton this morning, the Breakfast, Martin Luther King Day Breakfast, an annual event. And Harry Belafonte was the key speaker at that. And we a chance to hear a few excerpts from his remarks.

But we're standing by right now waiting to go off to Concordia College for the keynote address today by Juan Williams. We'd like to remind you while we have just a couple of minutes here that the Weather Service has posted a winter storm watch for much of Western Minnesota for later tonight and tomorrow.

Today is fairly benign really, light freezing rain, some light snow in parts of Minnesota, but basically a fairly normal day. Brisk winds with high temperatures, mid-20s in the North to the mid-30s in the Southeast.

Tonight though, a good dose of winter weather arrives with snow likely over Western and Northern Minnesota. In fact, some heavy snow is forecast for the Western part of the state late tonight, with freezing rain, light freezing rain forecast for the Eastern parts of the state.

Overnight lows tonight are expected to range from the upper teens in Northwestern Minnesota to the upper 20s in the Southeastern corner of the state. Tomorrow, good chance for snow all across Minnesota. In fact, heavy snow is possible in Western and Northern Minnesota, with some freezing rain possible in parts of Eastern Minnesota.

We can look for high temperatures tomorrow to range from 20 degrees in Northern Minnesota and the 20s in Western Minnesota to the low 30s in Southeastern Minnesota. Twin Cities is cloudy and windy through the afternoon with a high around 35, windy tonight. Chance for some light freezing rain, maybe some light snow later tonight with an overnight low of 30.

And then tomorrow, good chance for rain. And first of all, start with freezing rain, changing over to snow. Very good chance for snow tomorrow in the Twin Cities, 70% as a matter of fact, with a high temperature in the low 30s.

This is Midday coming to you on the FM news station on this Martin Luther King Day program. And we're standing by for live coverage of a keynote address by Juan Williams, who is the featured speaker-- scheduled to be the featured speaker at the special Martin Luther King Day program at Concordia College in St. Paul.

Of course, there are activities all across the country on this Martin Luther King Day. President Clinton is in Denver for a speech to mark the occasion. That's the primary address that he'll be giving in Denver, Colorado, though he also flies to California then tonight for another Martin Luther King Day address. And he's supposed to speak in Los Angeles.

As we say, we're standing by waiting for Juan Williams to address the crowd at Concordia College. In the Meanwhile, let's join the program underway. Apparently, some children at this point are holding center stage with some poems and songs and the rest. Let's go off live to the Concordia College program, get a better feeling for what's happening over there.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

SPEAKER 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I want to graciously thank both of those young men for their courage and spirit. That's exactly what we're about. They need to get more opportunities to do so.

I don't have enough sense, I guess, to be as nervous as I should be, the young man did, so we're going to go on with our school recognitions. Now I'm going to ask that Becky George and Kathy Polansky come very quickly forward as we recognize the children that have contributed to our program today, young people actually.

SPEAKER 3: We'd like Reverend Battle to come up and stand with us. We are part of a group called SDS-CRES, which stands for Supporting Diversity in the Schools, Creating Racially Equitable Schools. And what we are about is creating the village that is needed so that all children can stand as this young man just did and speak with such pride and self esteem.

And what we did is we put together a-- we don't even call it a contest because it was a cooperative effort of asking students throughout the state of Minnesota to bring their artwork here today to show you their idea of what the world would be like if Martin Luther King's dream became a reality for all children, for all children. And those of us who were involved in that are the following agencies, the Black Ministerial--

GARY EICHTEN: Awards ceremony underway now at the Concordia College program. And we're a little unclear, frankly, as to the exact program at this point. We expected that our keynote speaker Juan Williams would be on the podium all at least a half hour ago, maybe 45 minutes ago.

And our intention was and remains and still is to broadcast his keynote address live in this special Martin Luther King Day program. And as a matter of fact, we're going to be going back in just a moment.

But earlier today, we talked with Yusef Mgeni, who is the President of the Urban Coalition in the Twin Cities, about these kinds of ceremonies and whether they've really done much to improve race relations in the United States.

YUSEF MGENI: Well, I think that the celebrations are not so much in honor of Dr. King as what Dr. King stood for, what he worked for. And we honor King's birthday as a celebration of human possibility changing race relations. In reality, as something that must occur across generations, won't take place over the weekend.

GARY EICHTEN: Do you think it's been successful at least-- the national holiday at least in focusing people's attention for one day on the fact that these problems do need to be addressed?

YUSEF MGENI: It depends on who you talk to, Gary. To the degree that it provides public visibility and acknowledgment of a struggle that Dr. King gave his life for, I think it is important. In terms of concrete measurable improvements in the quality of people's lives, that's another issue altogether. I think the holiday is a start. But it's just that. It's a beginning.

GARY EICHTEN: How do you suppose-- or why do you suppose there appears to be such a dichotomy in assessing where particularly Black people have come in the last 30, 40 years. If you survey whites, apparently, a lot of them think that there's been measurable progress made. If you survey Blacks, apparently, a lot of them think not much progress has been made at all.

YUSEF MGENI: Well, and if you look at demographic indicators, I think the latter reality is the one that's borne out. In terms of education, in terms of opportunity, in terms of quality of life, there have been individual gains for Black people to be certain. But collectively, I think that the African-American community, I think poor white community and other communities of color are only marginally better off today than they were 30 years ago.

GARY EICHTEN: Why do you suppose most white people, at least middle-class white people think there's been so much progress?

YUSEF MGENI: Well, we're talking about the power of definition, Gary. And if you're judging people by your own standards, then you're subject to arrive at your own conclusions. And when people of color, when poor people view their own objective reality, the standards are a lot closer to the ground than those of people who may be better off, who may be isolated or removed from the gangbanging, from the drugs, from the crime, from the abject reality of poverty.

GARY EICHTEN: What makes the most sense in your mind in terms of marking today? Go back and listen to King's speeches? Go march in a rally? What would make the most sense and have the most impact do you think?

YUSEF MGENI: I think it's up to individuals to define that and far be it for me to say here is how best to honor Dr. King's birthday. I've been rereading his letter from Birmingham Jail, which I think is one of the most powerful literary documents in this century.

And it's been a quiet reflective day. I'm looking forward to hearing Juan Williams in about a half hour, who's always very thought-provoking and informative on issues that affect poor people and people of color.

I think that what I would simply encourage people to do is look in the mirror and ask if they're part of the problem or part of the solution. I think that's where any form of social change begins, with individuals.

GARY EICHTEN: Yusef Mgeni, who is the President of the Urban Coalition in the Twin Cities longtime activist in the civil rights movement in the Twin Cities, speaking a little earlier today on our midday broadcast.

This is Midday coming to you on the FM news station. And our plan initially was to fill the hour with comments by Juan Williams, the keynote speaker at the big state celebration today marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And that's still our plan as soon as Mr Williams begins.

We expected that his keynote address would begin, gee, the better part of an hour ago already. But things are running late at Concordia College. And so as a consequence, we've been hearing some of the things that were said earlier at that same program.

Right now, awards to various community groups and the like are continuing to be given out. We heard from a lot of the Minnesota political dignitaries on hand today at the ceremony, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who you heard from. We heard from the mayors of the two Twin Cities, Sharon Sayles Belton and Norm Coleman.

Governor Arne Carlson was originally scheduled to speak at the address. But he was not able to attend. There was, however, a statement from the governor's office read to the group that gathered at Concordia College earlier today, that statement read by Joe Kingman of Governor Carlson's office.

JOE KINGMAN: On behalf of Arne Helge Carlson, governor of the state of Minnesota, I would like to read a proclamation and bring you a brief message. "Whereas the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to achieving racial equality for all people through nonviolent social change, and whereas in honor of this great civil rights leader, the United States Congress and the Minnesota State legislature declared January 20, 1986, as the first observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

And whereas this is a day when Minnesotans of all races, creeds, of social classes should reflect on Dr. King's legacy of bringing us together, and whereas through the celebration of Dr. King's many contributions to all the people of this state and nation, we can each find ways in which we can individually and collectively carry out the vision of equal justice, opportunity, and freedom from violence.

Now, therefore, I, Arne Helge Carlson, Governor of the state of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 16, 1995, to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

[APPLAUSE]

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of great vision and great courage, who brought to all Americans the dream of racial equality through nonviolent social change. Each of us, the citizens of Minnesota, and all throughout the nation have richly benefited from his teaching.

While there is much to celebrate, we must all acknowledge there remains much more to do to carry out his dream. We set aside this day as a day when we can all reflect on how to carry out Dr. King's vision of a nation with equal justice, opportunity, and freedom from violence.

But how sad it would be if this should be a one-day activity to be forgotten tomorrow. We must be sure Dr. King's words ring as loudly in July as they do today in January.

[APPLAUSE]

We are on notice that tomorrow and the days to follow are going to bring change of major proportions to this country. Regulations and systems of many years standing are to be modified or changed. Change, especially unknown change, can be intimidating. It can be frightening. Anyone facing major change affecting their lives cannot help do so without apprehension and concern.

I pray that all of us in leadership positions in this country find the wisdom and the courage of the best of our predecessors-- the Lincolns, the Roosevelts, the Martin Luther Kings-- so that we can truly move this nation and this state forward towards the goal of racial equality.

I am in debt to and wish to thank the members of the council of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. While there are many of you who have given so generously of your time and talents, I want to particularly single out this year's chairman, Lester Collins, and his predecessor, the 1994 chair--

[APPLAUSE]

--the 1994 chair, the Reverend James W. Battle Sr.

[APPLAUSE]

I have asked that you as a council be willing to move towards a new model of the celebration of this day, a model which focuses more on youth, which is more statewide in nature, and which is more inclusive, which recognizes that all our citizens, whether they are Black, brown, or white, all races are living a better life because of Dr. King's vision. I thank you for initiating those changes and for bringing the spirit of Dr. King to us all. Thank you."

GARY EICHTEN: Joe Kingman reading a statement from Governor Arne Carlson at a special Martin Luther King Day program underway at Concordia College in St. Paul. We've been standing by waiting for the keynote speaker at that rally, Juan Williams, to address the crowd. Still a ways away, apparently, from the beginning of the keynote address.

And so to conclude this hour, we're going to hear from Dr. King himself, the March on Washington speech, Washington, DC, August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

Five score years ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. 100 years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. 100 years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. 100 years later--

[APPLAUSE]

--the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense, we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men-- yes, Black men as well as white men-- would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

[LAUGHTER]

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

1963 is not an end but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

We must forever conduct our struggle on the higher plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is--

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

No, no, we are not satisfied. And we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

[APPLAUSE]

So 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.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

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.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

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.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

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.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day--

[APPLAUSE]

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens--

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

GARY EICHTEN: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking in August of 1963, the big March on Washington. Well, that concludes our Midday broadcast for today, this Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry.

Juan Williams, the keynote speaker at the big Martin Luther King Day ceremony underway at Concordia College, has still not started speaking. So what we're going to do is record his speech, assuming he speaks. So we'll record it and put it on at 9 o'clock tonight on the FM news station so you can hear that at 9 o'clock tonight.

I'd like to thank you for joining us today. And right after station identification, most of you will hear Talk of the Nation, will catch up with news headlines and Talk of the Nation. And some of you will be joining Bob and Bill for music programming. This afternoon's programming on the FM News Station is supported in part by financial contributions from Minnesota Public Radio listeners. Gary Eichten here. Thanks for tuning in.

On the next All Things Considered, Harry Belafonte joins us to help remember Martin Luther King. It's All Things Considered every day at 4 on the FM news station KNOW-FM 91.1 in the Twin Cities.

You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. It's 30 degrees with a wind chill of 14 at the FM news station KNOW-FM 91.1, Minneapolis, St. Paul. The time now is 1 o'clock.