Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived from (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968). He was a man of great eloquence & consequence who left an indelible print on America. That’s why we have a national holiday so that we will never forget the impact that he has on people. It was a struggle that is recounted in an article on the following website:http://www.holidays.net/mlk/holiday.htm
Because he was a man of peace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed strongly in non-violence. Although he lived in tumultuous times, he refused to fight fire with fire. How he chose to deal with the brutality that faced him was to remain peaceful. This is why many regard him as being a martyr for the civil rights movement. He literally put his life on the line so that future generations could enjoy a better America.
Oh,my! His moving, melodic speeches mesmerized throngs of Americans. But, there were many who didn’t want equality & unity in America. They wanted the Jim Crow laws & segregation to continue. Who were “they”? Well, the FBI for one. Here’s an excerpt from CNN that talks about how the FBI tracked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s every move intently:
The almost fanatical zeal with which the FBI pursued King is disclosed in tens of thousands of FBI memos from the 1960s.
The FBI paper trail spells out in detail the government agency’s concerted efforts to derail King’s efforts on behalf of the civil rights movement.
The FBI’s interest in King intensified after the March on Washington in August 1963, when King delivered his “I have a dream speech,” which many historians consider the most important speech of the 20th century. After the speech, an FBI memo called King the “most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country.”
The bureau convened a meeting of department heads to “explore how best to carry on our investigation [of King] to produce the desired results without embarrassment to the Bureau,” which included “a complete analysis of the avenues of approach aimed at neutralizing King as an effective Negro leader.” (End of Excerpt) Read the rest here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/31/mlk.fbi.conspiracy/index.html
So, to have the country elect a biracial man with a black family to lead the nation was a very powerful step in establishing equal opportunity for all Americans.That is why Jesse Jackson openly wept at the news that a black man had actually become president of the United States. He was a part of the vicious struggle for civil rights & he knew Dr. Martin Luther King personally. So, to see Barack Obama step up & give his acceptance speech was a powerful moment that Jesse Jackson knew he had played a part in. This is a turning point in history just like the civil rights era was. John Lewis ,another civil rights leader, was very emotional as well. You see, they knew that Dr. Martin Luther King had more than a dream. He was a dynamic American visionary who spoke of an America that we can actually see racial progress in. Many African-Americans truly believe that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream is finally taking shape. They point to Barack Obama’s historical win as evidence of that. Here is a quote from his famous “I Have A Dream” speech taken from American Rhetoric.com:
“And 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.”
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. ” (End of Excerpt) See & read the speech by following the link:http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm