All day in the back of my mind I was thinking about what might make a good Martin Luther King Day post (unfortunately, I did go into work, so in the front of my mind I was thinking about SQLite–a scaled-down database tool I highly recommend). Maybe the coolist MLK Day coverage I heard was a nice impromptu interview with former basketball coach George Raveling on today’s Mike Tirico Show (ESPN Insiders can get the audio).
What I came up with was this excerpt from Craig Werner’s Higher Ground: Steview Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rist and Fall of American Soul. It’s freezing today in Wisconsin, so Stevie Wonder’s remarks from a pro-MLK holiday rally on a cold January day in 1982 are perhaps especially appropriate to pass along. Wonder and co. were successful at making the holiday happen, but these words sound no less urgent today:
I know you’ve been standing in the cold for a long time, but I hope your spirits are warm. Many times in life things happen and we question God as to why. These are not easy times, yet they are not hopeless times. We must refresh our souls and uplift our spirits and harmonize with our brothers and sisters. Dr. King left an unfinished symphony which we must finish. We must harmonize our notes and chords and create love and life. We need a day to celebrate our work on an unfinished symphony, a day for a dress rehersal for our solidarity. I hope your spirits are hotter than July!