Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hope everyone is enjoying their day off and taking some time to reflect about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.   I often remind my students that we have come far, but the struggle isn't over.  A few days ago I asked one group of students if humans would always have conflict, and that the answer was an overwhelming yes.  At first that made me a little sad; however, several of them said that the world is getting better and that they would help make it better.

I took my children to see Selma yesterday.  It was an emotionally powerful and historically accurate portrayal of the battle to get the right to vote.  The movie is PG-13, so I know it may not be appropriate for some of my more sensitive students.  I will say that the rating, in part, comes from the President Johnson character.  The movie accurately portrays his penchant for "colorful" language in each of his scenes.  

I've attached links to the pictures below; please view and discuss them if you have time.  

Dr. King and President Johnson had many conversations.  Click on the picture to read one of their telephone conversations.  Or read below the picture for an excerpt.

President Johnson: There's not going to be anything though, Dr., as effective as all of them voting.

King: That's right. Nothing--

President Johnson: That'll get you a message that all the eloquence in the world won't bring, because the fellow will be coming to you then instead of you calling him.

King: And it's very interesting, Mr. President, to notice that the only states that you didn't carry in the South, the five Southern states,have less than 40 percent of the Negroes registered to vote.4 It's very interesting to notice. And I think a professor at the University of Texas, in a recent article, brought this out very clearly. So it demonstrates that it's so important to get Negroes registered to vote in large numbers in the South. And it would be this coalition of the Negro vote and the moderate white vote that will really make the new South.

President Johnson: That's exactly right. I think it's very important that we not say that we're doing this, and we not do it just because it's negroes or whites. But we take the position that every person born in this country and when they reach a certain age, that he have a right to vote, just like he has a right to fight. And that we just extend it whether it's a Negro or whether it's a Mexican or who it is.

King: That's right.

Students who read/view some or all of the content above, and then discreetly tell me something that they learned, will get a treat on Tuesday.