WEBVTT 1 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:13.180 I'm proud to say that I had a minor role in that, and that I was a chief sponsor and the main fighter for that legislation which was passed back in 1973. 2 00:02:13.880 --> 00:02:21.540 Since that time, 16 other states have shown up, making their states also states which gave recognition to his birthday. 3 00:02:21.540 --> 00:02:32.540 And also since that time, last year, the federal congress passed for the first time, a holiday in memory of a great American, a holiday in memory of a black American. 4 00:02:36.040 --> 00:02:46.900 Political figures from all over the world, good people who are concerned about the brotherhood of man and how we can brand and keep our nation, state, and city together. 5 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:52.760 I appreciate your being here. I wish you could participate in all of the festivities that you're going on. 6 00:02:53.060 --> 00:03:14.820 But above all, it's not a day for celebration, but a day of recognition, a day of reflection, a day of saying to ourselves that through this great plan, some 16 years ago, strive, a giant of a person, a record- 7 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.980 Pleasure to introduce the governor of Illinois, Governor Jim Johnson. 8 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:29.520 Applause 9 00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:47.280 Oh, so we have just two questions to ask. The first question is, do you want more bottles? 10 00:06:52.900 --> 00:07:05.340 The Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the births of Washington and Lincoln. 11 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:14.560 That's incredible company. Martin Luther King was an incredible man. 12 00:07:18.640 --> 00:07:36.960 Martin Luther King's birthday will not be a black holiday, but rather the holiday of a black man whose life and existence and teachings and preachings ought to inspire all Americans. 13 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:40.120 14 00:07:42.020 --> 00:07:42.700 Applause 15 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:53.120 It's an extraordinary tribute to him and to his family and to his friends and to those who stood with him. 16 00:07:55.560 --> 00:08:08.300 To those who stood with him in the pulpit protesting that which was wrong with American society while celebrating that which was right, having a nation. 17 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:26.920 Only when our people, all of them, practice in their individual lives those things for which Martin Luther King was born and worked and lived and died, 18 00:08:28.340 --> 00:08:38.860 only when we make him come alive and through our deeds as well as our words, do we truly honor him. 19 00:08:43.300 --> 00:08:43.800 Applause 20 00:08:47.560 --> 00:09:02.160 Perhaps this day-long celebration will help us remember when we wake up tomorrow and his birthday is past, 21 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:27.820 that all Americans have the right by virtue of their birth and their citizenship in this country to a life in which hunger and poverty and ignorance and hate and prejudice play no part 22 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:32.480 and have the right to a life that is equal. 23 00:09:37.180 --> 00:09:37.240 Applause 24 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:45.020 And so too, he also saw a connection and we're connected at this moment with him. 25 00:09:45.180 --> 00:09:55.400 He saw a connection between the man of spirit and the nearness of people of every denomination, of every color, of every society all over the world 26 00:09:55.400 --> 00:09:59.840 and the recognition of the spirit jewel is the Jewish Tantari. 27 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:14.800 They say, they feel is identical, that appeal toward a better human being and a better word and so we have, lucky to have, I think, a cantor, Shlomo. 28 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.480 Applause 29 00:10:58.360 --> 00:10:58.480 Music 30 00:10:59.760 --> 00:10:59.800 Applause 31 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:29.640 Applause 32 00:11:29.640 --> 00:11:29.780 Music 33 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:36.360 A face black to a treble white is significant on God's people. 34 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:37.460 35 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:49.180 Call me a drum major for peace. Call me a drum major you may for justice. 36 00:11:49.180 --> 00:11:51.180 Call me a drum major for 37 00:13:47.760 --> 00:13:49.160 Silence 38 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:19.140 Music 39 00:14:19.140 --> 00:14:34.440 And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free. 40 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:04.380 Music 41 00:15:14.280 --> 00:15:14.380 Music 42 00:15:15.060 --> 00:15:15.060 43 00:15:18.660 --> 00:15:19.440 Music 44 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.380 Let's hear ya 45 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:23.640 Music 46 00:15:23.640 --> 00:15:24.880 A little bit louder 47 00:15:52.800 --> 00:15:54.200 Music 48 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:55.620 What's next Ella? 49 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:10.740 Music 50 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:12.680 After our time is gone. 51 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:17.160 Well we thought I'd right now sing a song of the South African people. 52 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.000 Some of you know this song and you can help us out on it. 53 00:16:20.400 --> 00:16:26.840 It has a bass part to it. It doesn't have many words but if you get that one word it means the lion. 54 00:16:27.160 --> 00:16:34.320 The lion is sleeping and it's an old story down there because their last king was called Chaka the lion. 55 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:39.920 He was killed and the Europeans took over but the legend said Chaka is not dead. 56 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:45.140 He's only sleeping and will wake up someday. 57 00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:50.260 That's what this song says. The lion is sleeping. It's a song of hope. 58 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:56.660 I need some basses who can sing down here. 59 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:09.800 Music 60 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:19.720 Applause 61 00:17:48.300 --> 00:17:49.700 Music 62 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:17.820 Music 63 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:21.740 Applause 64 00:18:22.820 --> 00:18:41.820 Over one thousand people today have been demonstrating in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening outside the consulate of the racist apartheid South African regime here on Michigan Avenue. 65 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:46.920 Applause 66 00:18:51.340 --> 00:18:55.200 This evening eight people were arrested. 67 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:01.620 They are present in prison. They will spend the night in prison. 68 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:14.720 They will appear at nine o'clock tomorrow morning at the District 18 police center near here at 113 Chicago Avenue. 69 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:21.300 I would like to end by reading their names and asking you to salute them. 70 00:19:22.020 --> 00:19:25.280 They are Buzz Palmer. 71 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:28.140 Applause 72 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:31.720 Applause 73 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:42.760 The struggle continues. Martin's dedication lives on in the struggle before us. Thank you. 74 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:46.960 75 00:19:58.140 --> 00:19:58.980 Applause 76 00:19:58.980 --> 00:19:59.460 Applause 77 00:19:59.460 --> 00:19:59.460 78 00:20:20.760 --> 00:20:29.000 My own peculiarities. That is that I have this fetish about being on time. 79 00:20:30.020 --> 00:20:36.260 I am usually a half an hour early because I'm afraid to be one minute late. 80 00:20:44.260 --> 00:20:44.820 Applause 81 00:20:44.820 --> 00:20:49.500 Washington. Applause 82 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:58.980 I would suggest to you that the seeds that were planted with Al Raby went and helped write the Constitution for the state of Illinois in 1970. 83 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:00.660 Applause 84 00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:03.560 Go home to my Lord and be free. 85 00:21:06.580 --> 00:21:14.540 When I think of Dr. King, I probably think a little different from a lot of people because I started with Dr. King at a very young age. 86 00:21:14.840 --> 00:21:20.760 I first met Dr. King in Montgomery. He was in the Montgomery bus boycott. But I want to talk about something different. 87 00:21:21.560 --> 00:21:28.480 I want to talk about Selma because I think Selma changed the whole course of history in this country. 88 00:21:29.300 --> 00:21:37.700 When I think of Dr. King, I think of Al Luta, a Detroit housewife who was assassinated in Selma, Alabama. 89 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:44.640 When I think of Dr. King, I think of Reverend Reed who was killed in Selma, Alabama. 90 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:53.260 When I think of Dr. King, I think of Jimmie Jackson who was killed in Alabama standing up in front of his mother. 91 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.980 When I think of Dr. King, I think of Edwin Pettis-Greer. 92 00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:02.900 Selma. We're here to celebrate life, not death. 93 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.680 The celebration of life. That's because Dr. King lived. 94 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:15.720 Dr. King lived through you, through you, through you, through me, through you. 95 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:22.820 We have to remember and understand what our role is. 96 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:27.120 This celebration will be over in another hour and we'll all go back home. 97 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:32.860 We'll all say we went to the celebration and we saw Mayor Washington. We heard Stevie Wonder. 98 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:37.740 We had a good time. Because Mayor Washington, we really had a good time. 99 00:22:38.360 --> 00:22:44.700 But we must go back home and rededicate ourselves to the principle of nonviolence. 100 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:55.600 We have a responsibility and obligation so that Dr. King's dream can live. 101 00:22:55.980 --> 00:23:00.820 We must go back home and say to ourselves that our neighbor won't be hungry anymore. 102 00:23:02.860 --> 00:23:08.980 We must hold our heads up. We can't result in violence. We have to have nonviolence. 103 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:14.540 Dr. King's book, he wrote, Chaos of Community. I think we have to go back to community. 104 00:23:14.560 --> 00:23:17.660 If not, we're going to die in chaos. Thank you so much. 105 00:23:23.340 --> 00:23:31.860 Dr. King met our Saint Ed leader in Atlanta, Georgia. 106 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:39.860 And see you as a part of the shattered dream and a part of the scattered peace. 107 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:15.860 Thank you. 108 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:47.420 Thank you. 109 00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:55.180 Thank you. 110 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:15.460 I feel compelled almost by an irresistible impulse to quote some memorable words from Dr. King 111 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:18.280 which shall forever ring in our ears and inspire our souls. 112 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:21.860 Angels are made. Saints are made. 113 00:25:22.520 --> 00:25:29.820 I extend the deepest gratitude to all of the fine Chicagoans whose talents and energies have combined to make this occasion its success. 114 00:25:30.520 --> 00:25:35.840 My thanks to the vivacious and talented Sasha Dalton, coordinator of the King Observance. 115 00:25:36.280 --> 00:25:38.960 To Lois Weisberg and the staff of Special Events Office. 116 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:45.960 To the many neighborhoods and civic organizations who have helped inspire and produce this historic citywide commemoration. 117 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:51.220 To the many fine corporate sponsors whose financial assistance we greatly appreciate. 118 00:25:51.780 --> 00:25:57.140 And a very special thanks to you in the audience for your concern and participation. 119 00:25:58.120 --> 00:26:04.320 We have this evening, sharing this experience, a very, very special guest. 120 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.040 He's a young man. He's a good man. 121 00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:12.720 He tries in the tremendous footprint of his saintly father. 122 00:26:13.180 --> 00:26:17.300 We know he will do it well. He comports himself with excellence. 123 00:26:18.060 --> 00:26:23.120 Already in his tender age, he is a role model for young boys, particularly young black boys. 124 00:26:23.540 --> 00:26:29.800 It is my privilege to present to you Dexter King, a son of a great man whose birth we honor today. 125 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:30.940 Dexter King. 126 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:36.040 Applause 127 00:26:36.040 --> 00:26:37.280 Applause 128 00:26:56.220 --> 00:27:00.740 Our city of Chicago had a very wonderful poetry contest. 129 00:27:10.800 --> 00:27:12.200 Applause 130 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:14.100 Applause 131 00:27:26.340 --> 00:27:27.740 Applause 132 00:27:31.060 --> 00:27:32.460 Applause 133 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:33.320 Applause 134 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:51.540 The proper to assist me, she has many of the speeches that we have done. 135 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.980 Who is a native? 136 00:27:56.320 --> 00:27:58.060 The song was a little bit like this. 137 00:28:01.300 --> 00:28:02.340 Applause 138 00:28:02.340 --> 00:28:08.400 On your my gentle by a black man, John that is the sub. 139 00:28:12.800 --> 00:28:24.120 In 1772, which is still plagued with problems of race relations and social harmony. 140 00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:28.920 He was started by a black man. 141 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:36.520 But you have evolved into many cultures and yet you have not evolved into one city. 142 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:45.580 You've inspired a man who has walked this nation holding a rainbow coalition. 143 00:28:46.520 --> 00:28:48.240 But there is no rainbow here. 144 00:28:52.280 --> 00:28:53.200 Applause 145 00:28:55.100 --> 00:29:02.140 My agenda, I must live up to the promise that I made to the young people this afternoon. 146 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:11.340 I challenged the gang members and their leaders to create a group among themselves. 147 00:29:11.340 --> 00:29:16.480 To find positive things to do in their communities. 148 00:29:19.220 --> 00:29:20.180 Applause 149 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:35.500 If they organize such a group that is responsive to justice sure as we celebrate this day. 150 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:38.060 You must challenge them. 151 00:29:38.060 --> 00:29:53.380 On my agenda, I must reach out to you for inspiration that will help me to create more songs that will speak of a people who once were lost. 152 00:29:54.420 --> 00:30:03.080 Lost in the confusion of this harmony but who grew into one of Dr. King's perfect symphonies of brotherhood. 153 00:30:03.080 --> 00:30:09.620 The Chicago Symphony of many instruments but one beautiful melody. 154 00:30:14.140 --> 00:30:14.140 155 00:30:17.080 --> 00:30:22.740 Now, neither one of our agendas is easily obtainable. 156 00:30:22.740 --> 00:30:24.740 But if you are...