MLK Day in 100 Minutes
A brief curriculum for 2021
There’s so much to process on this MLK Holiday…so much many of has have been processing for years and so much many of us are just beginning to process. No matter where you are in that journey, I hope what I outline below will provide a more in-depth look at Dr. King beyond “I Have A Dream”. There is so much more to King. Yes, race is integral to any examination of King but so is his call to each of us to work towards making America a more moral and just nation.
1 minute
- A brief twitter thread from Kristen West Savali of iOne Digital that ends in short video (Links in text).
5 Minutes
2. A short video featuring Martin Luther King III sharing how his father would be disheartened by the income inequality and poverty that exist today. (Link in the image below)
4 minutes
3. Next is one of my favorite podcasts, Soul of the Nation, with Sojourners founder, Jim Wallis. In this episode he interviews Bishop Michael Curry who came to be known by many from the homily he delivered at the most recent British royal wedding. In this episode they “share King’s vision of a beloved community and a multi-racial democracy, while charting the path to redemption and reconciliation in the wake of the violent insurrection at the U. S. Capitol.” (Link in the image below)
24 minutes
4. This past Saturday, Dr. Eddie Glaude gave a brilliant virtual speech- part lecture, part sermon- via Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Dr. Glaude uses the writings of James Baldwin as well as Dr. King to place into context the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, the pandemic, and the severe inequalities that became so apparent in 2020. His words attempt to demonstrate how King’s legacy has been co-opted and “reduced to 4 words…I have a dream.” After listening to Dr. Glaude, you’ll realize there is so much more to King and so much work we must do if our democracy is to ever achieve it’s full promise. (Link in the image below)
62 minutes
5. This song always speaks to me and gives me hope, however hopeless things may seem in America. Someday We’ll All Be Free. This is what Dr. King wanted for all of us: to be free. (Link in the image below)
4 Minutes
Extra Credit
Check out my friend Paul Kendrick’s new book: Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election. Link to purchase in the image below.
