Speech at a Martin Luther King Day Gathering in Washington DC, 1991
Edited on Martin Luther King Day 2010

Special MLK Tribute – by friend and artist, Haiyan

Today we gather here to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.

We celebrate an enchanted life of celebration, a life that inspires generations and generations to come.

We celebrate an everlasting spirit of enlightening, a spirit that transcends the fear within in commanding respect and longing equal rights.

We celebrate a mighty power in a human being, a power not derived from wealth or privilege, not from Royal heritage or government post, not even from a public election. A power emerges from the conviction and dedication to the unconditional love for the human race. A power that is deeply rooted in each and everyone of us that when it is finally being ignited there is no mountain of injustice that can not be flattened and removed.

We are here to let you know, Dr. King, that your Dream is being carried on not just in the hills of Georgia and the state of Mississippi but everywhere in this world; that your call to Let Freedom Ring is not just echoed in the hilltops of New Hampshire, the mountains of New York, the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, the Rockies of Colorado, and the slopes of California, but is being responded in chorus in the mountains of Himalayan, in the valleys of Danube, along the shore of the pacific ocean, and in the heart of the Los Llanos plains.

People, people are rising up in pride and dignity. People are saying No to tyranny and reign of terror. But, the ultimate victory for the peace-loving humanity is far from being claimed. In those states of totalitarian, laws are used to defend dictatorships instead of protect the people; peaceful calls for harmony are being suppressed with brutality instead of being cherished; human rights champions are being imprisoned instead of being praised. Even in this great nation of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and you, Dr. Martin Luther King, too often democracy is comprised to special interests, too often the so-called ideology overshadows the commitment to put the people first.

These words of Dr. King that “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality” describe well for our gathering today, in the context of the global family of humanity. We must “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” 

When we pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King on this special day, the best gift we can present to him is to remind ourselves about his dream, to continue his cause each and every day until there is no one in this world finds himself an exile in his own land. 

We have a dream: let freedom ring from every corner in this world!

Tags: freedom of speech, human rights, Martin Luther King