Just a short note today to remind you that April 4 marks a dark day in American history. Today in 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain by an assassin in Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. King is now an icon of the Civil Rights movement in this country and his legacy of peaceful, non violent protest has become an inspiration to oppressed people across the globe. His eloquent words still echo in the grand consciousness of our nation and help light the path ahead as we bend the arc of history slowly toward progress and a better, more equitable life for all. His place is secure for all time as one of the greatest leaders in American history.
And today, we take a moment to honor this great man.
His loss haunts us to this day, as we wonder what other mighty tasks he might have fulfilled in life, and yet, we take comfort in the thought that in death his power grew even greater. His martyrdom, as is often the case with the truly great, magnified and expanded his influence in ways impossible to ignore. Rather than silencing the man, the assassin's bullet served only to inflate the influence of Dr. King in ways impossible to ignore, and thus served to cement the impact of his success. The equal rights advances of the past several decades all, in one way or another, stem from the work and legacy of this man, and others of his generation, who stood proudly against intolerance and injustice and refused to be cowed by the brutality of past ignorance.
So, today, we take a moment to reflect on this man and his legacy. And we take note that though evil is relentless, and may sometimes triumph in the short term, that justice and light are stubborn, and that the primary path of human progress toward a better world for all will eventually carry the day.
Thank you Dr. King.
If you would like to honor the memory of Dr. King, and bring him to life before your students, contact us for information on Mobile Ed's Martin Luther King school assembly program. Dates are now available for the 2014-2015 school year.
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fieldsof science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN. He also spent ten years coordinating assembly programs for the elementary school where his own children went to school.
