Wil Clay (1938–2011)

I didn't really read this Kindle book but read the text online after watching the speech on YouTube.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my heroes, and it seemed appropriate to listen & read his words today in honor of his memory on MLK day. Sadly, so much is still apposite 50 years later. This passage in particular struck me:

"We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality."

In the intervening years, this aspect of racism doesn't seem to have improved very much as the events of the past 6 months have shown. I just hope that people recall this earlier section from the speech:

"But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."… (mais)