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MLK's Mountaintop Speech

FLMountainMan

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This speech is just amazing. About two months ago I downloaded a bunch of speeches from limewire, a few each from: Winston Churchill - great words, extremely upperclass accent; JFK - speaking voice is surprisingly bad, no wonder he "lost" the radio debate to Nixon; FDR; Malcolm X - very casual delivery; and MLK - very strong Southern accent "weah don wawray about tha dawgs ova theah".

Anyway, I strongly recommend listening to MLK's "Mountaintop" speech. I still get goosebumps everytime I listen to it. It's long, almost a half-hour, but is really moving. It's the speech he gave the day before he was shot and knowing that fact as you listen to it makes it all the more powerful. As a caveat, I'm a southerner who's attended black churches for most of his adult life, so the cadence and delivery is probably more appealing to me than someone from Oregon or something.
 

life_interrupts

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Pacifica Radio played the speech in its entirety around MLK's birthday with commentary from various people on the goings on surrounding King at that time. It's a powerful piece of oratory, no less prescient today than it was 40 years ago.
 

jpeirpont

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Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
This speech is just amazing. About two months ago I downloaded a bunch of speeches from limewire, a few each from: Winston Churchill - great words, extremely upperclass accent; JFK - speaking voice is surprisingly bad, no wonder he "lost" the radio debate to Nixon; FDR; Malcolm X - very casual delivery; and MLK - very strong Southern accent "weah don wawray about tha dawgs ova theah".

Anyway, I strongly recommend listening to MLK's "Mountaintop" speech. I still get goosebumps everytime I listen to it. It's long, almost a half-hour, but is really moving. It's the speech he gave the day before he was shot and knowing that fact as you listen to it makes it all the more powerful. As a caveat, I'm a southerner who's attended black churches for most of his adult life, so the cadence and delivery is probably more appealing to me than someone from Oregon or something.

If I may ask? How did that come to be?
 

FLMountainMan

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Originally Posted by jpeirpont
If I may ask? How did that come to be?

My best friend at my old job was an older black guy. He invited me to come to his church (which gained a little bit of national notoriety in the 90's for being Henry Lyons' church), so I finally went and found it a lot more engaging than the church I was raised in. So I kept going. There were a few white wives/girlfriends there, but I was the only white guy. They ribbed me about usually leaving a little after noon, but aside from that, I felt extremely welcome. Apparently, any white guest that came to the Church always left promptly at noon, white people are always in a rush, that kind of stuff. I would reply with stuff like "well, oppressing the black man is a full-time job". It was always a pretty funny exchange. I miss that church, haven't gone since Christmas - I moved out of town.
 

jpeirpont

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Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
My best friend at my old job was an older black guy. He invited me to come to his church (which gained a little bit of national notoriety in the 90's for being Henry Lyons' church), so I finally went and found it a lot more engaging than the church I was raised in. So I kept going. There were a few white wives/girlfriends there, but I was the only white guy. They ribbed me about usually leaving a little after noon, but aside from that, I felt extremely welcome. Apparently, any white guest that came to the Church always left promptly at noon, white people are always in a rush, that kind of stuff. I would reply with stuff like "well, oppressing the black man is a full-time job". It was always a pretty funny exchange. I miss that church, haven't gone since Christmas - I moved out of town.
Did you go int jeans and a polo...lol A lot of Black people are angered by whites who come to their churches dressed casually.
Very interesting, I have never heard of Lyons I'll google him
 

Southern-Nupe

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Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
My best friend at my old job was an older black guy. He invited me to come to his church (which gained a little bit of national notoriety in the 90's for being Henry Lyons' church), so I finally went and found it a lot more engaging than the church I was raised in. So I kept going. There were a few white wives/girlfriends there, but I was the only white guy. They ribbed me about usually leaving a little after noon, but aside from that, I felt extremely welcome. Apparently, any white guest that came to the Church always left promptly at noon, white people are always in a rush, that kind of stuff. I would reply with stuff like "well, oppressing the black man is a full-time job". It was always a pretty funny exchange. I miss that church, haven't gone since Christmas - I moved out of town.
FLMountainman,

I got a new found respect for you, as we all know, Sunday morning is the most segregated time. I like the fact you ventured outside of your norm.

Most people focus on MLK's "I have a Dream" speech, and often overlook some of the others. He was truly a great speaker, and intelligent educated man.
 

Margaret

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Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
This speech is just amazing. About two months ago I downloaded a bunch of speeches from limewire, a few each from: Winston Churchill - great words, extremely upperclass accent; JFK - speaking voice is surprisingly bad, no wonder he "lost" the radio debate to Nixon; FDR; Malcolm X - very casual delivery; and MLK - very strong Southern accent "weah don wawray about tha dawgs ova theah".

Anyway, I strongly recommend listening to MLK's "Mountaintop" speech. I still get goosebumps everytime I listen to it. It's long, almost a half-hour, but is really moving. It's the speech he gave the day before he was shot and knowing that fact as you listen to it makes it all the more powerful. As a caveat, I'm a southerner who's attended black churches for most of his adult life, so the cadence and delivery is probably more appealing to me than someone from Oregon or something.

Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe
FLMountainman,

I got a new found respect for you, as we all know, Sunday morning is the most segregated time. I like the fact you ventured outside of your norm.

Most people focus on MLK's "I have a Dream" speech, and often overlook some of the others. He was truly a great speaker, and intelligent educated man.


I haven't heard either in a while, and don't know if I've ever heard either in its entirety, but 'Mountaintop' has always struck me as the more powerful one, particularly because of his seeming anticipation of his imminent death ("I may not get there with you..."). I'll have to look for it later.
 

FLMountainMan

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Originally Posted by jpeirpont
Did you go int jeans and a polo...lol A lot of Black people are angered by whites who come to their churches dressed casually.
Very interesting, I have never heard of Lyons I'll google him


No, one of the reasons I liked the black church more was because I had to dress up. I always had french cuffs, newly shined shoes, etc..

The other difference I noted from my church was in the choice of hymns. Most of the hymns clearly originated from rougher times and had a main theme - life really sucks right now, but let's keep perservering and we'll be rewarded in the afterlife. The songs were really moving and different from the "mumble-and-sway" of my old church.

As far as the kudos go - I admit I'm unfortunately probably as racist as the average american. I see racism as a natural negative human emotion - like greed, envy, or wrath - that evolved from the same primeval logic (people who don't look like me aren't from my tribe and are therefore enemies, etc...). I don't think one racist action condemns someone anymore than one greedy action does. I've certainly posted some things on here that were a little rash, but I always try to keep an open mind.
I think the key thing people should strive for is to be open to new things - not the keeping a token black friend around crap - but to go outside your comfort zone. I value ideological/experience diversity a hell of a lot more than racial diversity.

And on an ironic note - the black friend that convinced me to go? A nascar-loving, right-wing, retired army colonel who grew up in the country in extreme poverty. He decided to go to a meeting of the local republican party. I wanted to tag along, so I went as well. As we walked in, he had to use the restroom, so I went in first and sat down. Not a peep was said (even though I'm a registered democrat). When Earl walked in, they actually asked if he was in the right place. Absolutely ridiculous.
 

Margaret

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[took the bait, shame on me]
 

Liberty Ship

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Originally Posted by Margaret
Point being...?

Point being that the Democratic Party has no right to take Black votes for granted and Blacks are wrong to default to the Democratic party. The fact that King was a Republican, as was his father, as were almost all Blacks prior to the 1960's is something that seems to have been purged from the collective memory. I mention it when possible and where appropriate to generate a bit of a shock wave and open some eyes. From the first Republican administration until the 1960's, Blacks voted Republican -- for good reason!
 

FLMountainMan

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Funniest line from the speech - "We took Bull Connor and made him a steer"
 

Southern-Nupe

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Originally Posted by Liberty Ship
Point being that the Democratic Party has no right to take Black votes for granted and Blacks are wrong to default to the Democratic party. The fact that King was a Republican, as was his father, as were almost all Blacks prior to the 1960's is something that seems to have been purged from the collective memory. I mention it when possible and where appropriate to generate a bit of a shock wave and open some eyes. From the first Republican administration until the 1960's, Blacks voted Republican -- for good reason!
It's primarily because of the 'Dixiecrats" and the fact the majority of Dems at the time were the primary supporters of Jim Crow and segregation ie George Wallace, Thurman, etc. It wasn't until 1964-65, that these lines began to shift.

Consequently, many of the Dixiecrats switched parties.
 

FLMountainMan

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Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe
It's primarily because of the 'Dixiecrats" and the fact the majority of Dems at the time were the primary supporters of Jim Crow and segregation ie George Wallace, Thruman, etc. It wasn't until 1964-65, that these lines began to shift.

Consequently, many of the Dixiecrats switched parties.


Really, I think arguing which party loves black people more is pretty silly, as is parties claiming historical figures for some kind of brownie points. Arguments can be made that democrats have done nothing but keep a large percentage of black people suckling at the government teat. Conversely, one can say that it is precisely because of this "government teat" that many black americans have been able to lift themselves out of poverty. Like most things in life, the truth is probably a little of both.
As I've said before, I genuinely believe that Bill Cosby and Al Sharpton (to use people to illustrate conservative black v. liberal black) care about the plight of their people equally as much. They just have drastically different methods of doing so.
I do think it's a problem when the media portrays Jesse Jackson as speaking for all black people and Bill Cosby as some sort of lone voice of reason. The media tolerates ideological diversity amongst whites, but seems threatened by it among black people.
 

Southern-Nupe

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Originally Posted by FLMountainMan
Really, I think arguing which party loves black people more is pretty silly, as is parties claiming historical figures for some kind of brownie points. Arguments can be made that democrats have done nothing but keep a large percentage of black people suckling at the government teat. Conversely, one can say that it is precisely because of this "government teat" that many black americans have been able to lift themselves out of poverty. Like most things in life, the truth is probably a little of both.
As I've said before, I genuinely believe that Bill Cosby and Al Sharpton (to use people to illustrate conservative black v. liberal black) care about the plight of their people equally as much. They just have drastically different methods of doing so.
I do think it's a problem when the media portrays Jesse Jackson as speaking for all black people and Bill Cosby as some sort of lone voice of reason. The media tolerates ideological diversity amongst whites, but seems threatened by it among black people.

At what point did I state 'what party loves Black people more'? I merely stated historical evidence of the political line as it related to Blacks and the Civil Rights movement. I suggest you take a look at the past threads I've posted in, you'd be surprised to learn that I'm actually an independent, and don't believe in giving either party my full allegiance, (based solely on the fact it's individuals, not the parties that would have my best interests in heart). Did you assume because I'm Black, I stand behind the Democratic party 100%?
smile.gif


....and Cosby is not as conservative as some would think (I support nearly everything he stated), regardless I do agree with your view on the media's representation of Jesse Jackson as the official leader for all Black people.
 

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