On his way to receiving his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr King stopped in London. At St. Paul’s Cathedral, he gave a sermon, adding to his long list of memorable speeches. Quoted here is an extract posted in the History Highlights section of the St. Paul’s website:
"If you can’t be a pine on the top of a hill Be a scrub in the valley - but be The best little scrub on the side of the hill, Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway just be a trail If you can’t be the sun be a star; It isn’t by size that you win or fail - Be the best of whatever you are. And when you do this, when you do this, you’ve mastered the length of life"[1]
So here’s to the best little scrubs in all of us, a rally on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to salute Dr King’s extraordinary civil rights efforts in enhancing humanity, and to applaud his non-violent yet effective strategy towards attaining racial equality. And here’s also to those who fought to have the day recognized as a national holiday. I was a first-grader returning to Japan from New York when Dr King was assassinated and then a mother with two toddlers of my own by the time the last state in the US finally saw fit to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.
There is still a lot that needs doing to achieve real racial equality. As Dr King considered his Nobel Peace Prize a commission for spreading justice beyond national boundaries, he’ll want us to fight on this and every weekend in the MLK army of love.
Enjoy your Martin Luther King’s Day weekend!