Welcome to Litsy!

#OnThisDay in 1963 excerpts from MLKing Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail were leaked in NY Post's Sunday Magazine. King wrote the letter as a response to "A Call for Unity" by 8 white clergymen who disagreed with King's methods of protest (b/c "you can protest, just not like THAT" is a common refrain in the fight for social justice). The letter included the oft-repeated line: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." #HistoryGetsLIT

I try to give this a listen annually but have failed the last few tears. Likely when I would have needed it most! Glad i found the time today.

"...justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

Actually, time is neutral. It can be used either destructively or constructively. I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.

I reread MLK‘s letter in his honor today and it brought me to tears. It is so shameful that his message is as spot on today as they were in 1963. The Pass the Mic podcast posted a reading of the letter if you‘re interested in hearing it, which I highly recommend: https://open.spotify.com/episode/50dX3lDct5ljn1BWteD9kE?si=VRJK6YsiRviBjdspQfxC0...

#MLKDay #BlackLitsy #Blitsy #ItsPolitical #PassTheMicPodcast #BlackHistory #NoJusticeNoPeace

...who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."
57 yrs later, same bs from "nice white people."
Full text: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

💕

It would be a good thing for us to follow this great man's words in this time.
Tagged book is one of the most eloquent on what MLK Jr espoused

#2020Favorites #NonfictionEdition

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Native - a beautifully written, challenging and hopeful book about finding and honoring your identity in the world.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Letter from Birmingham Jail - I will never not feel like I missed out by not having this seminal work taught in school.

The New Jim Crow - eyeopening and heartbreaking exploration of America's systemically racist prison system.

This slim volume contains King's response to 8 white Alabama clergyman regarding how segregation should be "tackled". It also contains a sermon of his - The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life.

#blackouttuesday

#byedon

#voteblue

A quick engaging afternoon read.✍🏽

"Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

-- Martin Luther King Jr.

#BlackHistoryMonth #history #Southernhistory #civilrights #diversereads #quotes #letters #eloquence

• Read in full yesterday for a last-minute #BookishFirst #JanuaryBookBingo prompt for "a book about the civil rights movement." I didn‘t even plan it, I just picked it up and read it and found the prompt later. It was wonderful, by the way, and I'm better for having read it. Just in time for #BlackHistoryMonth ???? •

#recentlyread #history #civilrights #AmericanDream #race #colorline #MLKJr #challenges #readharder #TBRRead #hope #nonfiction

#MLK #MLKDay #NeverStaySilent

“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

#AyUpAugust | 9: #IPredictARiot

📷: Made with Typorama

#Readharder
A book written in prison

I‘m sad to say this is the first time I‘ve read this in its entirety. The reading by Graham is amazing and adds to the experience. This is beautifully written.
#readharderchallenge - written in prison
#diversereads

Inspiring words from an inspiring man. I read both his speech and his letter from Birmingham city jail this evening in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. today. This picture is a sketch my cousin did in his honor.

No school today. So we color, and we listen. We listen to what Dr King has taught us. We learn how far we‘ve come, and yet how far we still have to go!

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”

Hard to find the most meaningful words. All so eloquent and true.

❤️

Came across this image on FB this morning, via Unfundamentalist. So powerful!

#MLK #audiobook

I was given a set of the Penguin Moderns for Christmas so I‘m planning on reading one a week this year. I loved this first one, I found it quite inspirational. It fits nicely into my first prompt for #readingusa2019 - Alabama and also could fit 4 or 5 different prompts for @Riveted_Reader_Melissa ‘s #nonfiction2019.

As for the Martin Amis (part of the Penguin 60s set that I‘m also reading this year), well I *hated* that one! 😂

Ready for book 8 #24in48

Book nr 4

Day 16 Black history. I realize black history predates the Civil Rights Movement by several millennia. This was my first introduction to the struggles that people of color face in America. The discussion we had in class after reading it led me to understand that those same struggles exist in the present. I have since sought out non-fiction books by POCs to continue educating myself about these issues. I read this every year on MLK day. #riotgrams

This has to be my favourite speech, never tire of listening to it and the messages within it. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela are the two greatest inspirations of the 20th Century along with Gandhi! #activist #readingresolutions

https://youtu.be/I47Y6VHc3Ms

I love that hoopla has this fabulous dramatized reading of MLK‘s Letter from Birmingham Jail available. I‘ve read it many times, and this year I listened to it while prepping my annual soul food dinner.

#MLKDay

That was like going to church. If you haven‘t read this today, do it. So much of it is still so relevant, it‘s staggering. #MLKDay 

And it's a three day weekend for me. Sleeping late, staying in my PJs all day long, and avoiding the flu germs in public are my plans for this weekend.

Follow @Ambrosnazzy for details about #litsypartyofone

Two of my #recentnonfictionreads. They are both hugely powerful and very short, so take the time to read them today. It is well worth it. #recentnonfictionread #marchintoreading

THIS.

Seems apt today.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this. It is a brilliant call for justice every bit as relevant today as it was in 1963. It's available on Hoopla, clocking in at a mere 51 minutes. Dion Graham's cadence is perfect for Dr. King's intonation. 🕊✊

Helping my mind, body, and spirit.

Dr. King called on us to serve others in our communities and fight for justice. It's a call that echoes today as much as it always has.

Many are honoring his legacy today by gathering in a Day of Service. To learn more about how you can serve your community, find more info here:

https://www.serve.gov/site-page/mlkday

#InspiredbyMLK #Resist

Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” …So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?
#readjanuary #inspiredbyMLK

Thank you for your lessons and sacrifices, Dr. King. May we continue to learn from you and work for progress in your honor. 🌹✊🏾

This is one of a powerful set of images I found on Twitter that overlays MLK quotes with pictures from #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations. This photo was taken this year in Baton Rouge.

Today we honor the legacy and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. May his words and his actions always provide us with the strength, courage, motivation and heart to stand for what is right.

January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968

What a call to action on a day like today. Happy Birthday MLK 💕