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Dr Martin Luther King

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varian Mon 13-Nov-17 09:55:05

Fifty years ago today, 13th November 1967, the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne conferred an honorary doctorate on Dr Martin Luther King. It was the only British university to honour him in this way.

Dr King made what was to be his final public speech outside of the US before his assassination in April 1968. In a moving address, he called for us to join him in the ongoing struggle against war, poverty and racism. He spoke from the heart, without notes. His speech was truly inspiring. I was lucky enough to be there on that day and I have never forgotten it.

Recently a lost video of his speech was uploaded onto youtube . If you have ten minutes, please watch it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgXlcobviTs

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Anniebach Mon 13-Nov-17 09:58:48

Thank you Varian, you were indeed lucky to have been there.

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Cherrytree59 Mon 13-Nov-17 10:35:51

The hair on the back of my neck tingled.
What a man
What an orator
A man with such dignity.
The world needs another Dr Martin Luther King.
Racism, Poverty and War are still as relevant today as they were 50yrs ago.
However as regards racism, I do feel in this country (UK) we are hopefully moving in the right direction.
You witnessed a wonderful piece of history Varian
Thank you for the link.

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silverlining48 Mon 13-Nov-17 10:52:15

He was a great man, a powerful orator and how lucky that you heard him speak live.

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dbDB77 Mon 13-Nov-17 11:00:18

A truly inspiring man - I'm sure we all remember "I have a dream ..."
I hadn't realised that he had visited & spoken in the UK - thank you varian.

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Luckygirl Mon 13-Nov-17 11:02:53

Extraordinary. How much more powerful was his speech because it was not declaimed but simply spoken from the heart. Very moving. How lucky you were to be there at that moment.

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varian Mon 13-Nov-17 18:35:28

I know that Martin Luther King had flaws, like many politicians, but he had a strong message which he was able to deliver with utmost sincerity. I wish we had more inspirational leaders like him today.

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trisher Mon 13-Nov-17 19:06:56

Thanks varian. It is an amazing speech. You were so lucky to be there. They unveiled a statue of him today. Newcastle was the only University in England to honour him.

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durhamjen Mon 13-Nov-17 22:01:29

Some people were given honorary degrees today in honour of the work they have done to promote the struggle against racism. A brilliant idea.

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varian Wed 15-Nov-17 16:17:23

Newcastle has organised a series of "Freedom City" events to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's graduation. We can only wonder what more he might have achieved had he lived longer.

freedomcity2017.com/

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durhamjen Wed 15-Nov-17 19:11:17

I watched his famous speech with my grandson yesterday - in black and white.
His comment was that trump would have liked that many people to listen to him.

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durhamjen Wed 15-Nov-17 19:14:43

By the way, did you know he advocated universal basic income?

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