{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Lessons from a King","description":"Rememberinghistory.com Podcast Show January 2017   Hello and welcome back to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we\u2019re making it. I\u2019m Robin Lofton, the host of this great and groundbreaking show that inspires YOU and YOUR family with stories, experiences, lessons, traditions, and celebrations\u2014all from African American history. That\u2019s right\u2014it\u2019s inspirational. History\u2014in all its forms--can be inspirational. American history, ancient history, European history, music history, history of medicine, history of technology, history of law, women\u2019s history. All kinds of history can be inspirational, instructional and entertaining. And African American history fits the bill in all of these ways.   I remember taking a course on the history of jazz when I was in college. Confession time, I took the class because I heard that it was easy and that I would easily get a good grade. What do you think that I discovered when I actually took the class? It WAS easy and I DID get a good grade. But it was easy because it was so interesting. I listened to and learned about great jazz musicians like Muddy Waters, Louie Armstrong, Count Basie, Chet Baker, Miles Davis and so many others. I learned about how and why jazz (and the blues) developed, how it changed over time and heard amazing true stories about the people who created this form of \u201cfolk music\u201d. Yes, history of jazz was easy for me because it was absolutely fascinating. And I\u2019ve been something of a jazz maniac ever since, going to jazz festivals throughout the United States and Europe. One class\u2014one history class\u2014changed me forever. That\u2019s what history can do. I hate \u201cboring stuff\u201d. So you won\u2019t ever find boring stuff here. Okay, let\u2019s get back to the show!   Every month, the rememberinghistory.com podcast show (which is actually called Wiki History) focuses on a theme. The theme for January is: civil rights. I know that you\u2019ve heard of them but what are \u201ccivil rights\u201d? Broadly, civil rights (as defined by Wikipedia\u2014and a big shout out to them for their work) is a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. That\u2019s pretty general but it\u2019s accurate. So, this month, the Wiki History podcast show will have two shows on civil rights.       The first show on civil rights is about the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibited discrimination in voting based on race, gender, religion and other characteristics. I think that this is a particularly important time to discuss the Voting Rights Act because the right and ability to vote are (in my humble but educated opinion) at the very heart of democracy. If there is no voter equality then there is really isn\u2019t a functioning or legitimate democracy. So, this will be discussed in the podcast coming later this month.   The second show on civil rights will not focus on the law but on the modern civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. The show will focus on a group that is often neglected though they had an enormous impact: college students. College students were often on the front lines of civil rights activities. These student-activists were marching, engaging in sit-ins, writing articles and making speeches, registering people to vote and so many other activities. They were often threatened, beaten and sometimes worse. But their impact is undeniable. Stay tuned for this important show. Students can make a difference.   But today\u2019s show is a slightly different\u2014only slightly\u2014because it is about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He fought hard for civil rights; we all know that. But his birthday is also in January\u2014January 15th to be exact\u2014so I felt that it was important to have a show that gives a \u201cshout out\u201d to him and remembers his birthday, which is celebrated as a federal holiday in the United States on the third Monday of January. Today\u2019s Wiki history show about Dr. King won\u2019t focus so much on what he did\u2014though that will be discussed\u2014but rather on how he can continue to inspire us, long after his early death in 1968. This show and every Wiki history podcast show is history at its finest. We\u2019ll go beyond the names, dates and death counts of your high school history classes. (Remember, there is no \u201cboring stuff\u201d allowed here!) Instead, we\u2019ll use history as a stepping stone to greater heights of wisdom and inspiration. We\u2019re gonna get to it after just a bit of important information that you might find helpful.   First, if you enjoy this show, you can get more information at the Remembering history podcast page on Facebook. You will find pictures, short videos and a community of history lovers. There is also a place for comments, which I hope that you will leave for me because I really appreciate them and I do respond. Also, if you enjoy this show, please let others know about it. They might like it and find it inspirational too. Let\u2019s change the way that we think of history\u2014one friend at a time. By the way, you also find a short animated video of this podcast on the Remembering history Podcast Page (again on Facebook.)   Finally, I just want to remind you that 2017, the Wiki History podcast show is dedicated to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Located in Washington, DC as part of the Smithsonian, the National Museum of African American History & Culture opened in 2016. This kind of museum was long overdue but it finally happened and it is a place that everyone should visit and explore. Museums are a great way to bring history to life and to keep it alive for future generations. Wiki History is honored to be a part of this important process. For every person that listens to this podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will donate $1 to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. I also donate personally and I hope that you will too.   That\u2019s enough for now. Let\u2019s get started with this great and groundbreaking Wiki history podcast show. Today\u2019s show is called \u201cLessons from a King.\u201d               \u201cI have a dream\u201d (speech excerpt) Play excerpt   August 28, 1963. I think that we all recognize this speech by Dr. Martin Luther King\u2014one of the most famous speeches ever\u2014given at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It\u2019s also one of the most important glimpses into the heart and mind of Dr. King. The strength to dream, to envision a better world. The depth to let his spiritual side lead and encourage him to new heights. The audacity to challenge everyone to dream and work towards a world where equality, justice and peace are the norm.   And this speech is so inspirational that people want to wake up from their dreams to stand up and cheer. I certainly wanted to while I was listening to this recording.   We gonna hear more quotes from Dr. King throughout this podcast\u2014he was one of the most quotable people on the planet\u2014and his speeches inspired a generation. And continues to inspire people. There is so much that we can still learn from Martin Luther King and that is the focus of today\u2019s podcast. We are gonna focus on the lessons learned from and inspirations acquired from Dr. King. His legacy will never die.   By the way, this is one of the joys of history. We can be inspired by people who are no longer here. We can continue to learn from their lives, the mistakes and their victories. Their stories never die. They become part of the never-ending human drama.   So, what lessons can we get from Dr. Martin Luther King? How can he inspire us?   So many ways but we will focus on just three.   Lesson #1: Be Maladjusted. Lesson #2: Work together. Lesson #3: Take action.   He spoke about these lessons. But, more importantly, he lived these lessons. And they inspired the world!           Let\u2019s talk first about lesson #1. Be maladjusted.   That doesn\u2019t sound right, does it? Why should we be maladjusted? Maladjusted means \u201cfailing to cope with one\u2019s social environment or norms.\u201d Did Dr. King really encourage us to be maladjusted? In a word, \u201cyes!\u201d   In a speech to the YMCA on June 4, 1957, Dr. King spoke to a group of students. He said,--and I gotta apologize that I\u2019m not have a lot of audio recordings of Dr. King\u2019s speeches. Instead, I will read an excerpt. Hope that\u2019s okay. He said, \u201cThere are some things within our societal order to which I am proud to be maladjusted and to which I call upon you to be maladjusted. I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to adjust myself to mob rule. I never intend to adjust myself to the tragic effects of the methods of physical violence and to tragic militarism. I call upon you to be maladjusted to such things.\u201d Later, speaking a Western Michigan University in 1963, he further said, \u201cI never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I am proud to be maladjusted.\u201d   Wow! Here is Dr. King encouraging you to question societal norms that are inconsistent with your values and rights. Of course, things that Dr. King was fighting like segregation and discrimination are no longer legal but there are certainly other things happening and accepted today that you might not want to accept as normal, even if society does such as continued racial discrimination, LGTBQ discrimination, police violence, religious intolerance, economic inequality to name just a few.   Being maladjusted takes courage and conviction. It means going against an impassioned and fearful majority and deciding right and wrong on your own terms. This can be difficult but, as Dr. King said, \u201cOur lives begin to end the day that we become silent about things that matter.\u201d Being maladjusted means not being silent. It means speaking out. It means taking a stand. It means doing something. It can even be dangerous if others who disagree with you feel threatened and become violent. But it is definitely the \u201chigh road.\u201d Creative maladjustment does not ask \u201cis it safe?\u201d \u201cis it expedient?\u201d \u201cis it popular?\u201d or \u201cis it efficient?\u201d Creative maladjustment simply asks \u201cis it right?\u201d Only your conscience can answer that question. And, as Dr. King said, \u201cThe time is always right to do the right thing.\u201d       Being maladjusted can be expressed in so many ways that can improve your life. It can encourage you to go to college or start a business when others are telling to get a low-paying, dead-end job. It can encourage you to travel and meet new people when others are telling you that it\u2019s better just to stay home. It can encourage you to follow your dreams to be a writer, musician or any other career ambition when others are telling to remain in your comfort zone or take something safe and steady. Being maladjusted can help you to live YOUR life rather than limiting yourself to what other\u2019s say is possible for you.   What an inspirational and courageous concept! With all the difficulties that we face today\u2014things can be quite confusing!\u2014we can all follow the enduring legacy of Dr. King and remain true to our values and let our conscience to our guide.   "There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right."    Let\u2019s move on to the next lesson. Lesson #2 is to work together.   At the commencement speech at Oberlin College in 1965, Dr. King while discussing the importance of unity said, \u201cWe must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.\u201d   When many people talk about the civil rights movement, they focus on the work of Martin Luther King. There\u2019s no doubt that he was at the center of the movement. But he was not alone. There were many organizations and people of all races, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds involved in the civil rights movement. And each person and organization played an important role.   Dr. King was not just a single person leading the movement. He was a founding member and the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, formed in 1957* following the successful 381-day Montgomery bus boycott. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (or SCLC) was a group of Baptist ministers who recruited members from churches to participate in civil rights demonstrations.       There was the NAACP\u2014working nationally and locally to ensure economic, social and political equality, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC)\u2014you will hear more about them in a podcast on students in the civil rights movement later this month, there was the Nation of Islam whose most famous member was Malcolm X who focused on Black nationalism, CORE\u2014the Congress of Racial Equality who were instrumental in the freedom rights to register Blacks to vote in the southern states, NAACP Legal Defense Fund led by William Hastie and Thurgood Marshall working hard to document disparate education between schools for Blacks and whites and to abolish the federal and state segregation laws. There were many other organizations involved and thousands of people working at the national and grassroots levels during the civil rights movement. I\u2019m reluctant to mention any names because I can\u2019t say them all and I don\u2019t want to imply that any one was more important than another. But I can\u2019t resist mentioning the \u201cmother of the civil rights movement\u201d Rosa Parks had worked to document and report incidents of white men engaging in systematic and unprosecuted sexual assaults against Black women. She had been involved in this risky work even before she refused to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus on December 1, 1955. There was Harry T. Moore* working in Florida to desegregate schools and demand equal pay for Black teachers. He and his wife were unfortunately killed in a bomb attack by the KKK. His story is amazing but often neglected. There was Viola Davis, a white housewife killed for transporting people during the March on Washington. (Remembering history has made an interesting but sad podcast about people killed fighting for civil rights. You can find it on the Facebook page.) And, of course, there were thousands of people who participated in the marches, sit-ins, freedom rides, boycotts and demonstrations. So many people. All working together.   Of course, there were conflicts and disagreements. Organizations had different approaches to achieving civil rights. Individuals had different motives and visions. But everyone ultimately wanted the same thing: freedom, justice and equality. I think that Dr. King: \u201cWe may have all come on different ships, but we\u2019re in the same boat now.\u201d They had to learn to work together.   No, Dr. King did not act alone. The lesson here is that we must work together towards our common goal. Whether that goal is the cause of justice and equality, fighting for the environment, helping the poor or displaced persons, passing a law, stopping violence or raising a family, nobody walks alone. We must work together. It takes a village!   The lesson is clear: Look for ways to live and work together. Or else everyone loses. Everyone will be defeated. There really is strength in numbers.   Now, let\u2019s turn to the third lesson (and arguably the most important and inspirational lesson of all). Lesson #3 is that you MUST take action.   Martin Luther King was a philosophical man, an educated man, a thinking man and a deeply spiritual man. But he was also a man of action. He was at the forefront of the modern civil rights movement from the beginning. Sometimes, we like to think of him as a man with dreams\u2014and he certainly had dreams and visions of a better world. But he was absolutely committed to working\u2014and I mean working hard\u2014for change in the United States and around the world. And he always encouraged others to take action.   He once said, \u201cEverybody can be great\u2026because anybody can serve. You don\u2019t have to have a college degree to serve. You don\u2019t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.\u201d   Is there any doubt that Dr. King was a man of action?   He organized and participated in numerous marches, sometimes in the front of the line. He also organized and participated in demonstrations and boycotts, gave speeches, wrote letters and sometimes just made an appearance to give people hope.   Dr. King was acutely aware that the work also had to occur in the political arena. He met with U.S. presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and Bobby Kennedy (who was attorney general under President Kennedy) constantly pressuring them for legislation on civil rights and voting rights, pressuring them to use federal troops to protect peaceful demonstrators and to enforce the desegregation orders in public schools.   He faced attack dogs, fire hoses and billy clubs in demonstrations. No, he wasn\u2019t present at the Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery in which the police and local citizens brutalized the nonviolent demonstrators. Afterwards, Dr. King stated, \u201cIf I had any idea that the state troopers would use the kind of brutality they did, I would have felt compelled to give up my church duties altogether to lead the line.\u201d He was arrested numerous times, risking getting beaten or killed in jail. Even when he was imprisoned, he wrote his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail in which he stated firmly that Blacks can\u2019t be patient and wait for change. Change had to happen NOW.   This podcast is just too short to list all of Martin Luther King\u2019s work for civil rights. I just mention a few activities to reinforce the lesson that you must act to make things happen. Whether it is working for a cause, building a business, attending school, looking for a job or anything that is important to you, you must take action to make it happen. Sure, dream about it, envision it, plan it out. But also get to work to make it happen! And remember the words of Dr. King, \u201cIf you can\u2019t fly then run. If you can\u2019t run then walk. If you can walk then crawl. But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.\u201d   So, you have the 3 lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King.   To recap:   Be maladjusted\u2014don\u2019t accept the norm if it conflicts with your values. Dare to be different. Work together\u2014the more, the merrier and the more powerful. You don\u2019t need to do it alone, Take action\u2014work, work and keep working to achieve your goals.   That wraps up this Wiki history podcast. I hope that you enjoyed it, learned a little something and felt inspired. If you did like it, I would be grateful if you would tell others about this podcast and about the Wiki history show.   I realize that I mentioned a lot of quotations, names of people and organizations who were instrumental in the civil rights movement. You can get more information, see iconic pictures, find the quotations and even good a book list at the remembering history podcast page on Facebook. You will also find a link to a short animated video about \u201cLessons from a King\u201d. It\u2019s only 2 minutes and I think that you\u2019ll find interesting and fun. And it\u2019s great for kids of all ages.   The next show is about the Voting Rights Act. Dr. King was absolutely committed to the passage of this important law. You\u2019ll learn about it and how effective it remains today. (Spoiler alert: The Supreme Court has not reigned supreme in protecting voting rights!)   And the final show for January is about the role of student-activists during the civil rights movement. They were bold, brave and didn\u2019t back down. You definitely don\u2019t wanna miss that show!   Come back soon to Remembering History where we ARE remembering history and we\u2019re making it. Every day!   Bye for now! ","author_name":"Wiki History!","author_url":"http:\/\/www.rememberinghistory.com","html":"