it is believed that for a man to lay down his life for the love of others is the supreme sacrifice. Jesus christ by his own example showed us that there is no greater love. for nearly two thousand years now we have been striving to have the strength to follow that example. Martin Luther King was a man who had that strength . He showed us non-violently, a better way of life, a way of mutual respect, helping us to avoid much bitter confrontation and inevitable bloodshed. we still have a long road to travel until we reach the world that was his
dream. we in the world, most not forget either his supreme sacrifice or that dream.
   i and a growing number of people believe that it is time for the American people to adopt a
legislation that will make January 15, Martin Luther King's birthday a nation holiday both in
recognition of what he achieved as a reminder of the distance which still has to be traveled.

Yes nice one


Martin Luther King Jr Day is a united states national holiday honouring the birthday of the civil right leader Martin Luther King Jr, the holiday is observed each year on the third Monday in January King’s actual birthday  was January 15 1929. On Martin Luther King Jr day, most government offices and schools are closed for the day but many private businesses remain open.
A campaign to establish a holiday honouring king began soon after he was assassinated in 1968. So in 1983 congress made his birthday a federal holiday which will be 16th of January 2006 for this years’, it was first celebrated on January 20 1986.



I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!

Aww.. great write-ups.

The man is an American thing. I can't link him with us here in Naija...

[img]http://www.utsa.edu/today/images/events/mlk2.jpg[/img]
Martin Luther King Jr

The man is an American thing. I can't link him with us here in Naija.

Why?.Why you can't link him with us?

Gone are the days when men were men.  Now we have "oreo cookies" like Collin Powell and Barack Obama!!!!! Not to talk of 2-faced fake reverands like Al Sharpton and the mouth-twitching slimy reverend Jesse Jackson.

RIP---MLK.---Your legacy lives on. No "Black Man or Woman" has died for what he or she believed since you departed this world. You made the ultimate sacrifice for the black race in Northern America.

What an "honorable civil disobedient" servant of the black people.

Chxta:

The man is an American thing. I can't link him with us here in Naija,

I agree! I once had an African American tell me that Black people all over the world had benefited from the fight undertaken by MLK and Malcom X and I thought that was BS. We in Africa had a much longer tougher stronger struggle with the white man, getting our countries away from the control of the colonists etc than they ever had in America. It is a shame that our media doesn't uplift our heroes more. While I appreciate the works of people like MLK and Malcolm X their struggle was for Black people in America and not all Black people.

Chxta:

The man is an American thing. I can't link him with us here in Naija,

But of course! It can never be linked with Nigeria and Nigerians because there is no concept of "sacrifice" for the betterment of the whole. While the lives of Blacks collectively continue to improve in North America, the ones in "Africa" continue to head "south" to decadent oblivion.


Go figure! Make una siddon there they loot!!!

almondjoy:

Gone are the days when men were men.  Now we have "oreo cookies" like Collin Powell and Barack Obama!!!!! Not to talk of 2-faced fake reverands like Al Sharpton and the mouth-twitching slimy reverend Jesse Jackson.

RIP---MLK.---Your legacy lives on. No "Black Man or Woman" has died for what he or she believed since you departed this world. You made the ultimate sacrifice for the black race in Northern America.

What an "honorable civil disobedient" servant of the black people.

What is this suppose to mean? stop insinuating things  you have little or no knowledge about.  MLK was a great man that had a DREAM.

While the lives of Blacks collectively continue to improve in North America, the ones in "Africa" continue to head "south" to decadent oblivion.

This statement is false

mazaje:

What is this suppose to mean? stop insinuating things you have little or no knowledge about. MLK was a great man that had a DREAM.

Please go back and read my post and you will see that I agreed with you. Let the XMAS booze fade abeg!

mazaje:

This statement is false

Hmm! There is always comfort in "denial"! Hope you never feel the pangs of "reality bites"!!!!

almondjoy:

Gone are the days when men were men. Now we have "oreo cookies" like Collin Powell and Barack Obama!!!!! Not to talk of 2-faced fake reverands like Al Sharpton and the mouth-twitching slimy reverend Jesse Jackson.

RIP---MLK.---Your legacy lives on. No "Black Man or Woman" has died for what he or she believed since you departed this world. You made the ultimate sacrifice for the black race in Northern America.

What an "honorable civil disobedient" servant of the black people.

Almondjoy, what are you trying to do, get me started on Cyprian Ekwensi's Passport of Mallam Ilyia?" I was born in those days when men were men, and women were won by those who deserved them, my train---------- ?

MLK's work globally enhanced every person with dark skin, even Indians.

I personally do not believe we in Africa, especially in Nigeria, have, at any time in our history, had to deal with the same sort of struggle blacks in America had so I really do not see how trying to make his talk a global thing is going to help anyone. Some areas in Africa have had it really bad at some point in history but generally, the white on black struggle has not really been the story of africa for the most part.

If we really look at things the way they actually were and are, we in africa have had to struggle amongst our ownselves longer than we have under the white man and we still, to this day, continue to struggle for power with other blacks. What MLK did in America but I doubt he would have approached things the same had he been in Africa fighting for Africa's rights. Infact, I would say that he would have had a tougher time with his fellow Africans had he been an african.

Kobojunkie:

I personally do not believe we in Africa, especially in Nigeria, have, at any time in our history, had to deal with the same sort of struggle blacks in America had so I really do not see how trying to make his talk a global thing is going to help anyone. Some areas in Africa have had it really bad at some point in history but generally, the white on black struggle has not really been the story of africa for the most part.

If we really look at things the way they actually were and are, we in africa have had to struggle amongst our ownselves longer than we have under the white man and we still, to this day, continue to struggle for power with other blacks. What MLK did in America but I doubt he would have approached things the same had he been in Africa fighting for Africa's rights. Infact, I would say that he would have had a tougher time with his fellow Africans had he been an african.

Well said! 

Black inside Africa is different from Black outside Africa oh!

I think I will take my chances and remain one outside Africa joining those with the slightest possiblity of "emancipation from mental slavery"!

naijaking1:

Almondjoy, what are you trying to do, get me started on Cyprian Ekwensi's Passport of Mallam Ilyia?" I was born in those days when men were men, and women were won by those who deserved them, my train---------- ?

MLK's work globally enhanced every person with dark skin, even Indians.

@naijaking--yes that was a good literary piece.  Gosh are you that old?

Please how did MLK's work globally enhance "EVERY" dark complexioned person around the world.  Does it look like Blacks in Africa are ENHANCED?

almondjoy:

@naijaking--yes that was a good literary piece. Gosh are you that old?

Please how did MLK's work globally enhance "EVERY" dark complexioned person around the world. Does it look like Blacks in Africa are ENHANCED?

You never know the value of books until much later, Oh yeah, I'm real old, as old as Ekwensi himself, with books!!!!!

MLK definitely enhanced every black person globally, but his dream said nothing about black on black discrimination(which is more acute than white on black discrimination).

After MLK, people became ashamed to be called a racist, before, I understood that was never the case.

There are many other instances.

Definitely history will reward MLK, Nkurumah, Nasser, Mohammed Ali, and Mandela for uplifting Africa and the black man globally, unfortunately history also has more people like Mobutu, Papa Doc, IBB who tended to pull us back 4 steps for every 2 steps forward.

To be honest lets call a spade a spade. Most people in Africa have never heard of him.

davidif:

To be honest lets call a spade a spade. Most people in Africa have never heard of him.

The fact that many people in Africa may not be educated enough to understand the laws of gravity, doesn't mean that the law does not effect them.

davidif:

To be honest lets call a spade a spade. Most people in Africa have never heard of him.

he he he he he!

Just tickled to death!

naijaking1:

The fact that many people in Africa may not be educated enough to understand the laws of gravity, doesn't mean that the law does not effect them.

All na juju!  If you can't explain it --- I say na juju and witchcraft!     I love your "positiveness"!  But can you add a just a teaspoon of reality to that cup!

the freedom that the blackman enjoys today is as a result of "THE DREAM"

I wish more blacks will have the courage and will power to dream like him

Martin Luther King "I have a dream"

Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

ndubest:

the freedom that the blackman enjoys today is as a result of "THE DREAM"

I wish more blacks will have the courage and will power to dream like him

Ofcourse most all blacks have dreams, even Nigerians. Some have dreams to become politicians and make away with as much as the can of the national cake. Some have dreams of living in mediocrity for as long as they can blame others for their situation. I do not think Martin Luther really invented anything new. I mean what he did was try to move people from all backgrounds to address the issue on the ground in America at that time. We in Africa have very different issues to deal with, similar in some ways but different.

The fact that many people in Africa may not be educated enough to understand the laws of gravity, doesn't mean that the law does not effect them.

@naijaking
Look my good friend, here in naija, we have had much much bigger problems to worry about than our cousins across the ocean, we have civil wars, suppressive millitary regimes, famines, colonization (economic exploitation) and trust me, as i am sorry to say, but the last thing on our minds were Jim Crow laws.

davidif:

The fact that many people in Africa may not be educated enough to understand the laws of gravity, doesn't mean that the law does not effect them.

@naijaking
Look my good friend, here in naija, we have had much much bigger problems to worry about than our cousins across the ocean, we have civil wars, suppressive millitary regimes, famines, colonization (economic exploitation) and trust me, as i am sorry to say, but the last thing on our minds were Jim Crow laws.

Na soO! As I said previously, appreciating MLK for what he did for Blacks in America is good but to say the man's work resonated with us in Africa is foolish. To me it speaks volumes of the desperation of some Africans trying to align themselves with Black Americans when the reality is that some Black Americans can't stand Africans at the best of times (Another thread ) Did MLK even take the time to visit Africa like Malcom X did?

davidif:

The fact that many people in Africa may not be educated enough to understand the laws of gravity, doesn't mean that the law does not effect them.

@naijaking
Look my good friend, here in naija, we have had much much bigger problems to worry about than our cousins across the ocean, we have civil wars, suppressive millitary regimes, famines, colonization (economic exploitation) and trust me, as i am sorry to say, but the last thing on our minds were Jim Crow laws.

Do you know how much the so-called naija problems are direct consequences of racism? Supporting a tyrant like Abacha or IBB to mess with naija over the years maybe a form of non-interferrence racism, I saw that with Haiti and Kosovo.

Economic exploitation speaks for itself my brother.

MLK was not just a black American phenomena, granted that many African-Americans don't care about Africa and Africans.

The banks are being taken to task for have higher interest rates for blacks, not just black American, the chemical companies like Pfizer are suddenly learning that it's not ok to test dangerous chemical on black Africans, the list goes on.

The whole 'dream concept' is about ideas not about personality, it started with Ghandi, then MLK.

I recommend a detailed understanding, before a quick judgement is made about the effect or lack thereof on Africa.

Do you know how much the so-called naija problems are direct consequences of racism? Supporting a tyrant like Abacha or IBB to mess with naija over the years maybe a form of non-interferrence racism, I saw that with Haiti and Kosovo.

@Naijaking
Oh please, here come the conspiracy theorists, i am tired of hearing the same ol' America supported Abacha and IBB nonsense, our continent is in shambles because of us (not that the europeans are entirely faultless). Don't come here and start making excuses that the white man did this or that.

davidif:

Do you know how much the so-called naija problems are direct consequences of racism? Supporting a tyrant like Abacha or IBB to mess with naija over the years maybe a form of non-interferrence racism, I saw that with Haiti and Kosovo.

@Naijaking
Oh please, here come the conspiracy theorists, i am tired of hearing the same ol' America supported Abacha and IBB nonsense, our continent is in shambles because of us (not that the europeans are entirely faultless). Don't come here and start making excuses that the white man did this or that.

PHEW!!!!

davidif:

Do you know how much the so-called naija problems are direct consequences of racism? Supporting a tyrant like Abacha or IBB to mess with naija over the years maybe a form of non-interferrence racism, I saw that with Haiti and Kosovo.

@Naijaking
Oh please, here come the conspiracy theorists, i am tired of hearing the same ol' America supported Abacha and IBB nonsense, our continent is in shambles because of us (not that the europeans are entirely faultless). Don't come here and start making excuses that the white man did this or that.

You show lack of understanding of basic World and regional history.
People who have no regard for history tend to forget where they are and where they are going.

None of us is probably old enough to appreciate segregation as it was written into American and Western culture before MLK, but we could and should read up on it.

This was a law that prevented Kwame Nkrumah from being served in a resturant because "he had entered from the front door and was not waiting by the window with other negros"

Even Zik could not tolerate the sharply segregated south, and ended up at Lincoln University, PA.

If you stay in the US today, and you could line up for service in a resturant, post office, airport, schools, etc without paying due respect to the people who fought for those 'rights', then you're a poor student of history, because before MLK, your dumb ass would have been waiting in the "Colored line" and using "colored toilets"

The same culture of segregation and apartheid pervaded most Western cultures from UK/ Australia(bye the way the Australian indigines could not thank MLK enough) France/Italy, etc.

In naija, do you remember the European quarters, the GRAs? Or were you too young or too stupid to understand it? Do you know how many Nigerians were arrested for 'loittering' around the European quaters of PH in the 1950/60?

Same arrrests were made in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, etc, just because black people were found "unauthorised" around European quarters in their country.

If your imagination is too poor, maybe you can't just imagine how segregation worked, but it did.

From Ghana to Kenya, white kids got a slap on the wrist for killing a black person or an indigene, sometimes 'accidentally', but it was from the idea that a black man's life is worth 3/5 of a whiteman's life in Jim Crow's law.

If you continue to remain ignorant of basic history, maybe your life ought to be worth 3/5 or even less.