Black History Month

Let us pause on the first day of February; Black History Month, to recognize and celebrate the hopeful present and bright future where all people are honored and life is sacred.

On February 4th, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a sermon entitled 'The Drum Major Instinct' to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. This is one of my favorite speeches by Dr. King, second only to his speech as he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In the Drum Major Instinct sermon, and nearing the end, Dr. King recites an old poem;

If I can help somebody as I pass along
If I can cheer somebody he’s traveling wrong
Then my living will not be in vain
If I can do my duty as a Christian ought
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought
If I can spread the message as the master taught
Then my living will not be in vain

And not more than two weeks ago, our Nations 44th President, Barack Obama took the oath of office of the President of the United States - our nations first black President. Nearing the end of his Inaugural Address he said;

"So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

With Hope and Virtue,
Dan