At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today, many Americans will put our busy lives on pause, to remember and honor the courageous life and leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I pondered songs that remind me of his abiding faith in our ability to live together in peace and harmony, the first song that came to mind (perhaps because I took 9 years of piano lessons!) was Ebony and Ivory by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. Watching the 1980s-something music video below really "took me back." And I LOVED how, at around 2:30, they're both actually sitting walking on a huge piano keyboard, and then they end up sitting on 2 black keys, next to each other!
While watching that video, I thought about and appreciated how much progress we've made since then. Yes, there's still much room for improvement. But I sometimes envy my grandchildren, who may take for granted their many opportunities to befriend so early in life this multi-color, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural world. That's about 180 degrees different from what I experienced during the first oh-so-homogenous 40 years of MY life!
I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing Red Tails, the new movie about the African-American World War II aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen. I'm embarassed to admit that 'til now, my exposure to those valiant men and the effect they had on U.S. race relations has been limited to learning enough to pass a high school history test. I'm now eager to learn about these men and their commitment to prove that, as the movie's sub-title tells us, Courage Has No Color. This is also what Stevie Wonder's song Black Man reminds us of, as you'll hear in the great video below. It's long, but nowhere near as long as the history timespan it chronicles! Lyrics are below.
What a coincidence that the player image for this YouTube video is Rev. King!
enJOY!
Biz Burnett
Lyrics to Black Man by Stevie Wonder
First man to die
For the flag we now hold high
Was a black man (Crispus Attucks)
The ground were we stand
With the flag held in our hand
Was first the red man's
Guide of a ship
On the first Columbus trip
Was a brown man (Pedro Alonzo Nino)
The railroads for trains
Came on tracking that was laid
By the yellow man
We pledge allegiance
All our lives
To the magic colors
Red, blue and white
But we all must be given
The liberty that we defend
For with justice not for all men
History will repeat again
It's time we learned
This World Was Made For All Men
Heart surgery
Was first done successfully
By a black man (Dr Daniel Hale Williams)
Friendly man who died
But helped the pilgrims to survive
Was a red man (Squanto)
Farm workers rights
Were lifted to new heights
By a brown man (Caesar Chavez)
Incandescent light
Was invented to give sight
By the white man (Thomas Edison)
We pledge allegiance
All our lives
To the magic colors
Red, blue and white
But we all must be given
The liberty that we defend
For with justice not for all men
History will repeat again
It's time we learned
This World Was Made For All Men
Hear me out...
Now I know the birthday of a nation
Is a time when a country celebrates
But as your hand touches your heart
Remember we all played a part in America
To help that banner wave
First clock to be made
In America was created
By a black man (Benjamin Banneker)
Scout who used no chart
Helped lead Lewis and Clark
Was a red man (Sacagawea, a woman!)
Use of martial arts
In our country got its start
By a yellow man
And the leader with a pen
Signed his name to free all men
Was a white man (Abraham Lincoln)
We pledge allegiance
All our lives
To the magic colors
Red, blue and white
But we all must be given
The liberty that we defend
For with justice not for all men
History will repeat again
It's time we learned
This World Was Made For All Men
This world was made for all men
This world was made for all men
This world was made for all men
God saved His world for all men
All people
All babies
All children
All colors
All races
This world's for you
and me
This world
My world
Your world
Everybody's world
This world
Their world
Our world
This world was made for all men
Hear me out...
Who was the first man to set foot on the North Pole?
Matthew Henson - a black man
Who was the first american to show the Pilgrims at Plymouth the secrets
of survival in the new world?
Squanto - a red man
Who was the soldier of Company G who won high honors for his courage
and heroism in World War 1?
Sing Lee - a yellow man
Who was the leader of united farm workers and helped farm workers
maintain dignity and respect?
Caesar Chavez - a brown man
Who was the founder of blood plasma and the director of the Red Cross
blood bank?
Dr. Charles Drew - a black man
Who was the first American heroine who aided the Lewis and Clark
expedition?
Sacagawea - a red woman
Who was the famous educator and semanticist who made outstanding
contributions to education in America?
Hayakawa - a yellow man
Who invented the world's first stop light and the gas mask?
- a black man
Who was the American surgeon who was one of the founders of
neurosurgery?
Harvey William Cushing - a white man
Who was the man who helped design the nation's capitol, made the first
clock to give time in America, and wrote the first almanac?
Benjamin Banneker - a black man
Who was the legendary hero who helped establish the League of Iroquois?
Hiawatha - a red man
Who was the leader of the first microbiotic center in America?
- a yellow man
Who was the founder of the city of Chicago in 1772?
Jean Baptiste - a black man
Who was one of the organizers of the American Indian Movement?
Denis Banks - a red man
Who was the Jewish financier who raised funds to sponsor Christopher
Columbus' voyage to America?
Lewis D. Santangol - a white man
Who was the woman who led countless slaves to freedom on the
underground rairoad?
Harriet Tubman - a black woman
