History
By 1967, war, racism, and poverty had become the dominant issues confronting America and the Freedom Movement. On April 4, Dr. King forcefully speaks out against the Vietnam War with "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence," delivered at Riverside Church in New York City. Ten days later, in a speech at Stanford University titled "The Other America," Dr. King addresses race, poverty and economic justice. (At various times in 1967 and '68 he gave slightly different versions of "The Other America" to other audiences. - www.crmvet.org
On 4 February 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., preached “The Drum Major Instinct” from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Ironically, two months before his assassination on 4 April 1968, he told his congregation what he would like said at his funeral: “I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody” (King, “The Drum Major,” 185). Excerpts were played at King’s nationally televised funeral service, held at Ebenezer on 9 April 1968.King’s sermon was an adaptation of the 1952 homily “Drum-Major Instincts” by J. Wallace Hamilton, a well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher. Both men tell the biblical story of James and John, who ask Jesus for the most prominent seats in heaven. At the core of their desire was a “drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade” (King, “The Drum Major,” 170–171). King warns his congregation that this desire for importance can lead to “snobbish exclusivism” and “tragic race prejudice”: “Do you know that a lot of the race problem grows out of the drum major instinct? A need that some people have to feel superior … and to feel that their white skin ordained them to be first” (King, “The Drum Major,” 176; 178). Conversely, King preached that when Jesus responded to the request by James and John, he did not rebuke them for their ambition, but taught that greatness comes from humble servitude. As King put it, Jesus “reordered priorities,” and told his disciples to “Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love” (King, “The Drum Major,” 181; 182).https://kinginstitute.stanford.....edu/encyclopedia/dr for historical purposes.
Ossie Davis reads excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, edited by Dr. Philip Foner, which traces the abolitionist and statesman’s life from early childhood through to his most significant political accomplishments. This first volume establishes the personal and educational foundation on which Douglass built his distinguished career, specifically addressing his birth into slavery, his battle to learn to read and how being forced to "drink the bitterest dregs of slavery" inspired his escape. (See also FW05526 Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, Vol. 2.) Buy the CD at https://folkways.si.edu/ossie-....davis/autobiography- for historical purposes. I do not own the rights.