Happy MLK Day!

I feel especially associated with this magnificent holiday. I grew up in Annapolis, and as a boy I experienced “Colored” and “White” toilets in gas stations down at the docks, which had been so important in the build-up to the revolution in 1775. Hence, I am especially aware of the amazing distance we have traveled. Also, in my professional life, Dr. King is such a potent, close-to-home reminder of the power of one person’s will, against all odds, to change the world. At a more personal level still, he was one helluva speaker—I listen to tapes of his key speeches every year, and I am invariably moved to tears. Hence, I’d urge you to take a literal moment today to reflect not only on the glory of the Civil Rights movement, but also on the ability of a single soul with a potent Dream to move mountains. (Also a doff of the cap to LBJ, who said to Bill Moyers when he signed the Voting Rights bill, “We’re losing the South [for Democrats] for several generations.” Not many leaders of either party make such sacrifices of politics for principle.)

Tom Peters posted this on January 17, 2005, in General.
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