Pencil in the time and date – 3pm on Wednesday, August 28. That’s when millions of people around the world will pause for a moment to reflect on what is widely hailed as one of the defining moments in the global fight to end racism.
Bells will ring at churches throughout South Africa and in many other centres around the world, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King jr’s now famous “I have a dream” speech, which was delivered to more than 250 000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
The bell-ringing campaign is in response to a call by the late civil rights leader’s daughter, Reverend Bernice King, who is also chief executive officer of the King Center in Atlanta.
“We are calling on people across America and throughout the world to join with us as we pause to mark the 50th anniversary of my father’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, with bell-ringing events and programmes that affirm the unity of people of all races, religions and nations,” King said recently.
Her call was immediately taken up by the head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who urged people all over the country to join in the celebration of the anniversary.
“Fifty years on, Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech continues to touch people everywhere, in its exhortation to us to dare to dream and strive for a better future for all.”
Makgoba encouraged cities, civic buildings, churches, schools and other institutions to join the initiative.
“It is a very evident way of marking our affirmation of the essential unity of people, of all races, religions and nations; and our commitment to continue striving, as Dr King called us to do, to make real the promise of democracy, and make justice a reality to all of God’s children, so we may all enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
The King Center and the 50th Anniversary Coalition in the US will host a seven-day celebration in Washington on the anniversary and the bell ringing is planned to allow those who can’t make the trip to Washington, to participate in the celebration.
King has urged participating communities in South Africa and elsewhere to come up with diverse commemorative programmes.
Those communities or groups wishing to participate are being asked to submit a brief description of their bell-ringing event to website@thekingcenter.org
In Dr Martin Luther King’s speech 50 years ago, he reflected that even 100 years after the official abolition of slavery, “the Negro still is not free”.
At the end of the speech, he departed from his prepared text for a partly improvised peroration on the theme of “I have a dream”.
In this part of his speech, King described his dreams of freedom and equality from a land of slavery and hatred.
In 1999, King’s historic address was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century in a poll of US scholars.
It is said that King was strongly inspired and influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s campaign for non-violence, here in South Africa and later in his home country, India.
King’s visit to India in 1959 apparently had a profound effect on his thinking and deepened his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America’s struggle for civil rights.