Photo: Library of Congress
By: Brendan Dowd, Director of the Center for Cultural Exchange and Interfaith Collaboration and Eleanor Peck, Director of Communications and Member Relations
We’ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lately, what with the fiftieth anniversary of the march on Washington taking place this week. In celebration of that, our Director of the Center for Cultural Exchange and Interfaith Collaboration, Brendan, sent his favorite lesser-known MLK Jr. speech around the office with a beautiful introduction. I thought the message Brendan conveyed to those of us in the office deserved a wider audience, so here it is:
I want to draw your attention to this cutting sermon delievered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a month before his death.We recently celebrated Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech,” but let us look a little deeper into the man and his message of peace.
Let’s look at his sermon entitled the “Drum Major Instinct.”These words are charged with hope and inspiration. If you have time to listen give it a click.
Dr. King never fails to send chills down my spine with his oratory style. Although rooted in a hermeneutic of Christian interpretation, may Dr. King’s reflection on Jesus (عليه السلام), words expressed that I think transcend their Christian particularity, remind us of our commitment to our work, regardless of our various traditions or outlooks. Let us reflect on the drum major in all of us…