Martin Luther King's First Speech

Editing this paragraph is the opening of a great speech. Kim stood there, silent for a while. The corridors and aisles of the church were crowded with people. They looked in through the window and up from the seats in the hall. When he spoke to this large group of strangers, his voice was low and his pace was slow, which was no different from the general opening remarks. "Tonight, let's get together and discuss a serious matter," he said. After a few words, he stopped first and then paused. After he finished, only three or two people in the crowd agreed with "yes", and the others remained silent. He knows this is a group of noisy people, but they are waiting to see how he guides them. "Generally speaking, we get together because we are American citizens first, and we are determined to make full use of our civil rights," he said. However, in a special sense, we came together because of the unequal treatment on Montgomery buses. There was a faint voice of approval from the crowd. Kim's sentences became shorter and his tone gradually improved. "This kind of unequal treatment is nothing new at all. The problem already exists. Just the day before, last Thursday to be precise, one of Montgomery's best citizens, please note, not only one of the best black citizens, but also one of Montgomery's best citizens, was taken away from the bus and arrested and imprisoned because she refused to give up her seat to the white man. " Every time the law pauses in a speech, the audience will say "Yes" and "Amen". They follow Kim's rhythm closely, but their enthusiasm needs Kim to mobilize. King went on to talk about the law. He said that even under the apartheid law, it may be illegal to arrest Rosa parks, because there is no specific provision in the law to divide black areas and white areas on buses. "The law has never been clear on this point," he said, and a man in the audience echoed "Of course not" loudly. "I think I have legal authority to say this. I don't mean that I have legal authority, but I have the support of legal authority: laws, decrees and city rules have never been completely clear about this. " This sentence shows that Kim is a person who pays great attention to his speech, but the audience is unmoved. King returned to the special nature of the Rosa parks case. He said, "since it happened, I'm glad it happened to someone like Mrs. Parks, because no one doubts that her character is extremely noble, her personality is noble, and she has deep Christian beliefs." Everyone responded softly in unison: yes. King repeated, "She was arrested for refusing to stand up." The crowd began to get excited and followed Kim's unhurried speech. He paused for a moment at the climax. "Friends, you should know that one day, people can't stand being trampled by oppressors any more," he shouted. At this moment, some people applauded and cheered, and the voice of "yes" formed a wave and came at him. The waves shook the earth and pushed one wave after another, as if there was no possibility of stopping. Just when I was about to calm down, a large group of people gathered outside the door shouted again and merged into higher sound waves. The thunderous sound is accompanied by a low roar, that is, the sound of feet stamping on the floor, which makes the sound so loud that it seems that it is not heard with the ears, but felt by the oscillation of the lungs. The loud noise rocked the building for a long time. One sentence touched everyone's emotions, making the typical echo of the black church ceremony transcend the noise of political gatherings and reach a realm that King has never experienced before. It's a bit like hiding a big rabbit in a small bush. When the church finally calmed down, Kim's voice rang again and lit a fire for the audience. "Friends, one day, people can't stand being thrown into the abyss of humiliation and enduring endless despair," he asserted. "One day, people couldn't stand the bright sunshine that was driven out of July and stood in the biting cold wind of the Alps in165438+1October. And ... "Kim continued, but the shouts in the crowd drowned out his voice. No one knows whether people make a hullabaloo about because he touched that nerve or are proud of the speaker's eloquent words. "We revel, we revel, because we can't stand it anymore," repeated Kim. Turning things around may be a little worrying about the anger in the crowd. On one occasion, Kim talked about avoiding all kinds of traps in the boycott movement. He said, "We all know that we are not advocating violence." "We are no longer engaged in violent activities." Someone in the audience shouted, "Repeat that sentence! Repeat that sentence! " King went on to say, "I want the whole Montgomery and the whole country to know that we are Christians." He clearly said the word "Christianity". "Tonight, the only weapon in our hands is protest." When Kim paused, there was warm praise from the crowd. He joined the audience and spoke slowly. "If we are imprisoned behind the iron curtain of the country produced by * * *, we can't do this. We can't do this if we are locked in the dungeon of an authoritarian regime. However, the great glory of American democracy is reflected in the right to protest for the right thing. " When the voice of approval died down, Kim put forward the last reason to avoid violence, that is, to distinguish himself from the Ku Klan. Those white supremacy people are bullying in the south, intimidating black people. "No white people will be dragged away from their homes and taken to remote roads to be killed," he said, alluding to the Klan's tricks. "In our group, no one will openly despise the constitution of this country." Kim stopped. The church was quiet except for the hum. "My friends," King said slowly, "I want you to know that we have a firm and brave determination to restore justice to the buses in our city. We're not wrong. There is nothing wrong with what we have to do. " The crowd gave a cry of suppressed expectation because they realized that Kim was approaching the core topic step by step. "If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this country is also wrong," Kim sang this sentence, deep and high-pitched, and his body swayed. "If we are wrong, so is Almighty God!" He shouted loudly, and the audience's mood rose as high as when he said he couldn't stand it anymore, and his voice reached the highest roof of the church. They are far from discussing the Rosa parks case or the bus law. Martin Luther King's last cry pushed these blasphemous words to the limits of his faith and the hearts of the audience. The voice kept rising until Kim's voice penetrated the voice and reached the point where it could not be louder. "If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth is just a utopian sleepwalker who has never been to the earth! If we are wrong, justice is just a lie. " This statement is really amazing. He had to wait for a while, and then, in a voice full of anger and ecstasy, he uttered his last words: "We are determined to fight in Montgomery until' fairness is like a wave, justice is like a river!'" "The shouts of the audience drowned out these two quotations from Amos. Amos was a prophet of Israel and a humble shepherd. He and the preacher Isaiah (son of Amos) are biblical authorities on justice that King likes to quote. He restrained his emotions and then talked about the necessity of unity, protesting the necessity of maintaining dignity and the historical precedent of the workers' movement. Relatively speaking, this topic is secular, but the audience listened carefully. "Tonight, I want to tell you that it is not enough for us to talk about love," he said. "Love is one of the highest beliefs in Christianity, but there is another side, called justice. Justice is considerate love. Justice is to overcome the love of those who are contrary to love. " He said that God is not just a loving God. "God will stand in front of the country and say,' Don't move, you know I am God. If you don't obey me, I'll break your power backbone and cut off all contact with the world.' "As Kim's rhetoric gushed, the audience cheered and applauded rhythmically." Standing side by side with love is always justice, he said. We should not only use persuasion weapons, but also use coercive weapons. "He once again called for unity and cooperation. Citing history, he appealed to the audience to behave in a civilized way. When the future saints look back at the blacks in Montgomery, they will say, "They are a group of people who have the moral courage to fight for their rights. "He said they could do it." God bless us so that we can live up to our mission before it is too late. Someone replied, "Oh, yes. Jin added: "We should consider these things when implementing the plan. "When Kim walked off the platform, everyone was stunned and at a loss. The speech ended so suddenly that it was so frustrating. According to the law of speech, there will be a third climax at the end, and the audience is waiting for his guidance! A few seconds passed, and disappointment was replaced by memories and excitement. When Kim walked out of the church, applause was always with him, and the believers leaned over and touched him. That's how the bus boycott began. Within a few minutes after his first political speech, he felt a strong desire to communicate with strangers, whether they loved him or hated him like all prophets. He is only 26 years old this year, and his future life will be less than 12 years and 4 months.