A Heart Full of Grace
Completing high school at the tender age of fifteen was just the
beginning of an impressive legacy…
A life defined by a quest to ensure that blacks could truly live free
No matter where he had to travel, wherever he was needed,
Martin Luther King, Jr. was there
The burdens of the poor, the down-trodden, the beleaguered to share
He organized marches, sit-ins and boycotts and participated in them without pause
He wrote and delivered speeches and sermons and published books
and articles to further Black America’s cause
Then a single bullet found its mark on April 4, 1968
Silencing the voice of an orator known as a powerful force for peace
and love but a threat to hate
That piece of metal fueled and driven by hate did not succeed as planned
Forty years after Dr. King’s assassination, he is still respected as a
national hero, a leader and a great man
His speeches are still played and quoted. They still inspire those who
pursue justice, peace and equality…
Those who fight for the rights of those who are unable to, just as
Dr. King fought for a better life for you and for me
He worked tirelessly to break the bonds of racism, injustice and
inequality that ensnared the black race
Without anger, without hostility, without violence; but, with a
heart full of grace
Martin embodied his own words… “…a soul generated by love”…
And his teachings guide us even as he is watching from a
mountain top or a place in the promised land above
Sunida E. York © 2008 All Rights Reserved
