"I come to you saying that I still believe that America has the resources and even the will to respond to the challenges of this hour. I refuse to accept the idea that man is so caught up in this evil system of racial injustice that he can’t rise to new and marvelous heights of brotherhood. I refuse to accept the idea that man is little more than a tiny vagary of whirling electrons on a wisp of smoke from a limitless smoldering. I refuse to accept the notion that man is nothing but a cosmic accident, a disease on this planet not soon to be cured. I refuse to accept the idea that we can’t rise up and reach the glad day of peace of brotherhood. So tonight I stand before you with a belief. I believe that the day can come, right here in America, when all of God’s children will live together as brothers. I believe that there will be a day when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream…. I believe somehow that things can get better and dark yesterdays can be transformed into bright tomorrows. I believe that the dignity and the worth of human personality will be respected one day. I believe this and I live by it."
–Martin Luther King Jr. speaking in Harlem (1964)
About Drew Dellinger
Drew Dellinger, Ph.D., is an internationally known speaker, poet, writer, and teacher whose keynotes and poetry performances—which address ecology, justice, cosmology, and connectedness—have inspired minds and hearts around the world. He is also a consultant, filmmaker, and founder of Planetize the Movement.
Dellinger has presented at over 1400 events across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. He has spoken and performed at numerous conferences—including TEDWomen, Bioneers, the Green Festival, the Dream Reborn, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions—as well as colleges and universities, poetry venues, protests, and places of worship.
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