Today is Martin Luther King Day in the U.S., a holiday that honors one of the most influential worldchangers of the 20th century. Martin Luther King Jr's contributions to progress, peace and equality through nonviolent resistence have been matched by few other leaders in history. King's legacy will continue to support and inform worldchangers all over the world for generations to come.

This is also the first MLK day since the passing of his wife, Coretta Scott King, who carried on after MLK's assassination as a civil rights leader and activist until her death on January 30, 2006.

Whether or not you are in the States, may today be a reminder that significant, lasting change is possible, and the power to make it happen belongs to each one of us.

For a comprehensive retelling of America during the King years, I highly recommend Taylor Branch's Parting the Waters.

Posted by: Ethan on January 15, 2007 12:08 PM

For those who want to refresh their memories (or have never seen/read it), I've posted the video and text of Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech here.

Posted by: Michael G.R. on January 15, 2007 12:14 PM

I heard one of many Dr. King speeches on NPR the other day, including some that I had not heard before. The following jumped out at me

1. He was a very powerful speaker
2. He was talking about the concepts of the kind of global neighborhoods we are talking about again these days
3. We are a long way from achieving even half of what he talked about. I think we've come a long way, but the road ahead is still long, and other than the collective will of people, I am not sure we have the leadership these days.

Posted by: Deepak on January 17, 2007 12:18 AM