Description

Commemorating King: Speeches Honoring the Civil Rights Movement collects five speeches by social justice activist and organizer Ewuare X. Osayande given in honor of Dr. King Day in 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In these speeches Osayande applies The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s prophetic analysis to the seminal events of the past several years including 9/11, the election of President Obama, the murder of Oscar Grant, President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Haiti earthquake of 2010 and Occupy Wall Street.

Whereas many speakers tend to focus on The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, Osayande takes on the full measure of King’s legacy and displays the breadth and depth of King’s ever-growing consciousness and commitment to justice and peace. In Commemorating King, Osayande goes beyond mere remembrance of King; he encourages us to make King’s commitment our own.

The Rev. Dr. Karen Hernandez-Granzen, Senior Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton, NJ (where two of the speeches in the collection were given) recognizes Osayande’s commitment in her praise of the book: “Ewuare Osayande’s intellectual passion and scholarly research is clearly evident in his writings and presentations. In Commemorating King, Osayande does more than just speak about the man; he captures the message and carries the spirit of the movement. Osayande’s powerful voice and liberating vision reverberates throughout these pages. He has embraced his prophetic call and in the tradition of Old Testament prophets, Osayande refuses to proclaim ‘Justice, Justice!’ until there is justice for all!”