● A Seat on the Bus

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.

– Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968)

A bus boycott

Ordered to give up her seat on a segregated bus, she said, “No“.

Read: Rosa Parks: The No that sparked a civil rights movement., BBC.com, by Miles Burke, November 30, 2023.

A civil meeting

Both men had come to hear the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was the only time the two men ever met. Their meeting lasted only one minute.

A spiritual brotherhood

The brotherhood between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh (also called Thay) began over shared experiences by their people. Dr. King identified, with encouragement from Thay, the similarities of the suffering of Black Americans and the Vietnamese people. It drove his actions to speak out about it before his death in 1968.

Read: Sister Peace reflects on Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , February 23, 2023, Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.

Baadaye

Shirley J 🌹

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Featured image:

Greyhound bus burns after being firebombed by a Ku Klux Klan mob outside of Anniston, Alabama. It had been carrying Freedom Riders, who all survived. 14 May 1961, wikimedia commons.

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