Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr

IN HONOR TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

Hi, my name is Jose! That was the very first English sentence I learned right after practising in my mind for six hours. That was 5 several years back. I don't forget the airplane flight from Honduras to the U.S. reading my very first sentence. Tonight, I have the braveness to ask you in English these concerns:

Do we know about the legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr remaining this nation and to the world following the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Do we understand that with out the Civil Legal rights Act, a lot of of us would not be sitting in Northwest Auditorium at UCLA this evening?

Do we truly comprehend the influence that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr manufactured on entire world heritage in terms of Human Legal rights?

Students of coloration like myself are attending a globe-class establishment like UCLA thanks to Dr. King's work, and it is my privilege to stand in front of you these days and celebrate Dr. King's legacy.

On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr was born in Atlanta, Ga. He was a man of character and perseverance who lived below the warmth of injustice and racial segregation. Still, he confronted all that adversity with firmness and courage, so that you and I could get pleasure from his legacy nowadays.

In accordance to the United Nations and Planet Financial institution Institute, Honduras is 1 of the world's poorest nations. Blacks in Honduras experience the worst economic situations. Blacks in Latin America are so marginalized that men and women are not even informed that they exist. However, in the previous 30 several years the financial system of Blacks has enhanced simply because of the help of their loved ones customers that have immigrated to function in the U.S. soon after The Civil Legal rights Act of 1964 that outlawed, underneath specific circumstances, discrimination based mostly on race, coloration, religion, sex, or national origin. In fact, the U.S. has a fantastic affect on the financial good results and independence of Afro-Hondurans from their Honduran govt, which has denied them economic freedom and individual legal rights due to the fact of the political corruption of the elites. (Excerpts from the guide titled "Heritage of Blacks in Honduras " by my grandfather Santos Centeno, a Civil Legal rights Leader in Honduras motivated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

I was born and raised in Honduras. I am the oldest of 3 boys. Each of my mothers and fathers instilled in us to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Legal rights Movement. My father Jose Angel Manaiza, Sr named my more youthful brother Luther in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and named my youngest brother Jesse in honor of Reverend Jesse Jackson who was associated in the Civil Legal rights Motion and in 1984 ran for President.

Luther and I were molested by our babysitter when have been 3 and four year-old. "Injusticia en cualquier lugar es una amenaza para justicia en todos el mundo" Injustice wherever is a menace of justice each. That was the first quote that I learned from the Spanish variation of the Autobiography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (Autobiografa del Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr) that my mom gave me as a small boy. thirteen years in the past, I was ten-year-outdated soccer participant in Honduras. I was strolling with my mother Xiomara Centeno to Church. All of the sudden three men started calling names at us "hey Niggars!" "Hey Monkeys!" I was not offended, but I was infuriated that they referred to as my mom these names. Martin Luther It took every thing I had not to demonstrate them that hatred. Alternatively, I took all that anger and created a guarantee to myself that I would one day grow to be an influential specific this kind of as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who transformed people's minds and hearts. In purchase for me to grow to be that influential particular person, I utilized to desire to attend the World Well-known University UCLA. Everybody utilised to laugh at me and tell me that I was completely crazy due to the fact it would be extremely hard for me to go to this sort of a world-class establishment like UCLA to grow to be an influential particular person these kinds of as my hero Dr. Martin Luther King. The only a single who didn't giggle was my mother she usually considered in me. When a child desires, you cannot inform that youngster that his or her goals are impossible simply because you may possibly hurt a child's coronary heart.

I remember when my aunt Maria Manaiza, a U.S. naturalized citizen and a Los Angeles Southwest Higher education alumni and UCLA enthusiast who has been living in South Central Los Angeles for much more than 20 several years, sent a Nintendo and UCLA t-shirts from the U.S. to my brothers and me. My brothers, buddies, neighbors, and I utilized to enjoy "Mario Brothers" and "Duck Hunt" but in order for all of us to play, we required to arrange ourselves. I utilised to get everybody to indication a list on a very first appear, very first serve basis and permit everybody to engage in an Equal sum of time. We were the only household with a Nintendo in my neighborhood. This resulted in strains that have been so long that some times more than forty young children in my community have been waiting around in line in my residence to enjoy with us. That Nintendo brought a lot of happiness to all the children in my community and in my existence.

Exactly 5 a long time in the past, my mom, my two younger brothers and I arrived to the U.S. to dwell in South Central Los Angeles in search of the American Aspiration with the solidarity of my aunt Maria Manaiza. I keep in mind when I was strolling with my mom all through South Central looking for a university to examine and prepare to go to UCLA. Equally faculties Alain Leroy Locke Higher University and George Preparing Higher College did not allow me to be enrolled since I was previously an 18 yr-previous youthful guy but my two youthful brothers have been ready to attend Alain Leroy Locke Substantial University. Then, we understood that both of the colleges had been portion of the Los Angeles Unified Faculty District (LAUSD), in which most Black and Latino youngsters are currently being educated in Los Angeles County, which is deemed the worst district in the U.S. Investigation shows that a nine yr-aged little one in South Central Los Angeles is Equally as intelligent as a nine year-aged kid in Beverly Hills, but the child growing up in a minimal-cash flow local community is presently 3 grade levels behind his friends in a higher-income neighborhood due to the fact of deficiency of mum or dad involvement, absence of roles models, gangs, medications, economic problems amongst other people. Los Angeles is becoming the most diverse town in the world, but at the exact same time the most segregated 1 not necessarily by Legislation, but by SOCIOECONOMIC Standing and ETNIC Group.

My mother and I began attending a non-credit English as a 2nd Language (ESL) Program at Los Angeles Southwest University. In significantly less that one particular 12 months, I gained my U.S. Substantial college diploma through an accelerated finding out system in the Learning Middle at Los Angeles Southwest College. The UCLA Academics Improvement Plan (AAP) is the nation's leading pupil retention and diversity plan and it has a device entitled "The Centre for Group School Partnerships", which recruits underrepresented pupils from California group schools these kinds of as Los Angeles Southwest School. I was mentored and encouraged by two UCLA college students including Mercedes Crawford and Casey Hunter to do well and Ms. Lena Brown, a UCLA admission recruiter, inspired me to satisfy the UCLA's academic standards. Then with the support from my professors, academic counselors, co-personnel, employees customers and my prolonged household at Los Angeles Southwest College, I was in a position to complete my coursework in Arithmetic and graduate Suma Cum Laude with a four. GPA. Los Angeles Southwest College was my bridge to get acknowledged to UCLA, which experienced been the College of my Goals given that I was a ten-12 months-previous soccer player in Honduras and follower of Dr. King's concepts.

My mom is a manufacturing unit employee. She tends to make the federal minimum wage in our neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. She operates quite difficult so that my two brothers and I can have the reward of a good schooling. Moms guarantee that their children accomplish a greater life. Mothers are the foundations of the most profitable life. For Example, Odessa Brown Cox envisioned Los Angeles Southwest College in 1950 to offer equal accessibility to greater studying to the users of our group in South Central Los Angeles even just before the Civil Legal rights Motion led by my hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The mom of the "Contemporary Civil Rights Movement" Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to the bus in buy to encourage the world to give up racial segregation. In addition, Coretta Scott elevated four children and supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to struggle racial discrimination with peace and enjoy. Professor Pat Lewis have been educating many users of our South Central Local community and students at Los Angeles Southwest Higher education to greatest conquer the quantity concern in America, which is General public Speaking. Dr. Penelope Jarecke envisioned Los Angeles Southwest University to be the quantity the leading quantity one particular transfer group school in California for Blacks, Latinos and other traditionally under-represented folks to get admitted to the UC System and other top 4-calendar year institutions in the U.S. Let's give a hand and applaud all mothers on this earth who look for the greatest for our lives. Let's give another hand to all Mothers because they are the most critical individuals on this world and they are the Correct Which means OF Love.

My greatest buddy Andrew Lamming, who is white from an higher course loved ones in Orange County, has been my best motivator and constantly been with me in my total UCLA journey in equally excellent times and negative moments. WE ARE Both THE EMBODIMENT OF DR. KING'S Aspiration AND STAND FOR RACIAL HARMONY AND BROTHERHOOD. By means of my involvement in UCLA College student Psychological Providers, I was able to have a deep self-comprehension and passion for finding out about Black Manhood and the influence of slavery, extended standing racial discrimination, institutionalized racism, poverty, racial stereotypes and prejudices that impact right now BLACK MALES IN Larger Education. IN Simple fact, THERE ARE A lot more BLACK Gentlemen Likely TO JAIL THAN Higher education, and which is injustice, period. I am below right now to ask all of you and our UCLA household to struggle it with the exact same bravery and firmness that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought racial segregation before the sixties.