On this date in 1964, the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr.
This beautiful little song was written by M. Ward for Mavis Staples, based on a King speech called “The Drum Major Instinct,” which King delivered on February 4, 1968, exactly two months before he was assassinated. The speech is about following Jesus’s teachings by aiming to serve others, rather than seeking recognition or fame at the head of the parade.
As he winds up his speech, King says that, in that light, he’s been thinking about what he’d want said at his funeral. “Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important…. I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.”
The great Mavis Staples is a Chicagoan who has performed since childhood, now with her own band but in her early years as one of the Staple Singers, a legendary gospel, R&B and soul group. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a friend of her family. Mavis Staples says she had to stop at times while recording this song, because it was as if she could hear and see him.
Today, I want to remember King. For the Nobel Peace Prize, but more as he wanted, as a person who tried to serve others. (As we all can.) That he tried to love not hate. (As we all can.) That he helped somebody as they passed along. (As we all can.) That in the crawl for justice he helped somebody run; that in the walk for the hungry, he fed someone; and that in the march for peace, he played the drum.
Fountain Pen Follies 
Well said. He was a great man. I have always loved what he said about not judging people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
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Yes, me, too. The whole “I Have a Dream” speech is great, isn’t it? When I was in DC this summer, visiting family we walked down the National Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, and I was struck by how large that area is, and how many people must have been there. Awe-inspiring just to see the films.
Another quote, because I’ve just closed out of Twitter, because my timeline is a cesspool today, making this seem appropriate: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
So fine, I’ll go first. I’ll try not to cringe about that fake word that shan’t be named. I will try to appeal to the better angels of my nature in that regard. I will try to go forward in charity and kindness. Even when people butcher the language of Lincoln, and King, and Churchill. I will try.
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