Listening to a New Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -A Knock at Midnight
Posted by Trésor KayumbaBlack History Month is a time that has been known to bring people closer, as they reflect upon the achievements, struggles, and resilience of Black Americans. Black History can be a thorn for some people still grappling with the implications of acknowledging the struggles Black people have overcome. Black History for our 5th grade community was a time to come together, and truly commit ourselves to listening to a well known leader, and deeply dive into his works in order to gain deeper understanding.
We often speak highly of Martin Luther King, but hardly take the time to listen and truly understand his ideas.
5th Graders, not only spent time listening to Dr. Martin Luther King’s “A Knock at Midnight” speech and sermon delivered in 1958, our scholars got to experience the depth of Dr. King’s courage, intellect, and incredible knowledge of the struggles society faced and what was needed to be done to resolve our issues, which he brilliantly described as, “The Midnight ” hour of our times. Students discussed aspects of his speech that are still relevant to our society today. We were able to read and listen to the speech a few times and students extracted passages they found powerful and that spoke to them. It was a powerful experience for them to explain why the passage spoke to their heart.
This is a masterpiece of a preacher who uses figurative language to describe pertinent ideas. We were moved and wanted to model and share to the community the impact and power of the community. We all got something out of the speech, and at our weekly assembly students did get to share with the community about the passage that spoke to them and why they selected it. This was a powerful revelation of their depth of understanding.
Dr.King may have been speaking about racism, but in this sermon and speech, he speaks of the human condition. He was able to draw all people in, in order for all people to be liberated and recognize each other’s humanity.
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