This is Beaubear with tears streaming down his face...

"I am a man"

"I want to do God's will"

"We, as a people, will get to the promised land"

I loved Rev. Lowery's description of folks looking aback at Dr, King as a "glorified social worker" as opposed to the "revoltionary" that Dr. King was...

(Janie, I know that seein' as both of us have been in social work that Rev. Lowrey's remarks were that more meaningfull)

I remember well the Poor People Campaign... It was the first time in my staunch Republican father's life where my dad got it right... I remember him orgainizing a blanket drive and taking his corporate owned Ford, loaded with blankets, down to "Tent City" in the middle of the night...

He would heve never done this had he not heard the words of Dr. King... He gre up referring to balck people as "niggers"... Yeah, my mom weaned him off "nigger" in the 50's but I don't think that my dad got it until he heard Dr. King... Thenm the light went off...

Sniff....

1968 was so tough for our family... My mom was working for a non-profit agency, JACS, Joint Action in Community Service, which helped Job Corps kids get into the mainstream... I became a volunteer... But more importantly, my corporate dad did as well... He hooked up with a kid, Joseph Washington, and one thing led to another and Joe came to livwe with us (oh, this is so painfull) and Joe was like my dad's new kidm 'cept that Joe was black....

Anyway, about 6 months later while I was in college my dad got a call... Joe had been killed in an automobile accident... My dad cried for days and would occasioally break down in tears over the last 30 years of his life over that loss...

Hey, I know I am rambling here but this unfortaunate story wouldn't have been possible had my very Republican father not taken the time to listen to the words of Dr, King...

So tonight, I tip my Natural Lito to both Dr. King, who had the courage to speak up and my dad who had the courage to hear what Dr, King was sayin'...

Godspeed to them both...

Tahnks, Janie, for the clip... I have bookmarked it...

B-bear...