Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Every year, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we see countless social media posts and news sources citing famous quotes from the late Dr. King Jr. I know posting these quotes comes from a place of good intentions; however, I always wonder how many people have taken the time to read the entire speech from which the quote is posted.
The one quote I am always drawn to and admire is the quote from his speech, “Keep Moving from this Mountain”, which was addressed at Spelman College on April 10, 1960:
“If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”
And as inspirational as this one quote is, I yearned to know the full context of the speech.
According to Stanford University, Spelman College president Albert Manley originally invited Dr. King Jr. to speak at the college in 1959 for the upcoming Founders Day, 79th anniversary celebration. King, being Morehouse alumni, felt a special bond with Spelman College.
In the introduction to his speech, King offers his gratitude to Spelman for allowing him to speak with an amusing comment about the relationship between Morehouse and Spelman.
“Of course there is also one basic reason why I am happy to be here, and that is because I happen to be a Morehouse man and Morehouse men always consider it a privilege to speak to Spelman ladies.”
This makes me smile, thinking about how the crowd must have chuckled at this sweet ode to the Spelman women.
The speech goes on to focus on the theme, “Keep Moving from this Mountain.” The mountain Dr. King Jr. is referring to focuses on three groups or attitudes of individuals who fled Egypt during biblical times. The first group wanted to return to Egypt—“they felt that the fleshpots of Egypt were more to be desired than the ordeals of emancipation.”
The second group “abhorred the idea of going back to Egypt” yet would not commit to the level of sacrifice it would take to make it to their promised land. And finally, there was the third group, the minority that, in spite of the difficulties and obstacles, were committed to making the journey no matter what the cost.
I highly recommend reading the entire speech for yourself because I am not a Christian scholar and do not feel comfortable writing the teachings of Moses. However, I admire how Dr. King Jr. uses this story to relate to the college students at Spelman and the current racial crises people of color faced during this time. Dr. King Jr. states, “We attempt to discover what is right by taking a sort of gallup poll of the majority opinion. Everybody is doing it, so it must be all right, and therefore we are caught in the clutches of conformity. We’ve been on this mountain long enough- the feeling that there is nothing absolutely right and nothing absolutely wrong, right is a matter of customs and tastes and appetites and what happens in a particular community.”
Furthermore, I could argue that today, 65 years after the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared this speech with Spelman College, it still holds the same truth and power as it did over six decades ago. Racism and bigotry still are alive and well, and we are on the cusp of combatting yet another four years with a now soon-to-be oligarchy and racist regime at the helm of this nation. This past weekend, 170 million Americans learned first-hand how quickly our freedom of speech could be stripped away. How a few billionaires could easily pad the pockets of our elected politicians and show that they have the power to silence us.
I believe there are still three groups of people in the world, as King spoke about all those years ago. Some folks see the issues but don’t want to give up their comforts, so they remain ignorant or look the other way. Then you have people who want to make a difference but aren’t willing to put in the work and sacrifices to make the change a reality. And finally, there is a minority of us who are stepping up to resist and fight back at all costs.
I began this blog by stating that I wanted to learn more about the iconic quote referring to flying, running, walking, or crawling—just keep moving. Here is the full last section of the speech, which I hope means you are in the third group of resistance fighters. I hope you find solace in knowing that, yes, this fight has been long, and yes, it is difficult, but the fight is not over yet.
"Keep moving, for it may well be that the greatest song has not yet been sung, the greatest book has not been written, the highest mountain has not been climbed. This is your challenge! Reach out and grab it and make it part of your life. Reach up beyond cloud-filled skies of oppression and bring out blazing stars of inspiration. The basic thing is to keep moving. Move out of these mountains that impede our progress to this new and noble and marvelous land. Langston Hughses said something very beautiful in 'Mother to Son'.
Well son, I'll tell you
Life for me aint' been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it, splinters,
Boards torn up, places with no carpets on the floors, bare!
But all the time, I'se been a-climbing on and reaching landings
And turning corners and sometimes going in the dark where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you stop now.
Don't you sit down on the steps cause you find it's kinda hard.
For I'se still goin boy, I'se still climbing.
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Life for none of us has been a crystal stair, but there is something we can learn from the broken grammar of that mother, that we must keep moving. If you can't fly, run; if you can't run; walk; if you can't walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving."
· For the full copy of this speech, with all citations: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/keep-moving-mountain-address-spelman-college-10-april-1960
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