Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Why We Can't Wait"

"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."

"Why We Can’t Wait" is a document of the African American struggle in 1964 to gain equality and social justice in a country that promised these gains 100 years prior according to the Emancipation Proclamation. The focus of the book is on Birmingham, Alabama: a city that epitomized the discrimination, segregation, and brutality of racism, as well as the silent indifference of the well-meaning majority. King describes the deliberate strategizing that went into the struggle, of marches and songs of freedom, of sit-ins at various institutions and of boycotts to local businesses. While the opposition in Birmingham violently beat, overpowered with fire hoses, released dogs upon, bombed homes of, and overfilled jails to quell the nonviolent resisters, they did not succumb to the violence perpetrated upon them. The effect of this key moment in a growing movement of discontent was that it reopened old and unhealthy wounds for a renewed healing process in the United States. White America was confronted with an ugly area of its own civil life and needed to answer not only for the overt brutality of fellow citizens, but also for the apathetic negligence of abhorrent social wrongs. King’s descriptions of these events and their rationale display his uncompromising and inspired leadership in a strategic struggle for a future of equality and kinship between all Americans, regardless of differences on the surface of our shared humanity.

Links:
The King Center
MLK Online
Video Footage of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Citation Information:
King, M. L. (1968). Why we can't wait. New York: New American Library.

See Also:
King, M. L., & Carson, C. (1998). The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Intellectual Properties Management in association with Warner Books.

King, M. L., & Washington, J. M. (1986). A testament of hope: The essential writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Mother Teresa, "A Simple Path"

"There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love."

"A Simple Path" contains the words of Mother Theresa as well as many other sisters, brothers, fathers, and volunteers regarding prayer, faith, love, service and peace. More than a compilation of platitudes, Mother Teresa with the help of friends gives insight into the simplicity of life in the service of God and humanity. Prayer, faith, service, peace and love are all interconnected, each baring the fruits of another. Acts of love and charity as well as silence in prayer seem to be the foundation for any individual seeking a more holistic personhood, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. Through the words and experiences portrayed in this book, the simple and profound life to be found in loving service to those in need becomes approachable for anyone looking to fulfill themselves beyond the material level.

Links:
Missionaries of Charity Fathers
Missionaries of Charity Brothers

Citation Information:
Teresa, Mother (1995). A simple path. New York: Ballantine Books.

See Also:
Egan, E. (1985). Such a vision of the street: Mother Teresa-the spirit and the work. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.

Teresa, Mother (1997). Mother Teresa: In my own words. New York: Gramercy Books.

Dorothy Day, "Loaves and Fishes"

"We were trying to overcome hatred with love, to understand the forces that made men what they are, to learn something of their backgrounds, their education to change them, if possible, from lions into lambs. It was a practice in loving, a learning to love, a paying of the cost of love."

"Loaves and Fishes" is Dorothy Day's account of the origins and growth of the Catholic Worker; a movement, a way of life, and a radical newspaper which she helped found along with Peter Maurin, whose ideologies, teachings, and livelihood she recounts as integral to the Workers' inspiration. The community, or rather the "slipshod group of individuals" as Day described the Workers to a future associate, came together for various individual reasons but stayed together to bring works of mercy to all of those in need. Some would stay for only a short period of time, while others would stay for the duration of their lives, all of whom were given the opportunity to commit their lives to a cause greater than themselves and be surrounded by a community full of faith and love. Day recounts myriad stories from hospitality houses and communal farms in New York, time spent prison for her public refusal to participate in mandatory air raid drills, and her day to day experiences with fellow Workers, patrons, poets, and priests. This work is a document, told in the most humble of voices, of voluntary poverty, pacifism, and endless love for her fellow man, founded in an unshakable faith.

Citation Information:
Day, D. (1997). Loaves and fishes. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Links:
The Catholic Worker

See Also:
Day, D. (1981). The long loneliness: The autobiography of Dorothy Day. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Day, D., & Sicius, F. J. (2004). Peter Maurin: Apostle to the world. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books.