MARLIN & EAST WACO
The FORGOTTEN VOICES – The UNHEARD WHISPERS
Communities in Recession for over 20 years ~
Can you remember their voices?
Lately, we’ve been so caught in the whirlwind of devastation caused by the more national or should I say global recession that we’ve silently forgotten about communities that have been slowly dying over the last twenty years due to chronicles of misfortunate events within their own communities.
Have we forgotten the DREAM? As I prepared for this article I poured over with great diligence the speech “I Have a Dream” that the late great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr delivered on that historic day in 1963 and was reintroduced to the passion and anointing that he possessed. Coming from the generation that didn’t experience the civil rights movement in the trenches you tend to forget or even take for granted the foundation that was laid before you. However, as we dangle in this recession consumed with the here and now, can you hear the whispers of those that have been suffering all along? “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” He states with passion and defiance’. Forty seven years later we are still in a state of the fierce urgency of now.
Do we still have a dream? “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” Dr. King, Jr states. What is that American dream? He says “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” I once heard someone say, “If your works don’t live beyond you, then you’ve accomplished nothing.” As we celebrate his birthday on January 18 I can truly say…”Yes, We Have a Dream.
This past summer the slain civil rights leader’s legacy, his son, Martin Luther King III marched into East Waco and Marlin, Texas to host a symbolic protest against the racial social economic issues that are still very fierce and ever presently now. “One thing my father talked about was the triple evils that needed to be eradicated: poverty, racism and militarism,” King said. “In race, we’ve made incredible strides. But in the area of poverty and militarism, we have made almost no progress. “I believe that even in the midst of a financial crisis, we have the ability to come together and at least reduce, perhaps to wipe out, poverty. Everyone in America ought to be able to have a decent home, a decent education and a decent job.”
Marlin and East Waco were once national treasures one known for its precious mineral water with mystical healing qualities and the other superior education with Paul Quinn College. It has wonderful diamonds that are currently in the rough needing some fine tuned mining. It was laid on my heart to hopefully bring national attention to these communities and others like it to open our eyes to the recession they’ve been living in decades.
There are local organizations, churches, individuals and businesses making a difference everyday inching one step closer to the true essence of ‘freedom for all’. Can you picture yourself in his dream? I can, I am his dream.
By the voice,
KWBU PBS MLK III Visit to East Waco/Marlin
Click above to listen
MLK III in Marlin TX
by Chris Tomlinson
Walking Tour of East Waco -
MLK III & RTD Bringing Hope
Click above to read article from Waco Trib
News8Austin Report 7-10 re: MLK III Visit
Click above to view video by Bonnie Gonzalez
Click above to view his video
