Both quotes taken from the speech Address to the First Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting, December 5, 1955 (four days prior Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to a white man):
"We are not afraid of what we are doing, because we are doing it within the law. There is never a time in our American democracy that we must ever think we are wrong when we protest. We reserve that right. When labor all over this nation came to see that it would be trampled over by capitalistic power, it was nothing wrong with labor getting together and organizing and protesting for its rights." (pg. 11)
Dr. King, Jr's words is pretty timely considering the teachers' strikes in W. VA and Oklahoma in 2018 and the new LA United School teachers' strike going on right now. I was vaguely aware of Dr. King's constant connection between economic and social struggles, but I thought that came later in his speeches.
"...But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love...Standing beside love is always justice..." (pg. 11-12)
This reminded me of a special weekend at my childhood church, when we were visited by representatives from various religious social justice groups. The saying "Know Justice, Know Peace; No Justice, No Peace" was repeated so often that it truly stuck with me (even after I left the church and the religion in my late teens) and is what I try to live my life by. At the time, I thought it was just a cool saying made up by people who were doing good work among the most marginalized in society; never occurred to me it was the continuance of Dr. King's work.
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