Commemorating Martin Luther King — part 2 of 6

In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UNMC Today will feature a series of photos and quotations from the civil rights leader. In today’s excerpt, King explains how we are beholden to more than half of the world — before we even leave for our jobs.

In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren and his sister, Brenda Council will make a joint presentation Monday, Jan. 17 at UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center. The free program will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the Storz Pavilion. Free lunch refreshments will be served for the first 250 people in attendance.

---

Martin Luther King delivers his “I Have A Dream” speech.

“All men are interdependent. Every nation is an heir of the vast treasury of ideas and labor to which both the living and the dead of all nations have contributed. Whether we realize it or not, each of us lives eternally ‘in the red.’ We are everlasting debtors to known and unknown men and women. When we arise in the morning, we go into the bathroom where we reach for sponge which was provided for us by a Pacific islander. We reach for soap that is created for us by a European. Then at the table we drink coffee which is proved for us by a South American, or tea by a Chinese or cocoa by a West African. Before we leave for our jobs we are already beholden to more than half of the world.”

Taken from “The Words of Martin Luther King Jr.” Selected by Coretta Scott King. Newmarket Press, New York, 1987.