“Nine d ays” by Stephen Kedrick and Paul Kedrick. “The Rae to Save Martin Luther King Jr’s Life and Win the 1960 Election.
Goveror Janet T. Mills (D), the first woman governor of Maine and its first woman AG, issued the following statement today in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. imparted upon us many enduring lessons, one of which he delivered personally when visintig Maine.: When asked by a Bowdoin College student what Dr. King’s message of equality had to do with the student, Dr. King responded: “If your conscience stops at the border of Maine, then you are less then who you should be.” On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, may we remind ourselves of that lesson and of our responsbility to serve one another – and may we reaffirm the dignity and equality of all people and recommit ourselves to building a state of opportunity for all where bigotry, hate and prejudice find no refuge.” It would have been his 95th birthday.
“I find it really telling that the Mayor of Portland never issued a statement on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today. Mayor Dion certainly has a platform to make his respect known for this leader, if he wants to,” said this blogger. “As the political leader of Maine’s largest city, Mayor Dion missed an opportunity to call for unity among the races here.”
I have often reflected on the message of Dr. Martin Luther King whether it was doing day labor as a trash collector for Labor Ready svcs which used to be located decades ago where the food co-op is today at the foot of Munjoy Hill or I was a guest worker in Selma , Alabama planting trees when I wasn’t visiting the Hooters that used to be located just on the other side of the Edmund Pettit bridge. In the pictures of Dr. king’s nonviolent protest there the building seems to have been a furniture store back in those days before I was born and Dr King was alive. I have always thought Dr King’s speeches and actions imparted much-needed dignity to that back-breaking labor which was great exercise for about 10-15 hrs a week: certainly not 30 or 40.