and you know, if I were standing
(only when it is dark enough...)
at the beginning of time,
with the possibility of taking a kind of general and
panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now,
and the almighty said to me,
"Martin Luther King,
which age would you like to live in?"
I would take my mental flight
(but I wouldn't stop there)
and I would watch God's children
(but I wouldn't stop there)
(but I wouldn't stop there)
(but I wouldn't stop there)
if you allow me to live just a few years
in the second half of the twentieth century,
I will be happy
now that's a strange statement to make,
because the world is all messed up.
the nation is sick.
trouble is in the land; confusion all around.
that's a strange statement.
but I know, somehow, that
only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.
(survival)
that men in some strange way are responding.
something is happening in our world.
the ma**es of people are rising up.
and wherever they are a**embled today,
whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa;
Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta,
Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee —
the cry is always the same:
"we want to be free."
(I wouldn't stop there)
it is no longer the choice between violence and non-
violence in this world,
it's non-violence or non-existence
that is where we are today
we will walk together or we will die together
let us stand with a greater determination
let us move on in these powerful days.