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Fun facts about Martin Luther King and “I Have a Dream”

As we remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a national holiday this past Monday, looking back on his impressive work with the American Civil Rights movement, his inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech comes to mind. Delivered 48 years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Dr. King’s speech still resonates today. As an essential part of the Civil Rights movement, King was an inspiration to many at that time and we need to do our part to ensure his message lives on each day.

In memory of Dr. King, we had a fun time compiling some interesting facts about him as well as his famous speech:

• Delivered on August 28, 1963, “I Have a Dream” is a 17-minute speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination.
• The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.
• Believe it or not, the “I Have a Dream” speech was originally titled “Normalcy, Never Again” and the first drafts never included the phrase “I have a dream.”
• Near the end of the speech, famous African American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King from the crowd, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Dr. King stopped delivering his prepared speech and started preaching, punctuating his points with “I have a dream.”
• Beyond the biblical scripture, the speech contains references to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and even Shakespeare.
• Dr. King was so busy organizing the march even 12 hours before he was scheduled to stand in front of the masses at the Lincoln Memorial, he didn’t even know what he was going to talk about, much less have anything written.
• January 20, 1986, was the first national celebration of King’s birthday as a holiday.
• Despite “I Have a Dream” considered the top speech of all time by American Rhetoric Martin Luther King Jr. received a “C” in his public speaking class.
• He won the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964, as the youngest and second black recipient of the award.
• Graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1948.
• Was born Michael Luther King Jr., but after his father changed his first name to Martin when he became a minister. The younger Michael changed his name to Martin as well, initially against his father’s wishes.
• Is the only U.S. citizen to have a national holiday dedicated to him.
• Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” (1963)
• Was an original Trekkie as a fan of the original Star Trek TV series and even encouraged Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) to remain on the show.
• He stated that he would not live to be 40. He died aged 39.
• Among his personal, non-violent reform heroes was Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).
• During his funeral, his casket was pulled by a mule-driven cart down Atlanta’s main street.
• No meat for him! Dr. King was a vegetarian.
• In 1988 on his 60th birthday, the U.S. government unveiled a statue memorial to commemorate the progress of civil rights.

[Facts vis CafeMom and MLK Online]

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3fold is collecting donations for Stanford Settlement this holiday season with a little extra help from our friends. After all, six businesses gathering donations is better than one!

Starting Monday, December 5 through Saturday, December 10, a bin will be traveling to different businesses and organizations throughout Downtown and Midtown Sacramento collecting nonperishable food and wrapping paper donations for Stanford Settlement.

Where will the bin be traveling?

• Monday, 12/5: Jiffy Lube Downtown; 3000 Capitol Avenue
• Tuesday, 12/6: Bows and Arrows; 1815 19th street
• Wednesday, 12/7: B Street Theatre; 2711 B Street
• Thursday, 12/8: Esquire IMAX Theatre; 1211 K Street
• Friday, 12/9: Café Bernardo Midtown; 2726 Capitol Avenue
• Saturday, 12/10 (Second Saturday!): The Urban Hive; 1931 H Street

How you can help?

Find the bin and donate wrapping paper or nonperishable food. Spread the word! Tell your friends about the traveling bin using your social networks. You can track conversation about the bin on Twitter using the hashtag #TravelingBin

Who you’ll be helping?

Stanford Settlement’s Operation Cratchit project. Operation Cratchit has provided assistance to families during the holidays for over 40 years. Over 700 households will be served this year, receiving food, grocery store gift certificates for perishable food items, wrapping paper and gifts for children.

Thanks to the hosting businesses and organizations for helping us collect donations, and to everyone for spreading the word and donating!

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Veteran’s Day is tomorrow and I am proud to say 3fold Communications will be closed for the day. Sure we’ll miss doing all the fun, creative and result-generating work for our incredible clients but as a veteran of the U.S. Navy, I personally am thankful we are taking the day off. Today I sent around a quick email to remind our team some important things about Veteran’s Day. Besides being a day off from work, it is a day to remember all the service members who gave up a bit of their lives to serve in our armed forces.

I don’t advocate war and don’t think everything we do with our military is right BUT that doesn’t discount the sacrifices our military service people have made for our country. Many of us have served at different points in time where America had different attitudes about our armed forces.

National pride was at an all-time high after World War II and those returning from service were met with ticker-tape parades. Fast forward 25 years and those men and women returning from Vietnam were met with protests and harassment, never quite getting the appreciation they deserved for the arduous conditions and graphic scenes they endured.

I encourage all of you tomorrow or over the weekend to find a vet – a friend, a relative, a stranger – and say thank you! It doesn’t matter whether or not we served overseas or in time of war, we all played a role in supporting our country and sacrificing so the simple “thank you” means a lot!

If your office happens to be open tomorrow, make sure to do something special for your veteran employees — buy them lunch, shake their hand, or just give them the day off. Taking the time to recognize their service will mean a lot. Many of us have fond memories about our time in service and the friends we made, touches like this give us the opportunity to reflect and be proud of our service.

Everybody has had a different experience and have some great stories to share. Don’t be afraid to ask a veteran about their time in but be aware of sensitive areas. Be thankful and share in the history we all were a part of shaping.

In case you are wondering how exactly we got to have Veteran’s Day as a holiday, here is an informative video from the History Channel.

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Attention brands! Need a sneaky new way to sell your products in 2010? Try doing good.

According to new findings from the 3rd annual Edelman Consumer Study, 57% of consumers globally say a company or brand has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes. The study also found that 83% of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live.

Need ideas for how you can do good and still sell products? Our favorite this holiday season is called TheBigWarmUp from Lands End. Here’s how it works: bring a used Lands End coat to a participating store, then get 20% off your purchase of a new coat. The campaign benefits homeless shelters across the country, including The Gathering Inn of Roseville (<–3Fold client!) While their micro-site is fabulous–with interactive graphs showing the increase in Boston homeless, lists of participating stores, and a to-date total of collected coat, my favorite part is their video. Do yourself a favor and click the link. Just make sure you have a couple tissues ready to blot off the mascara that’s going to run down your cheeks. And, don’t forget to look closely at the end of the video for a surprise.

How’s your family or company going to “do good” this holiday season? What creative things have you seen other brands do to incorporate giving and selling?

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