[APPLAUSE]
Thanks, because I love this so much.
You know, if-- speaking of Martin--
because Martin's a great man.
If Martin were with us today, I really
do think that he would have braids.
[LAUGHTER]
I think so.
I don't know if we could get him to go blond, but--
[LAUGHTER]
--he'd be fabulous.
You know, it's been a while.
And there's an exhibit that's on permanent exhibit
now in the Smithsonian.
And it's called, "In the Spirit of Martin."
And normally, when big museums do things,
they call the sculptures and the photographers and stuff.
They don't ever call the poets.
And so I was just thrilled when they called me,
because they wanted to reprint a poem of mine.
And it's like, you know, Nikki, can we reprint?
It's called "The Funeral of Martin Luther King."
And I said, you know, when's the exhibit?
And they said, well it's next year,
because the Smithsonian starts a year ahead of time.
And I said, well, in a year, I can write another poem.
And what I really wanted to do with this poem,
for Martin, is I wanted to put him in his time.
And then I wanted to bring him into our time,
because it's really so easy to forget
that when we met Martin Luther King, in 1955, you know,
how smug the country was.
We had those really dumb television shows,
Father Knows Best, right?
And so we've got Jim and Margaret
Anderson in Springfield, Illinois, right?
And they have these three children, Kitten,
and Bud, and Princess, right?
And FYI-- Kitten and Bud died of drug overdoses.
And Princess ended up-- for those of you who do television
history--
Princess ended up down in Mayberry,
being Andy Griffin's girlfriend.
But what I most liked about the show, as we follow the show,
is that Margaret, of course, left Jim,
because they're living in Springfield, Illinois, which
is home of the Klan.
And who wants to stay there?
But Margaret not only left Jim, but she
left Earth, moved up to Vulcan, married Ambassador Spock,
and had Spock, who became second officer.
[LAUGHTER]
It was wonderful.
You had that show, Donna Reed Show.
And you had June Cleaver, and all of them.
And they used to fascinate me.
And I know it's a cultural thing,
but you would see these white women
in stockings and high heels in their own homes.
[LAUGHTER]
And all the Black women that I knew,
when you walked in your house, you were taking your shoes off
when you walked in.
And the minute you can, you're rolling those stockings down.
So, as a kid, I'm always looking and thinking,
how come white women are always having high heels
and stockings on?
And they supposed to be at home.
And of course, both of them used to wear those little aprons,
those little lace aprons.
And I was always one of those kids that look things up,
you know what I'm saying?
So I was always going through all kinds
of dictionaries and stuff.
And I finally came upon a white woman who wore high heels
and still-- and stockings and aprons.
And that would be your basic French whore.
[LAUGHTER]
And so--
[LAUGHTER]
It made me feel better, so, oh, Donna Reed, you know,
is a French whore.
[LAUGHTER]
So it--
[LAUGHS]
It made sense to me.
I mean, you have to, you know, make sense
out of these kind of things.
But, you know, we were all stuck in that '50s period.
You know what I'm saying?
But also, I was laughing because he would.
If Martin were here, he would have braids.
I am not sure we could have him-- get him to go blonde.
He'd been fabulous as a blonde.
But I know he would have had a tattoo, though,
because everybody has a tattoo.
And she mentioned, but I have a tattoo.
And of course, my tattoo does say thug life.
And, of course, I don't know if we could
get Martin to say thug life.
Probably would have said something like, vote.
You know, one of those--
[LAUGHTER]
--a responsible tattoo.
But nonetheless, he would have had that.
And one of the things I've always wanted-- because Martin
had perfect cadence.
One of the things I've always wanted to hear is that speech
that is so erroneously called the "I Have a Dream" speech,
which it really isn't.
The speech is really the "we are here to cash a check" speech.
And I always wanted to hear, like, Ja Rule.
And I know the brother needs work,
but I always wanted to hear--
[LAUGHTER]
He do.
But I always wanted to hear Ja Rule, you know, rap that.
"We are here, here, here to cash a check, check, check, check
check.
You know--
[LAUGHTER]
--and bring it up to date, so that people
can be a part of it, because the ultimate goal is
to have that little, you know, first grader, second grader,
little girl.
But you know how they have no hips, you know.
And they're-- you know.
And so you're saying, now what you doing, Sugar?
I am here to cash a check.
You know, and you want to bring it up today,
instead of making it one of those kind of solemn
kind of sad kind of things, you know.
Bring it up today.
We all know, of course, that the first person
to be arrested for civil disobedience in the United
States was Henry David Thoreau.
And you know Thoreau had a friend named Ralph Emerson.
And, you know, every now and then they run polls to say,
you know, who would you like to have dinner with.
Thoreau, of course, makes the poll,
because he was always a fun guy.
You wouldn't mind having a drink with Thoreau.
But, you know, Emerson never makes
it, because Emerson, you know, he was a tight ass
and nobody liked him.
[LAUGHTER]
He was.
And so when Thoreau was arrested because of Walden, you know,
Emerson went to see him.
He called the Thoreau David.
And so it was one of those, David,
what are you doing in jail?
And so Thoreau looked at me, and said,
Ralph, what are you doing out?
[LAUGHTER]
And he was absolutely right, because when we move out
of Montgomery into Birmingham, as we
know, the founding-- the religious fathers
of Birmingham-- the seven religious fathers
of Birmingham-- are going to take out an ad.
And they're going to say to Martin Luther King, Jr.,
what are you doing in Birmingham,
troubling the waters?
And Martin is going to write one of the great documents
in American theological history, called,
"A Letter from Birmingham City Jail,"
why aren't you here with us?
Where is your Christian witness?
And he's absolutely right.
I wrote a poem, "In the Spirit of Martin."
"This is a sacred poem.
Blood has been shed to consecrate it.
Wash your hands.
Remove your shoes.
Bow your head.
I, I, I have a dream.
That was a magical time.
Hi ho, Silver, away.
Oh, Cisco, oh Pancho, here I come to save the day.
I want the world to see what they did to my boy.
No.
I'm not going to move.
If we are wrong, then the Constitution
of the United States is wrong.
Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma.
Four little girls.
Constant threats, constant harassment, constant fear.
SCLC, Ralph and Martin, Father Knows Best,
Leave it to Beaver, Ed Sullivan-- how long?
Not long.
But what, Mr. Thoreau said to Mr. Emerson, are you doing out?
This is a Letter from Birmingham City Jail.
This is a eulogy for Albany.
This is a water hose for Anniston.
This is a thank you to Diane Nash.
This is a flag for James Farmer.
This is a how can I make it without you to Ella Baker.
This is for the red clay of Georgia
that yielded Black men of courage, Black men of vision,
Black men of hopes, bent over cotton,
or sweet potatoes, or pool tables and baseball diamonds,
playing for a chance to live free, and breathe
easy, and have enough money to take care of the folks
they love.
This is why we can't wait.
That swirling Mississippi wind, the Alabama pine,
that Tennessee dust defiling the clothes the women washed,
those hot winds the lemonade couldn't
cool, they let the women know, we, too, must overcome.
This is for Fannie Lou Hamer, Jo Ann Robinson, Septima Clark,
Daisy Bates.
All the women who said, baby, baby, baby,
I know you didn't mean to lose your job.
I know you didn't mean to gamble the rent money.
I know you didn't mean to hit me.
I know the Lord is going to make a way.
I know I'm leaning on the everlasting arms.
How much pressure does the Earth exert on carbon
to make a diamond?
How long does the soil push against the flesh, molding,
molding, molding the moan that becomes
a cry, that bursts forth, crystalline, unbreakable,
priceless, incomparable Martin.
I made my vow to the Lord that I never would turn back.
How much pressure do the sins of the world press
against the heart of a man who becomes
the voice of his people?
He should have had a tattoo, you know, Freedom Now,
or something like that.
Should have braided his hair, carried his pool cue
in a mahogany case, wafted that wonderful laugh
over a plate of skillet-fried chicken,
drop biscuits, dandelion greens on the side.
This is a sacred poem.
Open your arms.
Turn your palms up.
Feel the spirit of greatness.
And be redeemed."
[APPLAUSE]