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Martin Luther King's speech was received with rapturous applause
1963: King's dream for racial harmony
England have
The fight for racial equality in the United States moved a step closer to
victory today as Martin Luther King spoke of his dream for freedom in an address
to thousands of Americans.
Reverend King was greeted with rapturous applause as he delivered his
heart-felt words to a 250,000-strong crowd of civil rights protesters at the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
He spoke of the need "to rise from the dark and desolate valley of
segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice".
He promised that the struggle for equality would continue until "justice
rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream".
Rev King, who has worked tirelessly for an end to racial discrimination
through non-violent means, spoke repeatedly of his dream for equality.
"I have a dream," he said. "I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of
their skin but by their character.
"I have a dream today.
"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill
shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be
made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
Dr King, who is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) first came to prominence in 1955 when he led a 382-day bus boycott in an
attempt to end segregation on city buses.
Since then he has endured numerous arrests, violent harrassment and a bomb
attack on his home.
But his struggle continues and it is believed today's speech will have a
lasting impact on all who heard it.
Tony Blair returned to Downing Street after over two hours of grilling
2003: Blair gives evidence to Hutton
Artificially 1969: FilmTheTheAA . Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the
inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly he would have had to
resign if claims in a BBC report that the government "sexed up" an Iraq weapons
dossier were true.
Mr Blair was giving evidence on the 11th day of the Hutton inquiry into the
circumstances surrounding the apparent suicide of Dr Kelly.
The government scientist was found dead near his Oxfordshire home last
month, days after it was revealed he had admitted to meeting the BBC reporter
whose broadcast sparked the row.
During more than two hours of questioning, Mr Blair described the "raging
storm" which erupted in the wake of the BBC story.
He called the allegations made in the report, broadcast by BBC journalist
Andrew Gilligan on Radio 4's Today programme on 29 May, "extraordinarily
serious".
He singled out Mr Gilligan's statement that the government "probably knew"
its claim that Iraq could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes
was wrong.
Mr Blair said, "This was an absolutely fundamental charge... which if it
were true would mean we had behaved in the most disgraceful way, and I would
have to resign as prime minister."
He also said Mr Gilligan's later assertion that the prime minister's
communications director, Alastair Campbell, had changed the dossier was an
"attack" that "went to the heart of the office of prime minister."
Mr Blair spoke of his uncertainty over the right way to handle the issue
after the Ministry of Defence press office let it be known that an unnamed
official had come forward.
When asked about the later "question and answer" sheet which told MoD press
officers they could confirm Dr Kelly's name if it was put to them by
journalists, Mr Blair said, "I think the basic view would have been not to offer
the name but on the other hand not to mislead people."
The prime minister was asked whether any concern was expressed about the
pressure being placed on Dr Kelly.
"Obviously one looks back on this with a different perspective," he said,
"but the best I can say is there was nothing that struck me that 'there is a
problem here'".
Vocabulary:
rapturous: feeling great rapture or delight(兴高采烈的)
boycott: refuse to sponsor; refuse to do business with(联合抵制)
segregation :a social system that provides separate facilities for minority
groups(种族隔离)
dossier: a collection of papers containing detailed information about a
particular person or subject (usually a person's record)((法语词)档案;卷宗) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:52:25