Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday to MLK

As part of the campaign to have a day honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, in 1981 Stevie Wonder released the song, “Happy Birthday.”

Martin Luther King Jr.On January 15 in 1929, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  Today we celebrate that birth.

A generation has grown up with the third Monday in January being Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Thus, it may be difficult for some to understand why there was a debate about whether or not to have a day of celebration for the great man.

The Work for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A campaign for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day started not long after King’s assassination in 1968.  But the day did not become a federal holiday until 1983 when Pres. Ronald Reagan signed it into law.   Even then, some were opposed to the holiday.  Pres. Reagan initially was opposed to it, citing cost concerns.

But the matter did not end in 1983, and it took time for some states to get on board to make it a state holiday. In the early 1990s, Arizona received much criticism for its failure to have an official paid holiday after Gov. Evan Mechan rescinded an order from the previous governor, Bruce Babbit, who had made the day a holiday.

Eventually, Arizona recognized the day through a popular referendum (after an earlier one lost in 1990). New Hampshire was the last state to have a day named after MLK, adopting it in 1999 (the state had adopted the day as “Civil Rights Day” in 1991).  South Carolina was the last state to adopt the holiday as a paid holiday for state employees, and that occurred in 2000.

Time marches on. Just as kids today may not understand how MLK Day was even an issue in the 1980s and 1990s, it is hard for me, born in the 1960s, to comprehend the violent discrimination that went on in the 1950s and 1960s. And I’m sure most of the kids who were alive in 1911 did not understand how people kept a race of people in slavery just fifty years earlier.

Humans can be pretty stupid, but fortunately, a lot of times we start to figure things out, even if it takes a long time. And we still have a lot to figure out when it comes to discrimination against others.

Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday”

One person who does have great perception of human beings is Stevie Wonder. In 1980, when people were debating whether MLK Day should be a federal holiday, Stevie Wonder recorded a song asking why something so logical was taking so long.  He released “Happy Birthday” in 1981.

In “Happy Birthday,” Wonder reminded people why Martin Luther King Jr. deserved a special holiday.

The time is overdue,
For people like me and you,
Who know the way to truth,
Is love and unity to all God’s children.


It should be a great event,
And the whole day should be spent,
In full remembrance
Of those who lived and died for the oneness of all people.


So let us all begin
We know that love can win
Let it out don’t hold it in
Sing it loud as you can,
Happy birthday to you.

So, crank it up and take some time to celebrate the birth of a great human being. Sing it loud as you can. Happy Birthday to You! And thanks.

 

 

Bonus MLK Songs: See a discussion of 15 songs inspired by MLK.

Buy from Amazon

I’ll Die With a Buzzer in My Hand!

Tonight on Jeopardy, one of the three contestants will be an IBM computer taking on two former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. It is a battle of human against machine.

The classic human-versus-machine song is “John Henry.” Historians debate about who was the person who inspired the folk tale. But most seem to agree that somewhere at some point, there was a real person or persons who inspired the legend.

There are various versions of the song about the folk hero. In most versions of the story, John Henry is a railroad worker who, to save the jobs of his co-workers, claims he can beat the railroad company’s new steam-powered hammer. The tale and the song represent modern human beings’ attempts to maintain dignity in the face of rising corporate and technological powers. Although the various song versions differ, the lyrics from the song made famous by Pete Seeger include:

John Henry told his captain,
“A man ain’t nothin’ but a man,
But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I’d die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord.
I’d dies with a hammer in my hand.”

There are many great versions of the song by people such as Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash. There’s a blues version with some great guitar playing by Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Here’s another version by Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Session Band that is a little less raw and a little more like a celebration of John Henry’s sacrifice.

John Henry beat the machine, but in the end he died. Tonight, we doubt there will be any deaths, but can Jennings and Rutter beat the machine? Please answer in the form of a question.

Post-Match Update: The computer won. But this match was just a warm up for a one-million dollar rematch that will be broadcast February 16, so there may still be hope for the humans.

  • Jeopardy: Humans vs. Machine Continues
  • The Heroic Death of Folksinger Victor Jara
  • What Quiz Show Recently Devoted an Entire Category to Bruce Springsteen?
  • Anniversary of “The Grapes of Wrath”
  • Watch Night, Emancipation, and “Mary Don’t You Weep”
  • Tom Joad’s Inspiration

    • (Related Posts)

    Will Gov. Quinn Sign the Death Penalty Bill?

    Yesterday, the Illinois Legislature passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in that state. In order for the bill to become law, the governor must sign it. The bill now sits on Governor Pat Quinn’s desk, and he has said that he does not yet know what he will do.

    Lethal Injection ChamberIllinois has been a leader in the death penalty debate in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if the governor has the courage to accept the role in abolishing the death penalty. After several Illinois death row inmates were found to be innocent in the 1990s, then-Gov. George Ryan ordered a commission to review the criminal justice system and he ultimately commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois’s death row. The results from the commission, and studies by other states inspired by Illinois, in effect, found that there are so many flaws in the criminal justice system, that we can never be sure that we will not execute an innocent person.

    Fifteen states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty, and there has been a strong worldwide trend for decades to get rid of the death penalty. Yet, when we hear about a violent crime, like the recent tragic shootings in Arizona, our first reaction is to reach for the lethal injection needle. That quest for revenge is normal and human, but it is also normal and human to act out of rational thought instead of anger. And rational thought and experience tell us that the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison, ineffective, racist, inaccurate, and discriminates against the poor.

    Steve Earle touches on several of these themes in his excellent song, “Billy Austin.” The stark tale is narrated by a death row inmate who is part Native American. He does not claim to be innocent, and he describes committing a murder during a filling station robbery. The song then addresses the trial, referencing the poor representation often given to those charged with capital crimes. Earle seems to be telling us that the death penalty is not given based on the worst crimes, it is given based on what happens in a courtroom.

    But my trial was over quickly
    And then the long hard wait began
    Court appointed lawyer
    Couldn’t look me in the eye
    He just stood up and closed his briefcase
    When they sentenced me to die

    The narrator then describes the wait on death row, touching on the racism in the system.

    I ain’t about to tell you
    That I don’t deserve to die
    But there’s twenty-seven men here
    Mostly black, brown and poor
    Most of em are guilty
    Who are you to say for sure?

    And the song ends with another question.

    Could you take that long walk with me
    Knowing hell is waitin’ there
    Could you pull that switch yourself sir
    With a sure and steady hand
    Could you still tell yourself
    That you’re better than I am.

    And those are the questions that face Gov. Quinn. If he does not sign the bill, he will be the one pulling the switch on everyone executed in Illinois from this day forward. And that is a heavy responsibility to bear. Because the death penalty ultimately is not about the person being killed, it is about who we are.

    Bonus Governors’ Dilemmas in Other States: In the past week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen granted clemency to men on death row. Meanwhile, also in the last week, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter granted a posthumous pardon to Joe Arridy, who was executed in 1936, because evidence now shows Arridy was innocent.

    Bonus Discussion of Another Steve Earle Song on the Death Penalty:  Justice Stevens and Steve Earle’s “Ellis Unit One.”

  • Illinois Abolishes Death Penalty: Steve Earle’s Over Yonder
  • “Nebraska” and the Death Penalty
  • Dylan’s “Julius & Ethel”
  • The Journey of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” From the Scaffold to the Screen
  • The End of Maryland’s Death Penalty and “Green, Green Grass of Home”
  • The Killing of “Two Good Men”

    • (Related Posts)

    The Last Family Member from Ozzie & Harriett Passes

    David Nelson, of the TV series Ozzie and Harriett, passed away yesterday at the age of 74. The Ozzie and Harriett show ran on ABC from 1952 to 1966, and it had started as a radio show in 1944, although the radio children were played by other actors for the first four years.

    For those of us who only have seen the show in syndication, it may seem old-fashioned. We see it like the TV series in the movie Pleasantville, a world waiting to be changed by our modern views, liberations, and freedoms. Yes, the show was the product of its time, but it was not such a bad thing to show family love in the relatively new medium of TV. And the show was a landmark TV series, setting the stage for family comedies ranging from The Cosby Show to Modern Family.

    Although he is less famous than his late brother Rick Nelson — who had a successful rock and roll career and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — David Nelson was well-regarded on the show and went on to be in other TV roles and to own his own production company. Most importantly, David and Ricky were the ones who convinced their parents to do the TV show. So without their childhood nagging, TV viewers would have been much poorer. It is a good lesson that sometimes we should listen to the kids. Rest in peace, David.

    Beware of Black Swan Hype (Short Review)

    One of the main purposes of Chimesfreedom is to write about things we enjoy and to spread the word about good movies and music and their connections to our history.  I do not want to waste time writing about things that are not enjoyable.  But because Black Swan is getting such raves from most critics, it seems worthwhile to sound a brief dissent.  Yes, there are positive aspects of the film, such as that Natalie Portman does an excellent job in the ballet scenes.  And maybe we are not the target audience for this film or maybe our expectations were too high because of the positive reviews.  You may love the film . . . but how do we keep our general positive spin while still sounding a warning that some may not enjoy Black Swan ?  Here’s our attempt.

    Review of Black Swan:  If you:  (1) like movies with cutting, blood, and disturbing scenes; (2) think that a one-note performance of looking confused all of the time is great acting; and (3) enjoy predictable stories that feature caricatures instead of portrayals of real human beings. . . you will love Black Swan. 

    End of review.