Finding Inspiration, Guidance in the Words of Dr. King

Groton School Headmaster Temba Maqubela expressed hope that, amidst uprisings in American cities following the tragic death of George Floyd, people will listen to the words that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered at Groton School in 1963.

 

“Use the inspiration of Martin Luther King to get through,” Mr. Maqubela advised, recalling how the words of Nelson Mandela provided him with strength while he was exiled from South Africa for his anti-apartheid activities.

 

“The one bright light was Nelson Mandela, who was in jail at the time,” the headmaster said. “His words kept us going, just as the words of Martin Luther King kept people going in the sixties."

 

Dr. King spent two days at Groton in early February, 1963, six months before he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. He was invited by the headmaster, the Reverend John Crocker, who introduces him in the recording.

Fifty-seven years ago, Dr. King shared words with the Groton community that he could deliver today: "The American dream reminds us that every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. But ever since the founding fathers dreamed this dream, America has been divided against herself. On the one hand we have proudly professed the principles of democracy, and on the other hand we have sadly practiced the very opposite of those principles."

He also said: "In the final analysis, racial discrimination must be uprooted from American society because it is morally wrong.  . . .  those individuals in our nation who are working to bring an end to segregation and racial discrimination may well be the saviors of democracy, and they are the individuals who are struggling to save the soul of our nation."

 

Mr. Maqubela, the father of three Black men and the grandfather of two Black boys, said he finds hope in the words of Dr. King. The name "Temba" means hope, and Mr. Maqubela's  eldest grandson shares that name. 

"What’s going on in our country right now is a direct hit in the gut," said Mr. Maqubela. "That hope keeps me grounded in the belief that light at the end of the tunnel overcomes darkness."