https://runyanprogramnotes.com/joseph-schwantner/new-morning-world-daybreak-freedom
Today, January 15, 2024, the United States celebrates a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 95th birthday. This day holds great significance for American democracy and also serves as the formal beginning of the 2024 US presidential election year, with the first GOP Republican Caucus taking place in Iowa. The outcome of this election year will play a vital role in determining the future of the American experiment in self-government. The country has not faced a constitutional crisis of this magnitude since the Civil War.
As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is important to reflect on the values he stood for and fought for throughout his lifetime. A key aspect of his vision was the idea of a government that truly represented and served its people – a government of, by, and for the people.
In 2024, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in American history. The upcoming presidential election will determine whether we continue down the path towards true democracy, or if we risk losing our hard-won rights and freedoms to a monarchy-like rule.
At stake is not just the future leadership of our country, but also the very essence of our democracy. We must ask ourselves: are we willing to let one authoritarian leader — unfit to govern in a democracy —have unchecked power, or do we believe in the power of the people to collectively make decisions for the greater good?
So, let’s make use of the Great Invocation “with massed intent” as we commemorate this Holy Day dedicated to the memory of a racial avatar, the last MLK commemoration before the momentous year of 2025.
New Morning for the World “Daybreak of Freedom”
“There comes a time when people get tired – tired of being segregated and humiliated,
tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of oppression.”1“We are going to walk non-violently and peacefully to let the nation and the world know
that we are tired now. We’ve lived with slavery and segregation three hundred and
forty-five years. We waited a long time for freedom.”2“Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson
etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. For more than two centuries, our fore parents labored in this
country without wages – and built the homes of their masters in the midst of brutal
injustice and shameful humiliation. And yet out of a bottomless vitality, they continued
to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the
opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred
heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing
demands.”3
“Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy. Now is the time to rise from
the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now
is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God’s children. We
cannot walk alone. As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march
ahead. We cannot turn back. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied
until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”4
“We’re on the move now – neither the burning of our churches nor the beating and
killing of our clergymen will stop us. We’re on the move now – my people listen! The
battle is in our hands – I know some of you are asking, “How long will it take?” I
come to say to you however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will
not be long because truth pressed to the earth will rise again. How long? Not long
because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long because you will reap what you
sow. How long? Not long because the arm of the moral universe is long but it bends
toward justice.”5
“When the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have
pause and say, “There lived a great people – a black people – who injected new
meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.” This is our challenge and our
responsibility.” “6
“I have a dream.”7
“The dream is one of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely
distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to
give luxuries to the few; a dream of a land where men do not argue that the color of
a man’s skin determines the content of his character; a dream of a place where all our
gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone but as instruments of service for
the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity
and worth of all human personality, and men will dare to live together as brothers.
Whenever it is fulfilled, we will emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of
man’s inhumanity to man into the bright and glowing daybreak of freedom and
justice for all of God’s children.”8https://www.esm.rochester.edu/uploads/EWE_9-21-22_consecutive.pdf
- From STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1958 by
Martin Luther King, Jr.- From BEHIND THE SELMA MARCH by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1965 by
Martin Luther King, Jr.- From LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1963,
1964 by Martin Luther King, Jr.- From I HAVE A DREAM by Martin Luther King, Jr. @ Copyright 1963 by Martin Luther
King, Jr.- From BEHIND THE SELMA MARCH by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1965 by
Martin Luther King, Jr.- From STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1958 by
Martin Luther King, Jr.- From I HAVE A DREAM by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright 1963 by Martin Luther
King, Jr.- @ Copyright 1958, 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr.
All the above used by permission of JOAN DAVES
The Great Invocation (1940)
Let the Lords of Liberation issue forth.
Let them bring succour to the sons of men.
Let the Rider from the Secret Place come forth,
And coming, save. Come forth, O Mighty One.
Let the souls of men awaken to the light.
And may they stand with massed intent.
Let the fiat of the Lord go forth:
The end of woe has come!
Come forth, O Mighty One.
The hour of service of the saving force has now arrived.
Let it be spread abroad, O Mighty One.
Let Light and Love and Power and Death
Fulfill the purpose of the Coming One.
The WILL to save is here.
The LOVE to carry forth the work is widely spread abroad.
The ACTIVE AID of all who know the truth is also here.
Come forth, O Mighty One, and blend these three.
Construct a great defending wall.
The rule of evil NOW must end.
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