Sixty years ago today Martin Luther King made his famous speech to the crowds at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Joan Baez did the march with him and sang “We shall overcome”.
Not long after that, President Kennedy said: “One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free … Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promise. The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.”
Sixty years on from then, we need reminding that that freedom is still not really established. And the only thing that makes it marginally better in this country is the fact that our police are not routinely armed. So black people who are stopped and questioned or searched for whatever reason (still more often than white people, I think) are not so likely to be shot.
Another anniversary: seventy years ago the film “Roman Holiday” with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck was released, launching Ms Hepburn into stardom.
Just think, Audrey Tautou was named after her. If she hadn’t been given that name, would she have been as successful a film actress? I wonder. Goodness, it’s some twenty years since her film “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain” was released, a film I used to show to my A-level French students, as much for views of Paris as for the story line. There’s a coincidence, “Roman Holiday” showcased Rome to some extent and “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain” showcased Paris.
Incidentally, one of my former pupils, one pf those who saw the film with me, named her first daughter Amélie, French spelling, accent and everything. Perhaps just a little coincidence!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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