MLK is Blowin' in the Wind

Before Martin Luther King, Jr. took the podium at the Lincoln Memorial to give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, there was another famous address that had the same message of peace and justice.

Peter, Paul, and Mary sang “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Bob Dylan’s words, sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary, soon made it to the Billboard’s Top 10 hits.

The folk trio helped elevate the voice of the up-and-coming Bob Dylan.

Dylan’s lyrics echo King's sentiments.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King wrote, “For years now, I have heard the word ‘Wait!’… This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’”

In Dylan’s lyrics, you can hear King’s frustration and preaching: “How many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free?”

King continued in his letter, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Similarly, Dylan’s words, “Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see?”

When we listen to “Blowin’ in the Wind” we can still hear Martin Luther King’s voice.

It’s up to us to be like Peter, Paul, and Mary and amplify the voice of others who have something important to say.