BerThaddaeus Bailey, 24, first heard Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech in sixth grade.
I really didnt understand it, Bailey said, but I was just intrigued with how he said it, the passion behind his words.
Bailey, a Tulsa native, was introduced to the speech and King through a competition challenging local students to recite the speech from memory. Though Bailey didnt enter that year, he did enter in eighth grade and placed third. He returned to the competition as a sophomore in high school and won the first-place prize: a college scholarship.
It wasnt until my 10th-grade year that I had a good grasp of what Dr. King was really saying in that speech, Bailey said, and Ive had a passion for his speeches and sermons ever since.
A talk with his mother gave him the context that made the difference.
She said, You know it by memory, but you have to get it from memory to heart, Bailey said. So she sat down with me, I can recall, and shared some videos and stories that transpired during those times and just made me aware of what it was that Dr. King was really saying, how it was relevant to some of the situations and occurrences that were happening. And it wasnt until she did that that I was able to piece together the passion that I was once intrigued by.
Bailey, now a public speaker reciting many of Kings speeches as well as delivering his own at events across the country, is currently planning a 50-year retrospective and commemoration to mark the anniversary of Kings death in April.
This speech, I think, is more relevant today than it was when Dr. King delivered it over 50 years ago, Bailey said. And Im really saying that because in those days, racism and discrimination were the status quo. There was no one trying to hide their racism because they didnt have to hide it. But when you look at todays times, most racism is covert racism. Its done under the table. Its prejudice and discrimination that happens when nobody can see it. Its systemic. Its done by leaving minorities and African-Americans out of places of power.
But Bailey said he has sometimes questioned the impact King has on society today and whether continuing to deliver his speeches to modern audiences has any effect.
I got to a point not long ago that I was just kind of like, Whats the purpose? Bailey said. Ive been doing this for so long. I mean, you see so much that happens; you see our country is still divided. I was just saying to myself, What is the point of still doing this? Nobody is getting it. They werent getting it 50 years ago; they havent got it in the 50 years since he said it, and theyre not getting it now. Theres been times when I started saying the speech and people have walked out. People have rolled their eyes. People have come up to me after and told me, You dont know what youre talking about. Why are you doing that speech? Its not relevant anymore. And I have to think, Really? Given all that is happening in todays times?
Bailey ultimately decided that continuing to deliver Kings words to modern audiences gave them a needed context missing from todays internet culture.
Some people will take bits and pieces of Dr. Kings speech and they twist it, Bailey said. They twist the meaning of it. And Im saying to myself in my head, If you were to read the speech, you could really get the context of what Dr. King was really saying, and it wasnt that. It wasnt what youre trying to make him say. We have to have his words. We have to have his message and still recite it throughout society today because, I think, for the most part, were still looking for a leader. Im still looking to Dr. King like my parents were.
In the Oklahoma City metro, several events are scheduled to commemorate Kings legacy on Monday. The 21st annual Midwest City Prayer Breakfast begins at 7 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel at the Reed Conference Center. At 9 a.m., a silent march honoring the legacy of similar marches that took place during the civil rights movement will begin at Freedom Center on Martin Luther King Avenue and proceed to Oklahoma History Center for a ceremonial ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell. A holiday program featuring musical performances, guest speakers and a benediction will begin at 12:15 p.m. and continue until 2 p.m., at the start of the parade featuring floats designed to convey this years theme, The Power of One.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Events
Prayer Breakfast 7-10 a.m. Monday Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center 5750 Will Rogers Road, Midwest City | $15Job Fair | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday Henrietta B. Foster Center 614 NE Fourth St. | Free
Opening Ceremony and Silent March 9 a.m. Monday Freedom Center 2609 N. Martin Luther King Ave. Free
Bell Ringing | 11 a.m. Monday Oklahoma History Center 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive | Free
Holiday Program 12:15-2 p.m. St. Pauls Cathedral 127 NW Seventh St. | Free
Parade | 2 p.m. Monday St. Pauls Cathedral 127 NW Seventh St. | okcmlk.org
Note: Oklahoma City Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Coalition is still looking for volunteers and parade marshals. Visit okcmlk.org or call William Jones at 405-306-8440.
BerThaddaeus Bailey speaking engagements
Sunday | Northeast Missionary Baptist Church 3815 N. Bartell Road | 405-424-7934Tuesday | Harding Fine Arts Academy 3333 N. Shartel Ave. | 405-702-4322
Jan. 29 | Langston University 701 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, Langston
Print headline: Kings speech; A Tulsa man travels the country reciting Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs famous speech, hoping to spark change.