H.O. Brittingham students enthralled by MLK orator

The Rev. Dr. John G. Moore Sr. stressed important lessons for students attending a Black History Month presentation at H.O. Brittingham Elementary.

“The greatest way to achieve the dreams you have is to get the best education you can,” Moore said. “Make your dreams come true, and, up in heaven, Dr. King will be happy.”

In an intimate library setting, Moore told fifth-graders it was important to keep alive the history and message of Martin Luther King Jr., particularly since Rep. John Lewis is the only surviving organizer of the March on Washington.

King was the last speaker of the August 1963 civil rights protest at the Lincoln Memorial, Moore said.

“He talked for eight minutes, then his whole message shifted when [gospel singer] Mahalia Jackson urged him, ‘Tell them about the dream, Martin,’” Moore said.

At that, Moore said, King set his prepared remarks aside and launched into the extemporaneous part of his speech now known as ‘I Have a Dream.’

Students sat spellbound as Moore recited the speech in the booming melodic tone of the assassinated civil rights leader. Afterward, students asked how he was able to sound exactly like King.

“At age 11, I wanted to be the next Martin Luther King, so I started memorizing his speeches,” Moore said. “In just about four weeks, I had memorized the entire ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”

But memorizing the words was not enough. Moore said he listened to King’s speeches and practiced reciting them every day. When he was in the U.S. Air Force 25 years ago, he said, he got serious about mastering the speeches.

“I thought I could go on the road with it,” he said. “Now I’ve been all over the world doing it.” 

Moore talked about milestones in King’s life, from high school graduation to becoming an ordained minister, his marriage and family, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and his death at age 39.

When King was 6, Moore said, he knocked on the door of a white boy in his neighborhood  to ask him to play. The boy’s father wouldn’t let him play with King.

“Instead of getting mad, he wanted to change the world,” Moore said.