We Shall Overcome

A little while ago a good Zimbabwean friend of mine posted a speech from Martin Luther King on Facebook.

I was surprised, because this actually was my favourite speech from the man who meant so much for the civil rights movement in the US. 'We shall overcome' might not be as well known as his famous 'I have a dream' speech, but it is equally powerful and still appeals to many all over the world.

When I later met my friend and referred to his posting, he could recite most of the words Martin Luther King spoke in 1968 the day before his assassination. It made me smile, not only because I could also recite most of the text, but mainly because I had always felt that Martin Luther King could have spoken these words to the Zimbabwean people. With MDC-T youth leader Solomon Madzore in jail and several civil society activists recently harassed and detained the words King used could have been spoken to Zimbabwean civil society activists 43 years after he delivered the speech in Memphis:

We shall overcome... deep in my heart I do believe... we shall overcome. Now I join hands often with students and others behind jail bars singing it: “We shall overcome.” Sometimes we've had tears in our eyes when we joined together to sing it, but we still decided to sing it! “We shall overcome.” Lord before this victory is won some will have to get thrown in jail some more but we shall overcome.

Last month I interviewed Farai Maguwu (see elsewhere on this website) who quoted Martin Luther King in answering a question. It was then that I realised again how the words of Martin Luther King are still an inspiration to many today. Many Zimbabweans can relate to them, and I think they also provide a beacon of hope. Funny enough, Zimbabweans sometimes make me think about the inspirational leader of the civil rights movement, since many of them are excellent public speakers.

I can't stop but think about one of my favourite soul singers Sam Cooke who sang 'a change is gonna come...' It is difficult to predict what this change will look like in Zimbabwe, but ultimately it will lead to a more democratic Zimbabwe, for like Martin Luther King concluded: 'We shall overcome because the arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice'

I guess Martin Luther King could have been a Zimbabwean....