What most did not understand then was that I was not only married to the man I loved, but I was also married to the movement that I loved.
Interpretation
The speaker expresses a deep commitment to both her partner and the social movement they are part of.
Coretta Scott King highlights the dual commitment she felt in her life: one to her husband, Martin Luther King Jr., and another to the larger civil rights movement. This reflects the intertwined nature of personal love and social responsibility, showcasing how devoted she was not just to their relationship, but also to the cause they both championed. The quote illustrates the depth of her dedication to both her family and the fight for justice.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of supporting both loved ones and social causes.
I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy. The civil rights movement thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion. My husband's struggle parallels that of the gay rights movement.
...We have an historic opportunity for a great global healing and renewal. If we will accept the challenge of nonviolent activism with faith, courage, and determination, we can bring this great vision of a world united in peace and harmony from a distant ideal into glowing reality.
I think if people really read Martin Luther King, Jr., then they would begin to understand what he really represented.
It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.
Sometimes, I am also identified as a civil rights leader or a human rights activist. I would also like to be thought of as a complex, three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood human being with a rich storehouse of experiences, much like everyone else, yet unique in my own way, much like everyone else.
People don't ever have to starve to death; there are solutions. We have failed if we can't eradicate hunger in Africa and Ethiopia.
Looking at them now, thought Jim, you'd never believe they weren't in love with each other, and not with a hopeless, doomed obsession like poor Isabel Meredith. This was what love ought to be like: playful and passionate and teasing, and dangerous, too, with sharp intelligence in it.
I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, βLove one another as I have loved you.β Ask yourself βHow has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?β Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery.
Every thing that you love, you will eventually lose, but in the end, love will return in a different form.
A woman I loved [Andi Parhamovich] was killed in Baghdad in January 2007 β al-Qaeda in Iraq took credit for it β¦ The memorial service with me crying over an empty coffin.
The ones I loved fly as birds in the open sky above me. Soaring, weaving, calling to me to join them. I want so badly to follow them, but the seawater saturates my wings, making it impossible to lift them. The ones I hated have taken to the water, horrible scaled things that tear my salty flesh with needle teeth. Biting again and again. Dragging me beneath the surface.
Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it - but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.