“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today in history, on April 4, 1968, one of history’s most mindful humans was assassinated, dying from a gunshot wound to the neck, spinal cord, and shoulder-blade. There are still many conspiracy theories about King’s death. But it doesn’t matter. Racism, equal rights, compassion, and kindness are issues that MLK proved to be black or white, right or wrong; our colors don’t make us humans.

Our actions do.

The shot that killed MLK was a shot that ended a trajectory of peace, consciousness, and humanity. We remember him for his words, his activism, for civil rights, for his movement toward a more peaceful equality, and for his demonstration of respect. His fervor for life—not just his own—and for his perseverance.

So let’s keep that trajectory going. Let’s continue to believe in equality, in progress, and in love. Let’s continue to run, walk, crawl, and think in the direction that points to what we believe to be correct livelihood—the world we work toward achieving as a human race.

And let’s listen to this again, 50 years after these words touched the hearts, lives, and minds of many. The words he spoke before the day he was killed:

Read about another visionary who shares an obituary with MLK.

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons user Davepape