For nearly two thousand years now we have been striving to have the strength to follow that example. Jesus Christ by his own example showed us that there is no greater love. “It is believed that for a man to lay down his life for the love of others is the supreme sacrifice. Wonder performed the song at the Rally For Peace press conference in 1981, and wrote an essay about King that appeared on the album liner sleeve. The song was a rallying point in the fight to establish King’s birthday as a holiday. King’s birthday was not a national holiday when Wonder penned this tribute. Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” is the perfect salute to these days, but it means even more this year, on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration. Most of the time, the extra day off works means we celebrate a bit longer.
Every few years, the calendar aligns so that my dad’s birthday lands on Martin Luther King Day.
