By Thomas Sellers Jr.
On January 17 our country once again honored the memory and legacy of an American legend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Although his actual birthday is January 15, we celebrate MLK Day on the third Monday of the first month of the year.
In 1983 legislation by then President Ronald Reagan led to making the third Monday in January a federal holiday. It finally passed and the first observance nationwide was in 1986.
It took the state of South Carolina another 14 years to recognize the holiday as a paid holiday for its state’s employees.
It was official, one of the greatest speakers in our nation’s history was fully honored in all 50 United States. Dr. King was a controversial figure of the 1950s and 60s. But before his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, King made a huge impact on this country and the world.
He left his mark through his Civil Rights movement, bravery and speeches. King’s word will live forever like some of his other contemporaries. The 20th Century was full of wonderful quotes that we have transformed into memes in the 21st Century.
I have selected 10 memorable phrases spoken from 1900 to 1999 to showcase in this Best Sellers’ List.
10. “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” — Henry Ford (May 25, 1916)
One of the greatest achievements of the 20th Century was the automobile. Before we had Toyota, Saturn or even Chevy, there was the Ford Model T.
Now we have a plethora of motorized vehicles to choose. Any color we dream of, all we have to do is request. Or we can even go paint the car, truck or SUV ourselves.
Back in 1916, we didn’t have the power of selection… or maybe we did?
Black was not offered as a color initially for the Model T. Then for an 8 year period starting in 1914, Model T Fords were painted black. The reason behind this color choice was purely economic: Ford wanted to produce the most number of automobiles in the least amount of time.
9. “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” — Vince Lombardi (1959)
The most important sport in our nation as of 2022 is the National Football League. One of the most legendary figures of the game is the late Vince Lombardi. He was the winning coach of the first two Super Bowls. Now the trophy awarded to the NFL champion every season bears his name.
The honor is deserving and ironic for the former Green Bay Packers leader. Lombardi is credited with several famous quotes but his most famous one is about the importance of winning.
It is on record with him using it as a quote as early as 1959. He used the phrase during his introduction at the Packers’ training camp. The quotation captured the American public’s attention during Lombardi’s highly successful reign as coach of the Packers in the 1960s.
8. “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” — John Wooden (1977)
The most successful coach in collegiate athletics should have something wise to say. And John Wooden delivered yet again with words that can help you be successful in life.
In 1977 John Wooden told an audience at Texas Tech University, “When you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.”
I’m guessing the 10-time national champion coach for the UCLA Bruins prepared a lot. Among Wooden’s most notable accomplishments at UCLA are two record-winning streaks of 88 consecutive games and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games. He was named the NCAA’s College Basketball Coach of the Year on six occasions in 1964, 1967, 1969–70 and 1972–73. One of those titles came at the expense of the Memphis State Tigers.
7. “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” — Teddy Roosevelt (1903)
Whether you are in sports, business, education or any walk of life, you don’t always have to flex or yell to get what you want. Mt. Rushmore has four U.S. Presidents with only one serving in the 20th Century. Part of Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy are his speeches.
He placed important laws and regulations into existence. Meanwhile he helped to shape the infrastructure of the world.
The famous quote simplified means having a lot of power means getting what you want but don’t come in swinging that big stick. The quote contributed to the building of the Panama Canal. The initial purpose for building the canal was to shorten the distance ships had to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It enabled shippers to cheaply transport different types of goods in a shorter period of time.
6. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” — Harry S. Truman (1942)
This former president receives an honorable mention with “The Buck stops here.”
But the reason I selected the “kitchen” quote is because I often use the phrase to excuse the weak, ignorant and not ready for primetime players.
Harry S. Truman is on record as using this expression in 1942 as reported by “The Soda Springs Sun,” in Idaho. Then a senator from Missouri, used the quote.
There is a little controversy here with reports saying Truman attributing the phrase to his friend General Harry H. Vaughan. Others cite a 1931 issue of The Examiner (Independence, Missouri) quoting Eugene I. “Buck” Purcell said “But if a man can’t stand the heat he should, he ought to stay out of the kitchen.”
No matter who said it, we all can use a form of the quote to shame somebody away from a task.
5. “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” — Andy Warhol (1964)
OK, I will keep this one simple. I need all the time I can get for my 15 minutes of fame that is coming soon. American artist Andy Warhol was 100 percent correct. I am sure he had the television in mind when he said it. Fast forward to today, we are in the era of reality TV. Add factors like social media with YouTube giving anyone who wants one a channel. The digital age will test Warhol’s theory.
4. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt (August 1960)
One of the greatest Americans of the 20th Century was former First Lady and diplomat Eleanor Roosevelt. She is one of the greatest champions for equality among the two genders because she was for accountability and personal responsibility.
Another quote contributed to Roosevelt is “The choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”
Roosevelt was about taking on the challenge and getting stronger. “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ ”
3. “When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (August 28, 1963)
In related news, an honorable mention related to Civil Rights is Arthur Fletcher’s “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” That phrase became a part of the United Negro College Fund.
The foundation for that organization was the March on Washington back in 1963. The highlight of that event was King’s speech at the Washington Monument. The entire passage is powerful and still relevant as of 2022. But the closing paragraph is the emotional flame that lit a movement into the enlightenment of a nation for about 30 years.
2. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt (December 8, 1941)
The second President Roosevelt was a multiple term leader and known for his “Fireside Chat” from 1933 to 1944. The nation needed the president’s words of comfort, encouragement and transparency during the World War II era.
It was a speech to Congress in December 1941 that Roosevelt informed the nation we were a part of the war effort. After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States was thrust into the conflict. It was the “Day of Infamy” speech that led to the defeat of Hitler and his allies.
1. “Ask not what your country can do for you…ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy (January 20, 1961)
All previous Inaugural Address speeches were blown out of the water that day in 1961. And all the addresses that have followed have fallen short. It was President JFK’s finest hour. With so many quotables with that inaugural address, the phrase that challenged every man, woman and child who calls the U.S.A. home is still meaningful today.
We are a nation of lazy, wannabe entertainers and people seeking instant gratification in all walks of life. Our desire to work, build and create meaningful substances is disappearing. Kennedy’s speech hit our nation during international conflict, racial division in our land and the country trying to form its identity. Fast forward 61 years later, here we are again in the United States. It’s time to ask yourself, What can I do for this country to make it better and not worry about what you can get from it.
THOMAS SELLERS JR. is the editor of The Millington Star and both the sports editor and a weekly personal columnist for West 10 Media/Magic Valley Publishing. Contact him by phone at (901) 433-9138, by fax to (901) 529-7687 and by email to thomas@magicvalleypublishing.com.
