birmingham, alabama. the year was 1963. "we know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor and must be demanded by the row other pressed. for now i heard the word wait. this wait has always meant never. we have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and god-given rights. the nations of asia and africa are moving with jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim, when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse and kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters. when you find your tongue twisted and your speech