Shout-Outs
- After telling the audience that he needs every one of them, King pauses to acknowledge the "all of you" in the room who are helping to coordinate and support the march.
- Many of them are ministers allied with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, one of the main civil rights organizations and the one with which Dr. King was most closely associated.
- King commends these preachers for coming down from the pulpit and actually doing work to call out injustice and help the poor.
- They're practicing what they preach, or, better still, they're practicing what Jesus preached, and that's a job well done.
- He even compares them to the Biblical prophet Amos. We don't know how large Amos' feet were, but still, those are big sandals to fill.
- The leaders of this group of activist preachers are some of King's closest associates, some of whom he now recognizes by name.
- He says they represent the best of the ministry: instead of resting on their laurels, enjoying their high status in the community and preaching to people about how much better the next life will be (which sadly requires being dead), these leaders try to improve this life.