Hotter Than July - Sleeve Liner Design and Martin Luther King Day Activism

Sleeve Liner Design and Martin Luther King Day Activism

Wonder wrote "Happy Birthday" in order to honor Martin Luther King and used the song to campaign for King's birthday, January 15, to become a national holiday in the US. The sleeve liner design (of the 1980 Motown LP issue) is entirely dedicated to these two purposes. Both sides are printed in a black-and-white semi-glossy photographic process. One side features a large square photograph portrait of King inset on a black background with white lettering above and below. Above the photo is printed "Martin Luther King, Jr." "January 15, 1929 -- April 4, 1968" (on two lines, centered), and below it appears a passage of text written by Wonder. The text below the photo reads:

It is believed that for a man to lay down his life for the love of others is the supreme sacrifice. Jesus Christ by his own example showed us that there is no greater love. For nearly two thousand years now we have been striving to have the strength to follow that example. Martin Luther King was a man who had that strength. He showed us, non-violently, a better way of life, a way of mutual respect, helping us to avoid much bitter confrontation and inevitable bloodshed. We still have a long road to travel until we reach the world that was his dream. We in the United States must not forget either his supreme sacrifice or that dream.

I and a growing number of people believe that it is time for our country to adopt legislation that will make January 15, Martin Luther King's birthday, a national holiday, both in recognition of what he achieved and as a reminder of the distance which still has to be traveled.

Join me in the observance of January 15, 1981 as a national holiday.
Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder

To the right of this text is a thumbprint, presumably Stevie Wonder's (Stevland Morris's), serving as his signature.

On the other side of the sleeve is a collage of five historical photos. Two images, one above the other, form the background. The top image shows an aerial view of a low-lying urban area with a six-lane highway passing through it and thick smoke rising from many of the buildings on both sides of the highway—apparently a riot scene. The bottom image shows a confrontation, in an urban street four of five lanes wide, between a large group of African Americans standing in non-violent defiance and law enforcement officers with white helmets and weapons who are apparently advancing on them. The other three, smaller photos are laid out horizontally across the midline where the background images meet and are about 40% of the height of the sleeve. In the center is a wide rectangular photo of a large peaceful demonstration march, with both black and white participants, being led by Martin Luther King. To either side are two square photos of apparent police brutality: in the photo to the left, three officers in white helmets seize a male African-American youth by his arms and one leg; one officer holds as a club what appears to be a long nightstick turned around with the thicker handle end out. In the photo to the right, an African-American man lies in a pool of blood on the sidewalk in front of an urban store, while in the foreground an officer in a white helmet stands at a distance and looks toward him, and in the background another Africa-American man crouches with his back against the wall and looks away. (King directly mentioned police brutality in his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.)

These images contrast with the general mood of the album, which is upbeat and positive, including "Happy Birthday". Exceptions are the few songs about romantic turmoil ("Rocket Love", "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It", "Lately") and the socially critical "Cash In Your Face", which protests racial housing discrimination.