King was the great civil rights leader. His emphasis was on outlawing race discrimination in education, employment and housing. The success of the women's movement and the gay movement were made possible because of the success of the African American civil rights movement. I remember King's uncompromising statements against the unjust war against Viet Nam. I also remember his uncompromising statements about the need for the nation to address poverty. The only thing about him that didn't appeal to me was his churchiness. But the US being what it is, it may have given him the legitimacy to pursue his great goals & get millions of Americans of all races and ethnicities to sign on to them.
4
John Lewis
“Lewis became nationally known during his prominent role in theSelma to Montgomery marches when, on March 7, 1965 – a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" – Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led over 600 marchers across theEdmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.’
Lewis suffered a concussion.
Donald Trump
“In 1973, Trump, as a 27-year-old, was president of his father’s realty company, Trump Management. It operated nearly 40 apartment buildings, mostly in New York City. By all accounts, including his own, Trump was a hands-on president and very active in managing the day-to-day business operations.”
That year, the federal government filed a complaint against Trump, his father Fred Trump, and Trump Management. The complaint alleged that the Trumps violated the Fair Housing Act, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, by discriminating against tenants and potential tenants based on their race.”
“Lewis became nationally known during his prominent role in theSelma to Montgomery marches when, on March 7, 1965 – a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" – Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led over 600 marchers across theEdmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.’
Lewis suffered a concussion.
Donald Trump
“In 1973, Trump, as a 27-year-old, was president of his father’s realty company, Trump Management. It operated nearly 40 apartment buildings, mostly in New York City. By all accounts, including his own, Trump was a hands-on president and very active in managing the day-to-day business operations.”
That year, the federal government filed a complaint against Trump, his father Fred Trump, and Trump Management. The complaint alleged that the Trumps violated the Fair Housing Act, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, by discriminating against tenants and potential tenants based on their race.”
5
The author fails to make a non-too-subltle distinction. Criticizing governmental policies is politics. Insulting the flag is disloyalty.
I'm celebrating the "compromiser" who, according Malcolm X, "... tells the white man what he wants to hear." Just kidding, I'm celebrating the hard working civil rights crusader. But X did say that.
Dr King recognized that poor people were being played against one another using racism as a tool to divide and conquer. This is what the divisive politicians that have completely taken over the GOP have been doing all along and Trump is the worst example of all.
Democrats right up through Hillary Clinton have been insisting that there is strength in numbers if disparate groups (including whites) who have been shut out of power and prosperity realize that they have much in common. King was ahead of his time.
Democrats right up through Hillary Clinton have been insisting that there is strength in numbers if disparate groups (including whites) who have been shut out of power and prosperity realize that they have much in common. King was ahead of his time.
2
For the poorest of poor nations which were close to Martin Luther King’s heart, the U.S. Peace Corps, Partners in Health, international development and fair trade epitomize that vision to “develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole”.
Anticipating the next POTUS moves is now at the top of the agenda of diplomats, heads of states/governments and business leaders in most OECD countries, as well as in the poorest nations who fear the worst for both aid and fair trade. The myopic fixation on individualism and self-interest and a narrow focus on equality of opportunity would, in the long run, impoverish the safety and security of all.
Both this Jason Sokol’s op-ed and Paul Krugan’s titled “With All Due Disrespect” deserve a broader audience and are worth sharing in the light of the divisive heinous attacks on the press, foreign allies and legitimate adversaries at home. The fragile geopolitical equilibrium and King’s long march for inclusion and solidarity are at a grave risk. We are on an uncharted territory, the likes of which have existed prior to the 17th amendment when senators were not elected and presidents customarily eschewed public scrutiny.
Anticipating the next POTUS moves is now at the top of the agenda of diplomats, heads of states/governments and business leaders in most OECD countries, as well as in the poorest nations who fear the worst for both aid and fair trade. The myopic fixation on individualism and self-interest and a narrow focus on equality of opportunity would, in the long run, impoverish the safety and security of all.
Both this Jason Sokol’s op-ed and Paul Krugan’s titled “With All Due Disrespect” deserve a broader audience and are worth sharing in the light of the divisive heinous attacks on the press, foreign allies and legitimate adversaries at home. The fragile geopolitical equilibrium and King’s long march for inclusion and solidarity are at a grave risk. We are on an uncharted territory, the likes of which have existed prior to the 17th amendment when senators were not elected and presidents customarily eschewed public scrutiny.
2
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, the three great problems of his day: "racism, poverty and war".
Those problems exits today,
It is not complicated work to eliminate racism poverty and war, and we will properly honor Dr. King.
Those problems exits today,
It is not complicated work to eliminate racism poverty and war, and we will properly honor Dr. King.
MLK's finest hour was his "I have dream speech" in the month of August. I suggest, with deep respect, that his holiday should be moved to the first Monday in August. Mid-January, following close on the Christmas holidays, is a nasty time of year in most of the US. I that the Royal ruler of Great Britain celebrates her birthday in benign April, regardless of her natural birthday. If that is good enough for a Queen, why not for a King.
Our wonderful,summers are book-ended by Memorial Day and Labor Day, plus the 4th of July. A holiday in early August would be a blessing, and would detract from memory of Martin Luther King.
Our wonderful,summers are book-ended by Memorial Day and Labor Day, plus the 4th of July. A holiday in early August would be a blessing, and would detract from memory of Martin Luther King.
1
Instead of divisive opinions....perhaps on this Day which is a National Holiday...
we should simply .....remember....Martin Luther King....and those who used
non-violence to overcome the years of prejudice and hatred that those who
were descended from slavery had to overcome...and I think this is the only
thinking that this Newspaper should publish...just remembering the struggle
of those who overcame a unfounded prejudice of their former station in life.
those who still suffer the disdain of being an underclass...just think how
very stupid this thinking was and still is...
It is with the grace which is the power of love which allowed Martin Luther
King to overcome...all the ignorance of those who set themselves apart.
John Lewis does not hate....he is just standing up for what he believes..at
this time;
and I champion any citizen for being so courageous and honorable as
Lewis...
we should simply .....remember....Martin Luther King....and those who used
non-violence to overcome the years of prejudice and hatred that those who
were descended from slavery had to overcome...and I think this is the only
thinking that this Newspaper should publish...just remembering the struggle
of those who overcame a unfounded prejudice of their former station in life.
those who still suffer the disdain of being an underclass...just think how
very stupid this thinking was and still is...
It is with the grace which is the power of love which allowed Martin Luther
King to overcome...all the ignorance of those who set themselves apart.
John Lewis does not hate....he is just standing up for what he believes..at
this time;
and I champion any citizen for being so courageous and honorable as
Lewis...
3
Yes indeed, "Which Martin Luther King Are We Celebrating Today?" If you're a habitual reader of the NYT, most likely not this one -
(search title) 'Rare Video: Nelson Mandela Speaking on Palestine'
(search title) 'Rare Video: Nelson Mandela Speaking on Palestine'
1
Trump statements were more than "probably unwise," as I read here in one of the comments.
It was a highly concerning attack for which Trump deserves every criticism he receives. He disappeared to the elevator avoiding questions today. Almost ran away.
His attacks on Atlanta were falsehoods.
You don't condemn a civil rights icon and say all he is --is talk, talk talk...
Congressman Lewis marched alongside Martin Luther King. Lewis was beaten to a pulp advocating for civil rights. He made sacrifices, and led a life of public service.
At the same time as Lewis put himself on the line for advocacy of civil rights, as we all know, Trump was busy getting deferments to avoid military service and happily discriminating against blacks in renting apartments with his father. This makes it 100 times worse. His treatment of black protesters and the way he described blacks in cities was also deplorable.
"Where is my African American?" Trump once yelled.
I hope this gets posted.
It was a highly concerning attack for which Trump deserves every criticism he receives. He disappeared to the elevator avoiding questions today. Almost ran away.
His attacks on Atlanta were falsehoods.
You don't condemn a civil rights icon and say all he is --is talk, talk talk...
Congressman Lewis marched alongside Martin Luther King. Lewis was beaten to a pulp advocating for civil rights. He made sacrifices, and led a life of public service.
At the same time as Lewis put himself on the line for advocacy of civil rights, as we all know, Trump was busy getting deferments to avoid military service and happily discriminating against blacks in renting apartments with his father. This makes it 100 times worse. His treatment of black protesters and the way he described blacks in cities was also deplorable.
"Where is my African American?" Trump once yelled.
I hope this gets posted.
2
I am saddened & angered to have seen the commercializing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Treating of memory of Dr. King as just another reason to sell merchandise as is done on President's Day or Labor Day is an affront to all who lived through the legal, social & political battles which took place during the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950's - 1960's.
To me Dr. King, with all of his faults (who among us has no faults); personified the combination of fighting against all oppression (starting with & focusing on our society's long history of targeting Americans of African descent) & recognition that violence in the face of violence & hatred was doomed to failure.
Dr. King mobilized millions to demand freedom & justice for all people! The same freedom & justice which The United States professes to guarantee to all of its citizens.
This message cannot be watered down or white washed & given a squeaky clean veneer. While the message is pure, the messengers have been stained by their own blood at the hands of those who fear change which will force them to share the American Dream with all American citizens!
Dr. King was radical. He had to be to promote such radical change. So too were the men & women who demanded freedom from England & fought for our nation, united against slavery & racism.
As long as we honor Franklin, Jefferson, Washington & Lincoln; we must hold Dr. King in the same esteem. For he symbolizes America's better nature against our worst actions.
To me Dr. King, with all of his faults (who among us has no faults); personified the combination of fighting against all oppression (starting with & focusing on our society's long history of targeting Americans of African descent) & recognition that violence in the face of violence & hatred was doomed to failure.
Dr. King mobilized millions to demand freedom & justice for all people! The same freedom & justice which The United States professes to guarantee to all of its citizens.
This message cannot be watered down or white washed & given a squeaky clean veneer. While the message is pure, the messengers have been stained by their own blood at the hands of those who fear change which will force them to share the American Dream with all American citizens!
Dr. King was radical. He had to be to promote such radical change. So too were the men & women who demanded freedom from England & fought for our nation, united against slavery & racism.
As long as we honor Franklin, Jefferson, Washington & Lincoln; we must hold Dr. King in the same esteem. For he symbolizes America's better nature against our worst actions.
2
He was first and foremost a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus although it is politically incorrect to say so. A great collection of his sermons is found in the title A Knock at Midnight. I played them on CD in the car driving my three children to school each morning. They heard every word and every point. Stanford also has a collection. Of the transcripts on line but it is so beautiful to experience his inspiring voice and some memorable ones include the "three dimensions" of life, love of enemies, the drum major instinct. On the parable of the Good Samaritan he said that unlike the first two men who saw the beaten, bloodied man and passed by on the other side, the Good Samaritan "reversed the question. Instead of asking 'what will happen to me if I stop and help this man' the Good Samaritan asked 'what will happen to this man if I do not stop and help him.'
3
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at the ripe old age of 39. In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35, the youngest person awarded the prize at that time, he said, "Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. . . .
I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. . . . . I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. . . . I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.. . . I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood.
This is the Great American we are celebrating today.
I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. . . . . I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. . . . I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.. . . I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood.
This is the Great American we are celebrating today.
2
"I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent, we are interdependent."
I am too young to have witnessed Doctor King; I can only discover him through traces, his own words, and the testimony of others. King's statement - above - seems consistent with all versions of the man described in this article. It is also fulfilled in the construction of King which lives in the collective framework of culture.
For me it never loses its relevance or significance; though philosophical, it is not just an idea, it is an inexhaustible and expansive intention which guides action.
I am too young to have witnessed Doctor King; I can only discover him through traces, his own words, and the testimony of others. King's statement - above - seems consistent with all versions of the man described in this article. It is also fulfilled in the construction of King which lives in the collective framework of culture.
For me it never loses its relevance or significance; though philosophical, it is not just an idea, it is an inexhaustible and expansive intention which guides action.
1
Today we celebrated the brilliant young father and husband who preached nonviolence and moved people of conscience just as Gandhi did. Dr. King was the greatest American of my lifetime. His family suffered a great loss and so did our country. Dr. King's ideals and his words resonate strongly today. Please visit the Civil Rights Museum on the site of the Lorraine Motel to honor Dr. King when you visit Memphis. And yes, poverty remains the sinigle greatest disgrace in the world's richest country MLK and RFK both fought to change that.
1
Dabo Swinney should be ashamed of himself for making his bigoted "he should move to another country", comment.
How "retro" & "unreconstructed" to make a comment like that in 2017.
Clemson's alumni should be ashamed of him.
All of Clemson's sororities & fraternities should be ashamed of him.
“There’s something in these hills where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness.”
Well, I'm yawning too.
The Board of Trustees look like "good ole boys".
Have none of them taken the "Implicit Bias" test ?
How "retro" & "unreconstructed" to make a comment like that in 2017.
Clemson's alumni should be ashamed of him.
All of Clemson's sororities & fraternities should be ashamed of him.
“There’s something in these hills where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness.”
Well, I'm yawning too.
The Board of Trustees look like "good ole boys".
Have none of them taken the "Implicit Bias" test ?
1
As part of a civil rights family here in the South in the 60s I saw a lot and learned a lot... And I, along with millions of others, watched as Dr. King and his SCLC and SNCC seems to grow closer as the decade progressed...
SNCC, along with Malcolm X, were very much into black nationalism at the beginning of the movement and Dr. King was more inclusive... SNCC never got all that inclusive but many of it's members became Dr. King disciples as Dr. King became more and more militant while still holding to he beliefs in non-violence...
We find ourselves back to where we were back then with a mix of black nationalism and inclusion... But it seems from my activities with various groups trying to get the conversation started that the nationalism is NOT what it was 50 some years ago...
We all have to keep in mind that the white power system is dependent on keeping us separated, just like with Bacon's Rebellion so very long ago...
If Dr. King were alive today he would certainly be pointing that FACT out...
Bottom line... We're all in this together...
Bob
SNCC, along with Malcolm X, were very much into black nationalism at the beginning of the movement and Dr. King was more inclusive... SNCC never got all that inclusive but many of it's members became Dr. King disciples as Dr. King became more and more militant while still holding to he beliefs in non-violence...
We find ourselves back to where we were back then with a mix of black nationalism and inclusion... But it seems from my activities with various groups trying to get the conversation started that the nationalism is NOT what it was 50 some years ago...
We all have to keep in mind that the white power system is dependent on keeping us separated, just like with Bacon's Rebellion so very long ago...
If Dr. King were alive today he would certainly be pointing that FACT out...
Bottom line... We're all in this together...
Bob
"To many Americans, this sounded like socialist lunacy."
To intelligent Americans, those who know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, it IS socialist lunacy.
To intelligent Americans, those who know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, it IS socialist lunacy.
2
Mr. Trump proudly displayed his middle finger to common decency throughout his entire campaign and then went on to continue the practice after he got elected.
Now he is complaining because people like Congressman Lewis are returning the favor.
Not to me he won’t.
Now he is complaining because people like Congressman Lewis are returning the favor.
Not to me he won’t.
3
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
4
MLK had this to say about the Vietnam war and Ronald Reagan...
"The war has strengthened domestic reaction. It has given the extreme right, the anti-labor, anti-Negro, and anti-humanistic forces a weapon of spurious patriotism to galvanize its supporters into reaching for power, right up to the White House. It hopes to use national frustration to take control and restore the America of social insecurity and power for the privileged. When a Hollywood performer, lacking distinction even as an actor can become a leading war hawk candidate for the Presidency, only the irrationalities induced by a war psychosis can explain such a melancholy turn of events."
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Nov 1967
"The war has strengthened domestic reaction. It has given the extreme right, the anti-labor, anti-Negro, and anti-humanistic forces a weapon of spurious patriotism to galvanize its supporters into reaching for power, right up to the White House. It hopes to use national frustration to take control and restore the America of social insecurity and power for the privileged. When a Hollywood performer, lacking distinction even as an actor can become a leading war hawk candidate for the Presidency, only the irrationalities induced by a war psychosis can explain such a melancholy turn of events."
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Nov 1967
2
How quickly the past is edited and varnished to our liking. Lets try to recall the real struggles that Dr. King faced and what an amazing man he was. Thanks
2
No man is perfect. I view Dr. King as a hero and a role model - not for which man he is (or was), but rather, for rather, accomplishing a legacy of love and peace and non-violent disobedience. After all, were the American colonies not disobedient to the English Crown? They were justifiably standing up for key principles, and then they put forth a better one - that all men are created equal.
Those were hard words for the slave-owning founding fathers to live up to. They weren't perfect, either. I view King and Jefferson as connected in the vision of "all men are created equal" - and part of the greater arc of history.
In fact, I believe it so much, I founded a website to promote the ideals of both - www.arkofhistory.com/love.
I don't know that Love has built the most amazing things in history. But do know that Hate has wrought nothing worth keeping. I ask you to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Honor his accomplishments. Honor his legacy. Honor his courage. Do it in whatever way you do it.
I do it by calling him my hero, my role model, and driving a website today that creates an online community and an IRL community that lives up to his ideals. Please join me - www.arkofhistory.com/vision
Those were hard words for the slave-owning founding fathers to live up to. They weren't perfect, either. I view King and Jefferson as connected in the vision of "all men are created equal" - and part of the greater arc of history.
In fact, I believe it so much, I founded a website to promote the ideals of both - www.arkofhistory.com/love.
I don't know that Love has built the most amazing things in history. But do know that Hate has wrought nothing worth keeping. I ask you to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Honor his accomplishments. Honor his legacy. Honor his courage. Do it in whatever way you do it.
I do it by calling him my hero, my role model, and driving a website today that creates an online community and an IRL community that lives up to his ideals. Please join me - www.arkofhistory.com/vision
"The Republican Party has geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism. All people of goodwill viewed with alarm and concern the frenzied wedding at the Cow Palace of the KKK with the radical right. The "best man" at this ceremony was a senator whose voting record, philosophy, and program were anathema to all the hard-won achievements of the past decade."
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr, July 16, 1964 (after Goldwater won the GOP nomination)
- Dr Martin Luther King Jr, July 16, 1964 (after Goldwater won the GOP nomination)
1
My fellow white Americans (like AG Meese, Governor Foster, and Coach Swinney) who appropriate Dr. King's words and repurpose them to suit a particular agenda are out of line.
Instead of trying to speak FOR Dr. King, we'd be best served by recognizing that he used his considerable moral authority to speak TO us.
As Dr. King noted in 1967, "[l]arge segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility & the status quo than about justice & humanity.”
Making Dr. King out to be a "tranquil," kumbaya-singing caricature obfuscates his broader message of racial, social, and economic justice. A message that has as much urgency today as ever.
Instead of trying to speak FOR Dr. King, we'd be best served by recognizing that he used his considerable moral authority to speak TO us.
As Dr. King noted in 1967, "[l]arge segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility & the status quo than about justice & humanity.”
Making Dr. King out to be a "tranquil," kumbaya-singing caricature obfuscates his broader message of racial, social, and economic justice. A message that has as much urgency today as ever.
2
I believe that Dr. King would not have been killed had he not spoken out against the Vietnam War. I believe that this put him squarely in the crosshairs of the Military/Industrial (Now the Military/Industrial/Security/Surveillance.) Complex against which Eisenhower so eloquently warned us and which in 1968 had effectively become the puppetmaster of the United States Government.
Had Dr. King kept his message to peace, love, and brotherhood, I think he would have been allowed to go on.
He was a brave man and deserves our thanks and reverence. He certainly has mine.
Had Dr. King kept his message to peace, love, and brotherhood, I think he would have been allowed to go on.
He was a brave man and deserves our thanks and reverence. He certainly has mine.
3
Consumerism trumps MLK's late blooming color blind racial utopia.
1
My step dad is black. One of my favorite stories is how Dr King inspired him to lead a walk out in support of civil rights during school. He was 9. He's still fighting the fight for equality.
MLK was a great man who found non violent ways to show the world the hypocrisy of the United States. He inspired others to fight for equal rights around the world. In northern Ireland our guide shared stories of how after seeing what MLK was doing in the US, the Catholics started adopting his methods in their own fight for equality.
Anytime politicians try to hijack his legacy for their own agenda they need to be stopped. MLK wasn't perfect but he fought for all of us to be able to live in a world where no one is less than another. Not many people can say the same.
MLK was a great man who found non violent ways to show the world the hypocrisy of the United States. He inspired others to fight for equal rights around the world. In northern Ireland our guide shared stories of how after seeing what MLK was doing in the US, the Catholics started adopting his methods in their own fight for equality.
Anytime politicians try to hijack his legacy for their own agenda they need to be stopped. MLK wasn't perfect but he fought for all of us to be able to live in a world where no one is less than another. Not many people can say the same.
3
“History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.” In honoring Dr. King it feels right to honor John Lewis as well. One way to actively do such honoring would be for capable legal minds to make an attempt even now to stop an illegitimate Trump presidency that has just been ranked by Human Rights Watch as a threat to worldwide human rights. Ideas for making such an attempt abound if only someone qualified would follow up on them. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-legitimate-president_us_587930cf...
1
The murder of Martin Luther King Jr shows that if Jesus somehow does return to the earth like the new testament says, the Christian-right today in the US would call him a communist, reverse racist, and trouble-maker; open up FBI investigations on him, and spew hatred on him until somebody crazy enough murdered him.
MLK was the closet thing we ever will have to the Second Coming, and we killed him.
MLK was the closet thing we ever will have to the Second Coming, and we killed him.
"He is rightly lionized and sanctified by whites as well as blacks, by Republicans as well as Democrats."
Are you so sure? There are none left in the US who do not resent a MKL holiday (though they will welcome a holiday) and no one holds an opposite view any more? Have you talked to Trump before writing the column. Yes I know he is meeting King's son today but is that to honor King or just to het prt of the headline and news cycle?
Maybe the statement would be a bit more accurate to insert the word "many" between "by" and "whites".
Are you so sure? There are none left in the US who do not resent a MKL holiday (though they will welcome a holiday) and no one holds an opposite view any more? Have you talked to Trump before writing the column. Yes I know he is meeting King's son today but is that to honor King or just to het prt of the headline and news cycle?
Maybe the statement would be a bit more accurate to insert the word "many" between "by" and "whites".
Holidays designed to celebrate fallen heroes, though well intentioned, turn venerated into cartoonish caricature.
1
It is interesting in what we call "Radical" Today. Dr. King spoke of misgivings and frustration on how America can talk of peace when we were going to war. At no point, whatsoever, did he ever speak of condoning violence or retaliation. This is disappointing that articles want to be put out there to try and push an agenda of drama and "propaganda" or twisted history lessons so they may find clicks.
Let's remember Dr. King for who he was, an activist, a preacher, a leader and man who believed peace was the answer.
Let's remember Dr. King for who he was, an activist, a preacher, a leader and man who believed peace was the answer.
I voted for the first time (voting age was 21) for LBJ. I remember well the slogans of Goldwater: "In your heart, you know he's right," "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice." The civil rights movement was gaining momentum in those days, and Americans of all ages and colors seemed to unite to prevent an incipient tyranny. Those were less complicated times. Communication was limited to newspapers and radio/TV. The unprecedented crowds drawn by Doctor King were as encouraging to those of liberal bent as they were frightening to those of more conservative leaning. The tragedy of Doctor King's demise was part of what I think of as the assassination era, and presaged the more sophisticated forms of character assassination with which we contend today.
Having said that, I want to break lockstep with my progressive cohorts, and say that labeling Trump voters as racists (along with other "isms" and "phobes") is tantamount to denial that this phenomenon was both enabled, and indeed. impelled by our narrow focus on identity politics. Without shouldering our share of the blame for the emergence of white identity as a political force, we practically guarantee the we will be unable to fully understand the Trump voters, let alone communicate with them in a meaningful way. If we can see where we are guilty of at least psychological abuse and demonization of our opponents, the chasm between us will grow wider, and the message of Dr. King's life may become a historical footnote.
Having said that, I want to break lockstep with my progressive cohorts, and say that labeling Trump voters as racists (along with other "isms" and "phobes") is tantamount to denial that this phenomenon was both enabled, and indeed. impelled by our narrow focus on identity politics. Without shouldering our share of the blame for the emergence of white identity as a political force, we practically guarantee the we will be unable to fully understand the Trump voters, let alone communicate with them in a meaningful way. If we can see where we are guilty of at least psychological abuse and demonization of our opponents, the chasm between us will grow wider, and the message of Dr. King's life may become a historical footnote.
As a teenager in the mid-1960s, my impression of King was the heroic image we now celebrate, but when I took the train into Manhattan to hear him speak against the Vietnam War at the UN in April, 1967, I realized how dangerous he was to the established order. The man had the courage to tell us what was immoral in no uncertain terms and his appeal crossed racial lines. I was not surprised a year later he was assassinated.
6
"Which Martin Luther King Jr" are we celebrating? For many of us- All of Him. Far too few know of anything other than The Mountain Stop speech: I just heard a newly discovered speech today on Public Radio.
Far too few know of his ardent skewing of the Vietnam War; Far too few know of his fiery discourse against Global Colonialism- particularly in South Africa and the Tortuous practices of the South African Apartheid Regime. I can only wonder if he were alive today; the *Conversation* he might have had with our first Black President about the tacit acceptance of "Guantanamo" and the Torture Methods employed therein.
Far too few know of his ardent skewing of the Vietnam War; Far too few know of his fiery discourse against Global Colonialism- particularly in South Africa and the Tortuous practices of the South African Apartheid Regime. I can only wonder if he were alive today; the *Conversation* he might have had with our first Black President about the tacit acceptance of "Guantanamo" and the Torture Methods employed therein.
When you are right, you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong you cannot be too conservative. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. - Dr. Martin Luther King
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. - Dr. Martin Luther King
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
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I know which Dr. King I am celebrating today is not the myth of a pacifist that gave comfort to fragile Eurocentric of the time and gives comfort to the fragile Eurocentric's today. The Dr. King that I celebrate is the whole and real man who longed for a peaceful acceptance of the civil rights of Black people and the human rights of all people; but proved his willingness to protest, be jailed and physically and mentally abused to organize a nation of oppressed peoples seeking to be gainfully employed, paid a sustainable wage, receive a quality public education and access to higher education, access to and receipt of health care, pursuit of life, liberty and happiness absent White supremacy, misogyny or any form of bigotry and discrimination.
I celebrate the man who sacrificed his life to achieve these goals and inspire a nation to open itself up to reflect on the truth of its sustaining an economic system that capitalizes on human oppression, human collateral damage, environmental destruction and relentless corporate imperialism.
I don't cling to "dreaming" about these rights as the fragile and those fearful of progressive change do. What moves me are his last intentions and actions in pursuit of racial, gender, and economic justice.
I celebrate the man who sacrificed his life to achieve these goals and inspire a nation to open itself up to reflect on the truth of its sustaining an economic system that capitalizes on human oppression, human collateral damage, environmental destruction and relentless corporate imperialism.
I don't cling to "dreaming" about these rights as the fragile and those fearful of progressive change do. What moves me are his last intentions and actions in pursuit of racial, gender, and economic justice.
2
Martin Luther King, our American Mahatma. Like Gandhi, King was a fallible human being, but one who acted from a deep conscience and consciousness for all other human beings.
We should not be surprised though, the radical religious right, subscribed to by every hypocrite in the republican party, has also misappropriated Jesus. Turning a message of redemption and total love for his fellows into a judgmental cesspool of racial hatred and misogyny towards women and others strange to them.
They are even more Calvinistic than John Calvin. There is no real Christian among them.
We should not be surprised though, the radical religious right, subscribed to by every hypocrite in the republican party, has also misappropriated Jesus. Turning a message of redemption and total love for his fellows into a judgmental cesspool of racial hatred and misogyny towards women and others strange to them.
They are even more Calvinistic than John Calvin. There is no real Christian among them.
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It should be noted that the FBI, then led by venerable J. Edgar Hoover, complied a very extensive file on Dr. King. Thank you.
2
Which Martin Luther King do we celebrate today? All of them. The one who had a dream, but also the one who realized that the dream, even if realized, would not mean much without economic justice. And more of us are coming to realize, 50 years later, that economic justice is even more important today than it was then. Witness the incredible campaign of Bernie Sanders in 2016, in which the centerpiece of the movement was that freedom of speech, voting rights, housing rights, educational opportunity were meaningless without the economic means to realize them. Check the interview that Sanders gave with the Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, in which he makes this very point about Dr. King's final planned march and how economic justice completed civil rights: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU.
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As robotic vice presidential sidekick Mike Pence fails to scrub away the accumulated twitter debris from Trump's table, a Smithsonian Museum spokesperson tells us there were never any plans for Trump to visit the
National African American Museum today.
National African American Museum today.
4
I wish we were celebrating the MLK who should have given -- but did not -- his speech condemning American materialism, substituting the vapid "I have a dream" speech.
2
This op-ed is a primary example of why we are so polarized today. Dr King did in fact have strong Communist sympathies and opposing a national holiday honoring a communist is understandable to most Americans (even more so during the Cold War). By focusing on Dr. King's work righting the huge national injustice of segregation and promoting Dr. King's vision of racial unity, Regan created a holiday and national icon that all Americans can get behind. Sadly Professor Sokol wants to rip that all apart by claiming the man and the holiday are only for liberals and liberal ideas.
6
The MLK celebrations that officialdom promotes are confined to his role as civil rights leader, because that doesn't threaten the rich white establishment's preferred economic order.
Dr. King's increasing involvement towards the end of his life with labor and poverty is a different matter. It would never do to commemorate someone who talks about labor rights, would it?
Dr. King's increasing involvement towards the end of his life with labor and poverty is a different matter. It would never do to commemorate someone who talks about labor rights, would it?
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Clearly, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King whom we celebrate today is the one for whom we declared an optional national holiday – that cleared out the NY Times of moderators and made a comments thread on a KRUGMAN column (of all things) impractical. Not to mention one by Blow, as well. One must wonder where the Times found the moderators for this piece, as well as for the featured editorial – probably those poor souls without family who work on the religious holidays, leaving their associates to rest (or at least not moderate).
I salute Dr. King on this day (and all others), as well those folks stuck at work forced to read my meanderings when everyone else is paint-balling. DO trust, though, that they’ll ALL be back at work tomorrow.
I salute Dr. King on this day (and all others), as well those folks stuck at work forced to read my meanderings when everyone else is paint-balling. DO trust, though, that they’ll ALL be back at work tomorrow.
7
RL ~ My thought about Dr. Krugman's hard hitting column not being open to comments was that the editors decided to let Krugman's opinion stand without any counter-arguments form djt apologists.
Martin Luther King Day is a Federal holiday (not optional as you state) which is an honor befitting the man.
Martin Luther King Day is a Federal holiday (not optional as you state) which is an honor befitting the man.
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listen to Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches. Then consider carefully and with a bit of self awareness your words before doing what it is you do...
if you hear what I hear, your words would sound like the screech of fingernails on a chalkboard
if you hear what I hear, your words would sound like the screech of fingernails on a chalkboard
1
After retiring from the Air Force, I worked for Boeing in Seattle. Boeing never acknowledged the King holiday, even though King County, was renamed for MLK. It's originally was named for racist VP named King.
The Boeing action was probably in line with its policy of granting all employees time off between Christmas Eve and the day after New Year in lieu of the "minor holidays", such as Presidents Day.
It is good that we acknowledge Martin Luther King. Slavery followed by Jim Crow segtrgstion is an ildelible stain on our history. The disgrace is amplified by continued racism shown by members of congress.
The Boeing action was probably in line with its policy of granting all employees time off between Christmas Eve and the day after New Year in lieu of the "minor holidays", such as Presidents Day.
It is good that we acknowledge Martin Luther King. Slavery followed by Jim Crow segtrgstion is an ildelible stain on our history. The disgrace is amplified by continued racism shown by members of congress.
2
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "eldest son" should do the right thing and refuse to meet trump. It will reflect very badly on him, with all of us who revere his father. What is wrong with that man?
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I am sure taht Martin Luther King Sr. would have met with Trump. MLK believed in dialog. His son is following in his father's footsteps.
We can always hope that MLK III will say something worthy of his father when he meets the PEOTUS.
Sanctification by the White establishment is the kiss of death for any Black movement. MLK is a white creation just as Lewis and his ilk are. The best way to neutralize them as leaders is to coop them into the system; get them on the Gravy Train. When Trump called out Lewis he was pointing out the obvious. These supposed Black Saints rule over a Black tragedy that doesn't benefit one bit by their occasional gritty observation.
3
Nixon Administration co-oped Black Panthers, CORE,separatist notions disguised as self improvement. The late Roy Innis providing minstrel comic relief.
1
The Reverend Martin Luther King, was more than a great African American Leader, he was a great African American Humanist & walked in his image of Jesus, this is not a contradiction, as I believe Jesus himself was a humanist.
Like all all humans he was not perfect, & his socialist positions were not a detriment, no more than were Sanders Socialist positions.The communist bogeyman is gone, the educated have no shame in quoting Marx. Capitalism is a cruel greed ridden process designed for those with limited scruples.
I honor Dr King as I would honor any other great American, he never saw the Promised land but like Moses he has set us on the way, & in the right direction.
Like all all humans he was not perfect, & his socialist positions were not a detriment, no more than were Sanders Socialist positions.The communist bogeyman is gone, the educated have no shame in quoting Marx. Capitalism is a cruel greed ridden process designed for those with limited scruples.
I honor Dr King as I would honor any other great American, he never saw the Promised land but like Moses he has set us on the way, & in the right direction.
14
How about Martin L. King Jr. the serial adulterer and dedicated plagiarist? Any White leader would have been picked apart for King's severe failings, but his being black makes any criticism a blasphemy and prima facie racist. In our relentlessly anti-White society, King has been anointed a saint, in spite of his seriously flawed character.
7
The Donald was picked apart and was elected anyway. Some of his followers refuse to believe what was clear and proven, but others saw more honestly and decided to put up with or ignore his proven failings. There are not many followers of Dr. King who deny his imperfections; instead, for them his vision of a truly great America transcend these imperfections.
Our heroes are seldom perfect; a perfect hero is a manufactured image bearing witness to our inability to tolerate the truth about ourselves and our love of powerful sales pitches. Jesus Christ hung around with at least one prostitute; we have no evidence that he did not die a virgin, but this is only because such evidence would not be preserved by the gospel writers who were marketing a new religion. We have a record of what happened when someone tried to tempt Socrates, but no idea of how much of it is fiction. One of the marks of a truly good person is a self-image that is the opposite of flattering.
In our relentlessly anti-radical society, King's radical teachings are covered up so that he can be supported by the sorts of people he fought during his life.
Our heroes are seldom perfect; a perfect hero is a manufactured image bearing witness to our inability to tolerate the truth about ourselves and our love of powerful sales pitches. Jesus Christ hung around with at least one prostitute; we have no evidence that he did not die a virgin, but this is only because such evidence would not be preserved by the gospel writers who were marketing a new religion. We have a record of what happened when someone tried to tempt Socrates, but no idea of how much of it is fiction. One of the marks of a truly good person is a self-image that is the opposite of flattering.
In our relentlessly anti-radical society, King's radical teachings are covered up so that he can be supported by the sorts of people he fought during his life.
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Every hear of a guy named John F. Kennedy?
2
"serial adulterer and dedicated plagiarist"
Sources please?
Sources please?
“Our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than national.” ....nations should “develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole.”
The alternative was unacceptable. “History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.”
Self-loathing is what helped Trump win. A very entrenched demographic of Americans who claim (Yell) their patriotism runs deep, but only when its manifested in a form that favors them and their own. Not even always their "own kind," just the ones they believe to be the same as them. This demographic have been feed a steady stream of lies from the Right to push them towards hating the US gov't and its institutions as somehow being anti-American. The campaign of hate is only in its infancy, rest assured that Bannon and his ilk will feed the flames. Destruction is the plan of the DT camp.
For too long now the GOP & their pundits have been getting away with their claim, rather ownership, as to who is patriotic and who isnt. And its high time that self-appointed power was ripped from their hands. For too long they have spun their tales that protest and full-throttled resistance is un-American. Its time to tear that GOP doctrine apart!
For too long the left, hell regular Americans with no party allegiance have been complacent re; the GOP's destructive policies towards the American citizenry. That time must be over!
The only way to get things done will be to get our EMPLOYEES attention! Protest!
The alternative was unacceptable. “History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.”
Self-loathing is what helped Trump win. A very entrenched demographic of Americans who claim (Yell) their patriotism runs deep, but only when its manifested in a form that favors them and their own. Not even always their "own kind," just the ones they believe to be the same as them. This demographic have been feed a steady stream of lies from the Right to push them towards hating the US gov't and its institutions as somehow being anti-American. The campaign of hate is only in its infancy, rest assured that Bannon and his ilk will feed the flames. Destruction is the plan of the DT camp.
For too long now the GOP & their pundits have been getting away with their claim, rather ownership, as to who is patriotic and who isnt. And its high time that self-appointed power was ripped from their hands. For too long they have spun their tales that protest and full-throttled resistance is un-American. Its time to tear that GOP doctrine apart!
For too long the left, hell regular Americans with no party allegiance have been complacent re; the GOP's destructive policies towards the American citizenry. That time must be over!
The only way to get things done will be to get our EMPLOYEES attention! Protest!
15
Many blacks, maybe even a majority, would prefer celebrating Malcolm X Day.
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How do you know?? -- Any factual evidence?
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It is not a zero-sum game.
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. . . and malcolm x was also an american hero.
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Let us not forget that the FBI was involved in trying to discredit Dr. King. It's not surprising that men like Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond actively worked against Dr. King. Same for Mr. Trump going after John Lewis. They are on the record. It's terrifying that the FBI was involved because that is what oppressive governments do. Secretly. In the shadows. Today, the FBI is back at it with James Comey's active involvement in the election. How far have we come since 1968? Not nearly as far as we should. Not even close.
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But you never minded when Mr. Obama intentionally used the I.R.S., the EPA, OSHA and the DOJ to attack his political opponents? Is everything one-sided now?
Naming a Federal Building after J. Edgar Hoover is as vile as honoring Confederate traitors such as Robert E. Lee.
1
More than ever the words and deeds of MLK should be heard and remembered. Let a light shine bright on the path to inclusion and acceptance of African-Americans and all persecuted minorities.
7
So, in your opinion, if one is weathy, they have no right to portest against any ills that this country suffers? Are the only legitimate voices the voices of the poor and undeucated? Perhaps you condemnation of a rich African-American has an undertwone of racisn?
Its a good article but to put a millionaire privileged athlete like Colin Kaepernick in the same article as Dr. King is to diminish King. Dr. King is an American hero. The other is a privileged cry baby.
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And with that final sentence you managed to prove you utterly missed the entire point of the article, despite reading it. Kaepernick was not brought up because he is considered an equal of Dr. King but because his opponents use the very same smears and attacks leveled at Dr. King. Kaepernick is attacked relentlessly for "hating America" which is exactly what people said about Dr. King for fomenting the civil disobedience campaigns. Kaepernicks protest is nothing compared to prior civil rights protests, and it is entirely telling that the right wing treats him like the anti-Christ over it. For those not racist his refusal to stand for the pledge means little, those attacking him don't like that he is protesting, the form of it doesn't matter. I give the man credit for finding a way to get his opinion on the front page, that is what protesting is all about, getting your message out and he did that brilliantly. Those who call for unflinching obedience to a flag and a few lines of dialogue rather than to the ideals for which those two stand are just racists using patriotism as cover. They are no different than those who attacked Dr. King under the smokescreen of promoting "law and order".
2
"Middle of the Road "? Highly critical,I'd say.
1
We celebrate Dr King but must be tempered by the unthinkable denegration of Congressman John Lewis by a clueless and demonstrably racist Donald Trump. Today's columns by Charles Blow and Paul Krugman are spot on. We must be vigilant, courageous and persistent in our opposition to the lawfully elected but otherwise illegitimate President Trump.
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Trump spent 8 years challenging the legitimacy of
Obama's presidency. A challenge to him on his own
Legitimacy brought Trump to name calling, bullying, and embarrassment to the office!
Obama's presidency. A challenge to him on his own
Legitimacy brought Trump to name calling, bullying, and embarrassment to the office!
2
I just wrote a comment saying that while MLK is a great man, his stances towards LGBT people are a blot on that greatness.
I wanted to include a link to an article that discusses this topic. Here it is: http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=477
MLK directly told a gay man that homosexuality is not an "innate tendancy" and that he should look into conversion therapy. As a Baptist, I know he did not support my identity as a gay transgender woman who wants to marry another gay transgender woman.
I believe MLK did great things for black and white people, but his message that LGBT people are diseased and need to get right with God was bigotry, and deserves to be known.
I wanted to include a link to an article that discusses this topic. Here it is: http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=477
MLK directly told a gay man that homosexuality is not an "innate tendancy" and that he should look into conversion therapy. As a Baptist, I know he did not support my identity as a gay transgender woman who wants to marry another gay transgender woman.
I believe MLK did great things for black and white people, but his message that LGBT people are diseased and need to get right with God was bigotry, and deserves to be known.
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I understand. But that was a long time ago when many people thought the way Dr. King did. While we can never know how a historical figure might react to the most pressing issues of our day, I wonder if Dr. King's ideas on such things would have evolved to be ever more inclusive.
Remember that Obama didn't support gay marriage before being elected and look how his views have changed.
Remember that Obama didn't support gay marriage before being elected and look how his views have changed.
2
MLK has been dead a long time. Were he still alive, he might have evolved on the issue as many people did including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
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Jacqueline,
As a father of a Gay wonderful son, I did not know that Dr King harbored these views.Unfortunately, being a man of the scriptures that never evolves you do become smitten with certain strains of bigotry, that are embedded in your soul. I do believe that if he was alive today he would recognize that what he preached was hurtful & wrong.
There are billions of people on earth & no two people are exactly alike, we vary in color & desires, who's to say who or what is the norm. Let us all live & let live,It's the only way we can live in peace.
I forgive Dr King for his thoughts on this issue, the Good he did & the way he went about doing it far over shadow his human frailties.
As a father of a Gay wonderful son, I did not know that Dr King harbored these views.Unfortunately, being a man of the scriptures that never evolves you do become smitten with certain strains of bigotry, that are embedded in your soul. I do believe that if he was alive today he would recognize that what he preached was hurtful & wrong.
There are billions of people on earth & no two people are exactly alike, we vary in color & desires, who's to say who or what is the norm. Let us all live & let live,It's the only way we can live in peace.
I forgive Dr King for his thoughts on this issue, the Good he did & the way he went about doing it far over shadow his human frailties.
2
Dr King was an American Hero and one of our greatest leaders ever.
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Dr. King spoke universal truths that resonate with all. People of all stripes embrace them for their fullness.
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Beautifully spoken...and timely, to say the least. The last graph, quoting Martin Luther King, over a half-century ago, directly address concerns many of us have about the president-elect's grandiose and 'de-visionary' plans, that would greatly alter the trajectory of the dream Dr. King navigated so long ago.
1
It's nice to see a piece that actually discusses MLK rather than using his birthday in order to insult one another.
4
I don't celebrate MLK day as I consider it an illegitimate holiday in which congress was railroaded into creating it by pressure tactics. He is hardly a hero to many in this country and I am one of them. We give civil servants too many paid holidays.
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Many other Americans endure celebrations and parades and football nonsense that they are not crazy about as well. Sounds like you just discovered that you live in America. Lol.
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Are you posting from work ?
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Would love to know who your heroes are, Judyw.
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Thank you for your very fine article, Mr. Sokol. However, could it be that even as conservatives have come to appropriate King's identity and message for themselves as a kind of harmless and moderate "colorblindness" at the cost of his radicalism, liberals have had a tendency to re-mold him into a kind of secular social radical at the cost of a deep, Christian faith which animated his work? Might it be that his fidelity to a gospel which refuses to fit neatly on our political spectrum - offending both conservatives and liberals when rightly understood - drives this bi-partisan misappropriation?
5
Oh how we need Dr. King today, right now. Thinking of those brave individuals who stood up to white supremacy in the South where I am from took a true act of courage. Even Whites in the South who believed Blacks deserved the same civil rights and privileges in every respect as they, were afraid to speak out. The KKK were intolerant of them as well. But Dr. King faced the enemy and won, backed by others such as John Lewis and a lot of young people who were the heroes who sat in at the lunch counters and braved the dogs and fire hoses for a cause they believed in, and a future they hungered for.
Trump who has never done a courageous thing in his life, is not fit to touch the hem of John Lewis's robe. To show such disrespect to a true Civil Rights hero who had his skull fractured at the hands of an Alabama State Trooper on that bloody day in history on the weekend of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, speaks volumes to me.
If anyone has not read "Letter from Birmingham Jail" today is the day to do so. Dr. King was one of the most transformative leaders in the history of this country.
Trump who has never done a courageous thing in his life, is not fit to touch the hem of John Lewis's robe. To show such disrespect to a true Civil Rights hero who had his skull fractured at the hands of an Alabama State Trooper on that bloody day in history on the weekend of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, speaks volumes to me.
If anyone has not read "Letter from Birmingham Jail" today is the day to do so. Dr. King was one of the most transformative leaders in the history of this country.
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I believe in MLKs message, but I dont love the man. He promoted equality for everyone except me.
Im a transgender woman who is also gay, and MLK did not promote the idea of judging me by my character. He directly told a gay man that homosexuality was not ok, that it was not an "innate tendency" and that he should consider conversion therapy with a good psychiatrist. These views live on today in his family, with his niece believing that same sex marriage should be illegal.
People make excuses for him, saying he was "moderate for his time." While telling a gay man that cultural forces caused him to be gay and that conversion therapy would make him right again may be moderate in the 1960s, it is still wrong. No one says that a slave owner was "moderate for his time" if he didnt beat his slaves. No, racism is racism is racism. Well, bigotry is bigotry is bigotry.
MLK was a great man, but his belief that LGBT people were diseased and needed to be treated is a blot on that greatness.
As a transgender woman, I know that today black culture still views LGBT people in a more negative light than white culture. This is especially true amongst black Baptists, which is where MLK came from. They treat LGBT people like MLK did, as diseased individuals who need to get right with God.
MLK Day always reminds me of how MLK stood for all Americans, as long as you werent gay or transgender.
Im a transgender woman who is also gay, and MLK did not promote the idea of judging me by my character. He directly told a gay man that homosexuality was not ok, that it was not an "innate tendency" and that he should consider conversion therapy with a good psychiatrist. These views live on today in his family, with his niece believing that same sex marriage should be illegal.
People make excuses for him, saying he was "moderate for his time." While telling a gay man that cultural forces caused him to be gay and that conversion therapy would make him right again may be moderate in the 1960s, it is still wrong. No one says that a slave owner was "moderate for his time" if he didnt beat his slaves. No, racism is racism is racism. Well, bigotry is bigotry is bigotry.
MLK was a great man, but his belief that LGBT people were diseased and needed to be treated is a blot on that greatness.
As a transgender woman, I know that today black culture still views LGBT people in a more negative light than white culture. This is especially true amongst black Baptists, which is where MLK came from. They treat LGBT people like MLK did, as diseased individuals who need to get right with God.
MLK Day always reminds me of how MLK stood for all Americans, as long as you werent gay or transgender.
3
He wasn't a saint, and wasn't omniscient. His views on gender reflected 'professional' views that sexual behavior was a matter of conditioning, and religious beliefs of the time that held anything beyond heterosexual behavior-- within marriage-was sinful.
It took many denominations years to change; some have not changed their views and attribute them to biblical passages. Consider if you will that many gay/lesbian and other people had to work for years to shed their private religious baggage which held that they were somehow bad. i don't like this, but we all carry ideas we were conditioned to believe - perhaps until we have our eyes and hearts opened.
What I am sure of is that Dr. King's determination to ensure civil rights for Africa Americans, his methods, and his understanding of what it means to be marginalized and his ability to see beyond racial divisions, have energized ALL political movements since the 60's- including the Women's movement and the work for- and progress toward - LBGT rights.
It took many denominations years to change; some have not changed their views and attribute them to biblical passages. Consider if you will that many gay/lesbian and other people had to work for years to shed their private religious baggage which held that they were somehow bad. i don't like this, but we all carry ideas we were conditioned to believe - perhaps until we have our eyes and hearts opened.
What I am sure of is that Dr. King's determination to ensure civil rights for Africa Americans, his methods, and his understanding of what it means to be marginalized and his ability to see beyond racial divisions, have energized ALL political movements since the 60's- including the Women's movement and the work for- and progress toward - LBGT rights.
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Everybody's getting their dander up about one part of your editorial or another. I found it challenging in its earnestness, and touched by its closing remarks of eyes-open respect.
10
The attack on the Voting Rights Act, on-going disparities in the areas of incarceration, economics, education and health, the media's negative portrayal of Black Lives Matter, and the fact that Obama declined to mention BLM in his closing remarks as president last week, all speak to the ground we've lost since the passing of Martin Luther King Jr.
Today's black leaders are too close, and far too comfortable with, the power that has fueled economic injustice. The one-time civil rights icon, John Lewis, now has a several decades-long record of support for apartheid Israel's oppression of the Palestinians - a record Dr King would find appalling.
And Dr King, who begged our politicians to “develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole”, would have nothing but disdain for the trade pacts that have been used to exploit workers here and abroad.
http://www.newsweek.com/martin-luther-king-obama-state-union-ignore-417108
Today's black leaders are too close, and far too comfortable with, the power that has fueled economic injustice. The one-time civil rights icon, John Lewis, now has a several decades-long record of support for apartheid Israel's oppression of the Palestinians - a record Dr King would find appalling.
And Dr King, who begged our politicians to “develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole”, would have nothing but disdain for the trade pacts that have been used to exploit workers here and abroad.
http://www.newsweek.com/martin-luther-king-obama-state-union-ignore-417108
3
MLK became less threatening after his assassination, hence the attempts to turn him from a radical to a teddy bear.
Same thing happened to Mohammed Ali after he lost his voice to Parkinson's.
Same thing happened to Mohammed Ali after he lost his voice to Parkinson's.
4
Martin Luther King plagiarized his doctoral dissertation, i.e., he presented
somebody else's work as his own. His adulteries were legendary.
There are only two persons whose birthdays are celebrated with a national holiday: M.L. King and Jesus Christ.Beyond grotesque.
somebody else's work as his own. His adulteries were legendary.
There are only two persons whose birthdays are celebrated with a national holiday: M.L. King and Jesus Christ.Beyond grotesque.
1
Ever hear of a guy named George Washington?
2
People like coach Swinney criticize Mr. Kaepernick for doing today what Mr. Swinney praise the founding fathers for doing.
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As an elementary school teacher who long ago tired of the peace doves and gooey songs about love and peace surrounding this man I can't thank you enough for this article - Can we please focus on COURAGE instead of peace teachers? The courage to stand up for what is morally right despite the views of the masses? Once again white people (and I am one) have turned a radical into somebody who doesn't really call them to change ... don't even get me started on Jesus :-)
6
Very good point thanks for sharing
1
When many blacks didn't vote in 2016, then celebrating MLK is way beside the point.
1
Again. Have you any proof of this??? -- Or, is this just another roundabout way of saying Black people ony vote for other Black people????
1
Dr. King was a rebel and an agitator. This is how you get things done. His stand against violence raised him up above the typical revolutionary. The racism of Thurmond and Helms just shows that Donal Trump did not arise from nowhere.
8
You write that Americans of all races, backgrounds, and ideologies celebrate the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, there is still one Confederate Racist holdout - Biloxi, Mississippi. A few days ago, Biloxi announced that they would not be celebrating Martin Luther King day, but would instead create a new holiday called "Great Americans Day." Somehow, I doubt that many white residents of Biloxi include King in that generic pool.
4
heres one of the most beautiful songs ever written for martin luther king jr. it called "the cure for fear" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3ns1fMrB6w . enjoy your day off and remember mlk legacy iis not to be taken for granted much of the unity you take for granted was encouraged by his peaceful actions stemmed at unifying white and black america, not dividing us like other historical figures have tried to but failed. america is stronger than the haters.
1
John Lewis stumped for Goldman Sachs Queen Hillary
Were he active in 2016, MLK would have been an advisor to and advocate for Bernie Sanders, just as Cornel West was.
Hillary got 90+ percent of the black vote in the primaries.
See the disconnect here people ?
Were he active in 2016, MLK would have been an advisor to and advocate for Bernie Sanders, just as Cornel West was.
Hillary got 90+ percent of the black vote in the primaries.
See the disconnect here people ?
3
Don't worry- Donald has an actual GS bigwig proposed for his cabinet, not giving a speech.
You have no idea what MLK would do or if Cornell West's hectoring of Obama would be honored by a guy like that.
You have no idea what MLK would do or if Cornell West's hectoring of Obama would be honored by a guy like that.
1
I see the disconnect every time I see a picture of Donald Trump.
2
Guess whose bringing Goldman Sachs people into the Cabinet and other appointed government positions?
MLK was a visionary. I am so grateful Dr. King was far more tolerant than some of his mentees....namely Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and others who walked in King's shadow yet currently practice reverse racism.
BHO and MRO both attended Jeremiah Wright's church services for decades where reverse racism was the appetizer, entree, salad and dessert.
Is it any wonder Michelle stated early in the first term this was the first time she was proud of America? Not the words Dr. King would admire. Not even close.
We miss you, Dr. King....daily!!!
BHO and MRO both attended Jeremiah Wright's church services for decades where reverse racism was the appetizer, entree, salad and dessert.
Is it any wonder Michelle stated early in the first term this was the first time she was proud of America? Not the words Dr. King would admire. Not even close.
We miss you, Dr. King....daily!!!
2
I am a white retired Air Force colonel, and if you read the entire sermon by Jeremiah Wright, he was spot on. We shouldn't sweep America's historic crimes under the rug, such as giving smallpox infested blankets to Native Americans or enabling police states in Chile and Iran.
We are grateful to MLK. We also salute your friends in your struggle including Mr.John Lewis for the
2
"... Until fairly recently, many white Americans loathed Dr. King ..." Until recently? In our current political circumstance, which has progressed from hyper-partisanship to outright bigotry, the worms of racism are bidden out of the woodwork with each bilious Trumpian tweet.
The ancient hatreds of our Republic never disappeared; they simply incubated underground like gypsy moths only to emerge with a vengeance at the first official nod of encouragement. The President-elect's perverse response to the bona-fide civil rights hero, John Lewis, has emboldened the trolls of hatred even before Inauguration Day.
Only staunch resistance will stanch the advent of worse days ahead.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
The ancient hatreds of our Republic never disappeared; they simply incubated underground like gypsy moths only to emerge with a vengeance at the first official nod of encouragement. The President-elect's perverse response to the bona-fide civil rights hero, John Lewis, has emboldened the trolls of hatred even before Inauguration Day.
Only staunch resistance will stanch the advent of worse days ahead.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
7
The only thing that remains now is for the Roman Catholic Church grant him sainthood. Then, he could be Saint Reverend Doctor Martin instead of just Martin, and people could pray to him, much as they do now, only officially. Yes, I know he was a Baptist preacher, but I'm sure the Pope would consider an exception, given His Holiness's committment to diversity?
2
It's amazing how some conservatives try to claim his legacy these days. A man they despised when he was alive, calling him a "dangerous race-baiting communist sympathizer." They opposed the MLK holiday when the NAACP and John Conyers brought the idea to Congress (all "no" votes came from conservatives). Reagan opposed it too but was forced to sign the bill after it passed with a veto-proof majority.
Since his assassination and sanctification, they've tried to turn MLK from a radical who supported reparations and affirmative action into a guy who made one PG-rated speech about "character" (a go-to trope for evading race debates).
Since his assassination and sanctification, they've tried to turn MLK from a radical who supported reparations and affirmative action into a guy who made one PG-rated speech about "character" (a go-to trope for evading race debates).
9
"An Individual has not started living fully until they can rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity. Every person must decide at some point, whether they will walk in light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." ~ MLK Community of Man", p. 3
I often wonder how MLK would react to the inheritors of his mantle with their politics of division and celebration of their own 'unique' otherness.
I often wonder how MLK would react to the inheritors of his mantle with their politics of division and celebration of their own 'unique' otherness.
2
"darkness of destructive selfishness " = Trump team and Republicans.
1
I am celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. who is embodied by honorable men like John Lewis. I am celebrating a man who has shown courage his entire life. Rep. Lewis's dedication to fighting, literally, in the streets, for Civil Rights is paramount in. Racism is not covert any more, it is overt and as prevalent as ever. Sorry, White folk, know that irks you.
I understand Trump voters are angry and afraid. Their old road is rapidly fading. Their days of supreme supremacist White Rule has been dramatically diminished. Republicans need gerrymandering and draconian rules for voting. The only way Republicans can win a national election is to cheat. Trump needed a racist campaign manager, the head of the FBI, ex-KGB tyrant, and a Republican-controlled Congress to convene eight committees in their obsession to indict Hillary on anything they could find.
The spirit of MLK Jr. will live on as long as good folk like John Lewis around to remind US of our horrid past. He is at vanguard of the NeverTrump movement. This illegitimate president-elect will take the oath but it will be meaningless to more than half the nation.
On Day One Trump will transition from private citizen to being accountable to we the people. At High Noon Trump he will be investigated for high crimes and misdemeanors. We can't wait.
DD
Manhattan
I understand Trump voters are angry and afraid. Their old road is rapidly fading. Their days of supreme supremacist White Rule has been dramatically diminished. Republicans need gerrymandering and draconian rules for voting. The only way Republicans can win a national election is to cheat. Trump needed a racist campaign manager, the head of the FBI, ex-KGB tyrant, and a Republican-controlled Congress to convene eight committees in their obsession to indict Hillary on anything they could find.
The spirit of MLK Jr. will live on as long as good folk like John Lewis around to remind US of our horrid past. He is at vanguard of the NeverTrump movement. This illegitimate president-elect will take the oath but it will be meaningless to more than half the nation.
On Day One Trump will transition from private citizen to being accountable to we the people. At High Noon Trump he will be investigated for high crimes and misdemeanors. We can't wait.
DD
Manhattan
4
"Scrubbed and blunted" are apt descriptions of the reductionist memories our society has of Dr. King's life, policies and tactics. I often hear the demand of "nonviolence" used as a cudgel against the incipient rage beneath peaceful demonstrations opposing racial injustice. There is the inevitable, "Remember Dr.King's calls for nonviolence." The message is that the oppressed must "turn the other cheek," to leverage the Christian metaphor when confronted by an enemy. Nonviolent resistance was never, ever about simply turning the other cheek. In fact, the actual phrase is "nonviolent direct action." Direct action is the operative phrase -- direct action, qualified by the nonviolent adjective. The tactics were principally to produce "creative tension," as was so often expressed by nonviolence tutor, Bayard Rustin. The methods of nonviolennce must not be softened to assume that society at-large would be calmed or soothed. It was not. As King makes clear in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to white clergy who demanded that he cease immediately his direct action demonstrations in favor of a slower and more moderate approach to dismantling Birmingham's legally enforecable racial oppression. Nonviolent direct action was not a matter of turning the other cheek, and it never was intended to be so. It was, and is, a weapon -- and a powerfully effective one at that.
6
This author picks and chooses which contemporaries of King's he wants to emphasize (generally those threatened by him, strangely I think), and then ignores the fact that, since King's death, children have been taught his speeches annually. What other historical figure has his words amplified as often?
Yes, we always interpret information in terms of our own interests. But MLK, Jr.'s message has been clear and consistent, in life and in history's message to those who would listen.
Yes, we always interpret information in terms of our own interests. But MLK, Jr.'s message has been clear and consistent, in life and in history's message to those who would listen.
3
Dr. King was undoubtedly a great man, but if he had not been assassinated we would not have a day in his honor. JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, Harvey Milk etc. were also assassinated, but there is no national holiday in their honor. Bear that in mind. But I was in favor of a national holiday for MLK all along, and still am. What makes it less that a perfect fit for us in my mind, however, is this: We had a national holiday to honor George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln was similarly honored in most of the country, if not by an actual designated national holiday. When the MLK Day was proposed and in time passed, we decided to take away the national holiday for Washington, semi-national one for Lincoln, et al and instead designated the third Monday in February as Presidents' Day. However you may look at it, it remains that in doing so, we automatically declared Martin Luther King Jr. as the greatest American who had ever lived. He must have been, since he is the only American to be given his own national holiday, and it takes the greatness 44 presidents (soon to be 45, and someday to be maybe 100) to equal his greatness. In other words, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Reagan, and Obama put together equal only about a third of the greatness allotted to MLK. Outside natural personal prejudices on any side of the argument, is there really any doubt that this is what that one holiday we celebrate today signifies?
We live in an alarmingly unidealistic, unequal, cynical, almost nihilistic society.
But it is dreams and ideals that drive history.
Policy, political action, and what we take for granted were all driven by idealists like Dr. King.
Yet idealism takes many shapes and forms, and in many respects radicalism is a form of idealism.
I'm embracing my own radicalism today.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
But it is dreams and ideals that drive history.
Policy, political action, and what we take for granted were all driven by idealists like Dr. King.
Yet idealism takes many shapes and forms, and in many respects radicalism is a form of idealism.
I'm embracing my own radicalism today.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
2
The "Whitewashing" of Dr. King by those uncomfortable with him, entirely misses the point that Dr. King's philosophy was not just about race. He talked about the "Triple Evils" of Poverty, Racism, and Militarism, that exist in a vicious cycle. These three evils personify violence. His plea for "nonviolence" was not simply to eschew violence. Rather it was to act on the roots of inequality using a moral force rather than physical force. It's so tragic that 49 years after Dr. King's untimely death, these tripe evils persist and even seem to be thriving in our society.
9
In the late 60's I was part of a group of clergy who met with Dr. King in a crowded building in Philadelphia and was immediately taken by his "presence." He spoke with undeniable moral authority and prophetic bearing. He was assassinated shortly thereafter. That was the worst three months of my life as Dr.King, my dad and Robt.Kennedy were killed in a three month span. I call it the month of the three K's.
7
MLK is mentioned so often and in so many contexts that I dont really know what he stands for anymore. I thought he was trying to build a world where race really didnt matter, where all were equal and had the same opportunities.
However, today I keep hearing MLK referenced in the context of the new "race will always matter" believers. It feels to me that the new movement is pushing for something akin to separate but equal, instead of just unity and equality.
In todays world race seems more important then ever. BLM seems like an extension of the Black Panthers, not MLK. We have moved on to some sort of post-assimilation race narrative, where unity is a scam to belittle the black experience.
We seem to be on a path to a separate bit equal world. Im literally scared to talk to a black person, I feel that they could be offended by anything I say. I have had black friends who looked at me like I was an idiot for wanting a post-racial world. I dont know if it is idiotic to imagine a world where the color of your skin doesnt matter. Maybe it is, and I know that we have so far to go before we can even say we are close to being there, but shouldnt that at least be the goal?
However, today I keep hearing MLK referenced in the context of the new "race will always matter" believers. It feels to me that the new movement is pushing for something akin to separate but equal, instead of just unity and equality.
In todays world race seems more important then ever. BLM seems like an extension of the Black Panthers, not MLK. We have moved on to some sort of post-assimilation race narrative, where unity is a scam to belittle the black experience.
We seem to be on a path to a separate bit equal world. Im literally scared to talk to a black person, I feel that they could be offended by anything I say. I have had black friends who looked at me like I was an idiot for wanting a post-racial world. I dont know if it is idiotic to imagine a world where the color of your skin doesnt matter. Maybe it is, and I know that we have so far to go before we can even say we are close to being there, but shouldnt that at least be the goal?
4
If speaking with black people is so upsetting to you, feel free to avoid them. It is a free country and based on your multiple posts, you appear rather biased yourself.
1
Sister, I echo your thoughts. I do NOT understand how we can expect to have " racial equality" while we still have all this "black and white" stuff. America should not be black or white or Asian or Latino. People, we ALL bleed red. We have a culture. We speak English. We have norms for civility. We have mutual standards for behavior. I still remember those wonderful AT&T ads right after 9/11 with all those folks saying, "I am an American". I wish that ad would run every day to remind us of who we are and what we have. If a culture wants to have a language that most of us can't understand (and this applies to EVERYONE, including black folk, who've children I've heard at my bus stop) and stick in their own enclaves, what can we do? I have faith in my fellow Americans. I sincerely believe that we can see when wrong is being done and rise up to stop it.
yes!
I lived in NYC when Dr. King was murdered. I went to a memorial service at Riverside Church and walked out after a few minutes -- the preacher was talking about a bland figure who bore no resemblance to the often sharp-edged Dr. King, the real man whose death I was mourning. I realized then that his legacy was in serious trouble because he was being transformed into everyone's favorite uncle. Yes, he spoke eloquently of his dream and inspired millions, but he also knew that attaining that dream was going to take more than oratory. He was not afraid to offend people who stood in the way of progress. His powerful words were quickly twisted into mushy platitudes the moment he was no longer there to defend them. I cried then, both for his loss and for the distortion of his legacy which was already starting. Unfortunately that distortion became what most people believe this great man stood for. It wasn't.
10
I feel like today we are in this period where white people are not allowed to be critical of black communities. There are so many different ways that you can be ostracised from all your friends and called a racist.
For example, if you dont believe that police brutality only occurs to black people amd is the reason behind gang violence, then you are a racist. If you say that perhaps a gang culture has led to the death of almost 1000 people in Chicago, you are a racist. If you say that you believe that black culture views LGBT people in an extremely negative light compared to white culture (I dont really believe in the idea of having culture be based on race, but thats the way it is), you are a racist. Even if I say that as a transgender woman I know that this is true, I am still called a racist.
If I say that as a transgender woman I understand discrimination, then I am told that I dont know anything and am accused of false equivalency. I feel that I am not even allowed to empathise with black people.
I feel like there is pressure to not talk to black people, and that pressure is coming from black people and alt-righters. If all we are allowed to do is feel shame and check our priviledge, then I think we might be on a path to some sort of seperate but equal world. Im not sure thats what MLK believed in. I hope it isnt.
I want a world where we are together and equal. Where race doesnt matter and there is no white and black culture, but rather American culture.
For example, if you dont believe that police brutality only occurs to black people amd is the reason behind gang violence, then you are a racist. If you say that perhaps a gang culture has led to the death of almost 1000 people in Chicago, you are a racist. If you say that you believe that black culture views LGBT people in an extremely negative light compared to white culture (I dont really believe in the idea of having culture be based on race, but thats the way it is), you are a racist. Even if I say that as a transgender woman I know that this is true, I am still called a racist.
If I say that as a transgender woman I understand discrimination, then I am told that I dont know anything and am accused of false equivalency. I feel that I am not even allowed to empathise with black people.
I feel like there is pressure to not talk to black people, and that pressure is coming from black people and alt-righters. If all we are allowed to do is feel shame and check our priviledge, then I think we might be on a path to some sort of seperate but equal world. Im not sure thats what MLK believed in. I hope it isnt.
I want a world where we are together and equal. Where race doesnt matter and there is no white and black culture, but rather American culture.
4
It is up to you, not some abstract black person, to create the world you talk about. Own your own "pressure", shame, and odd ideas: feeling that you "are not even allowed to empathize with black people" is quite the take-away for MLK Day.
2
If your way of observing MLK day is to advertise your own inability to empathize with black people, then you are a racist.
2
MLK had moral and intellectual courage and cared about humans. The PC movement possesses none of these traits. based on your comments I think you do. More like this please
MLK is one of the greatest Americans to have ever lived. His words are as true today as they were when he first spoke them. It always amazes me how much effort needs to be expelled over equality issues. Simple concept that has plagued our country since it inception. We are moving in right direction and I hope and pray we continue to do so. Anyone who tarnishes his accomplishments is basically violating our Constitutional rights. Thank you Dr. King for showing the world what is possible and for lifting our minds toward good.
6
"Which Martin Luther King Are We Celebrating Today?" Easy answer.
All of them.
It took long enough for this country to even grant him recognition, so to celebrate every aspect of this man is due.
He wasn't a saint. He wasn't always well-liked. In fact, he was reviled by certain segments of Black & White communities alike -- But he had a purpose. And a Dream. And he died fulfilling it.
This country now stands at a very serious crossroad; where many of the same Civil Rights that Dr. King fought for, about to be tossed onto the garbage pile of history.
We, as Americans, can't afford to let that happen. This is where we must stand together for our country and the freedoms it has granted us -- whether it is the right to love, the right of a liveable working wage, or the right to vote.
If not, we risk not getting to that mountiantop -- which at the moment, is starting to look very far away.
All of them.
It took long enough for this country to even grant him recognition, so to celebrate every aspect of this man is due.
He wasn't a saint. He wasn't always well-liked. In fact, he was reviled by certain segments of Black & White communities alike -- But he had a purpose. And a Dream. And he died fulfilling it.
This country now stands at a very serious crossroad; where many of the same Civil Rights that Dr. King fought for, about to be tossed onto the garbage pile of history.
We, as Americans, can't afford to let that happen. This is where we must stand together for our country and the freedoms it has granted us -- whether it is the right to love, the right of a liveable working wage, or the right to vote.
If not, we risk not getting to that mountiantop -- which at the moment, is starting to look very far away.
5
Dr. King is one of my heroes. The Dr. King I choose is the one who had great empathy for his fellow man, who understood fairness, equality opportunity for all.
2
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
And that truth is self-evident today. Because there are those individuals in positions of power who are passionate and dedicated to frustrate Human progress, specially against women, workers, immigrants, and others who look, love, and pray to god unlike them.
And that truth is self-evident today. Because there are those individuals in positions of power who are passionate and dedicated to frustrate Human progress, specially against women, workers, immigrants, and others who look, love, and pray to god unlike them.
2
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was certainly a wonderful man who acted in a gentlemanly fashion. He brought the races together not apart like what we are seeing today. He was a man in which both races could be proud and want to emulate.
It was John Lewis who started the feud with Donald Trump and not the other way around. He called him an illegitimate president and Donald Trump had to defend himself by speaking out against this unfair and unjustified behavior. I do not think Rev. King would have acted in such an unseemly manner as he was a man of grace and dignity. I think he would have persuaded the Democrats to attend the inauguration and not cause any more division within our country. He was a man of reason and one who is admired around the world.
It was John Lewis who started the feud with Donald Trump and not the other way around. He called him an illegitimate president and Donald Trump had to defend himself by speaking out against this unfair and unjustified behavior. I do not think Rev. King would have acted in such an unseemly manner as he was a man of grace and dignity. I think he would have persuaded the Democrats to attend the inauguration and not cause any more division within our country. He was a man of reason and one who is admired around the world.
4
And on the other hand...maybe King would have called for a boycott of the inauguration of a man who has publicly called the presidency of Barack Obama illegitimate, who tweeted outrageously false statistics that supposedly showed white homicide victims are most likely to have been killed by black criminals, who began his career being sued as a racist landlord.
A boycott seems right out of King's playbook, actually.
A boycott seems right out of King's playbook, actually.
16
Trump started his rise to power by calling Obama an illegitimate President because he was born outside the US. Neither he, nor his supporters has grounds to complain about Lewis. Dr. King would certainly question the legitimacy of Trump who won only because our bizarre electoral college, which gives blacks less voting power and which deprived the majority of Americans their choice for President.
3
Donald Trump, who has the most power of anybody in the country, does not HAVE to defend himself against every little criticism made against him. So the "he started it first" argument doesn't justify anything because Donald Trump never HAD to reply in the first place. Same with his criticisms of SNL. They're a late night comedy show that airs once a week. He's the President of the United States. The power disparity is so great that it's comical that he feels the need to lash out.
3
We're celebrating all of him. We can't separate him into different people because he is all of piece. He may have started out one way and, had he not been assassinated, tried some other methods. What we need to remember is that the prejudice King was fighting against was a particularly virulent sort of prejudice: racial. That prejudice affected everything about the lives of African Americans in the South and the North. We have a president-elect whose father didn't want to rent to colored people and marked their applications accordingly. This president elect went along with his father's policies even though they were no longer the law of the land when he did. I think that there is still progress to be made but it won't happen unless more Americans start to realize that slavery might have been officially ended when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation the remnants are still affecting African Americans when it comes to poverty, education, housing, etc.
7
Mr. Sokol you say, "Many white Americans focused on one line of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech — that he longed for the day when his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”.
Yes, and many women suddenly realized that his words applied to them as well. Many young people realized that their "destiny" was not to be war fodder for the powerful. Many people woke up to the reality that we are ALL human beings who came into this world in exactly the same way, from an unknown place, and that inequality and people ownership are simply human constructs to control for power. People of every age, race, gender and color stepped out and spoke up for what they believed in.
You also say, “History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.” To honor Dr. King is to follow a different path."
Yes, right now - today - WE have the opportunity to stop the hate-anger-fear-war path of HIStory and make it OUR story by resisting and obstructing the Robber Barons who are trying to take over OUR governments and world. Just say NO and take action to stop them.
Yes, and many women suddenly realized that his words applied to them as well. Many young people realized that their "destiny" was not to be war fodder for the powerful. Many people woke up to the reality that we are ALL human beings who came into this world in exactly the same way, from an unknown place, and that inequality and people ownership are simply human constructs to control for power. People of every age, race, gender and color stepped out and spoke up for what they believed in.
You also say, “History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.” To honor Dr. King is to follow a different path."
Yes, right now - today - WE have the opportunity to stop the hate-anger-fear-war path of HIStory and make it OUR story by resisting and obstructing the Robber Barons who are trying to take over OUR governments and world. Just say NO and take action to stop them.
14
Thank you. That was a brilliant comment.
Those of us who were adolescents when he made his speeches listened and heard an adult telling us that we should question societal norms and think for ourselves. Not just an adult but a minister, a position that in working class communities was held in almost as much esteem as a teacher.
I never quite made the connection until just now that he paved he way for women's rights, the protest against war and ultimately gay rights. (The marches against the draft asserted that men have a right to make decisions about their own bodies - that the government should not force you to become cannon fodder.)
He also taught us that sometimes we would have to go against our parents, embodying the lesson that Christ taught that to truly follow his way of loving one another might set a son against his father.
Those of us who were adolescents when he made his speeches listened and heard an adult telling us that we should question societal norms and think for ourselves. Not just an adult but a minister, a position that in working class communities was held in almost as much esteem as a teacher.
I never quite made the connection until just now that he paved he way for women's rights, the protest against war and ultimately gay rights. (The marches against the draft asserted that men have a right to make decisions about their own bodies - that the government should not force you to become cannon fodder.)
He also taught us that sometimes we would have to go against our parents, embodying the lesson that Christ taught that to truly follow his way of loving one another might set a son against his father.
1
Dr, King enjoyed patient dialogue, answering his critics with clear reasoning and insistency. Recently, much muddled thought has been revisited, mentions of white guilt, living in the past, a lack of responsibility, and even familiar stereotypes (crime-infested) of race.
They deserve a response. African-Americans have no use for white guilt: it builds no cooperation; it creates no jobs nor improves schools, it doesn't increase community investment or family net worth. What it does do is create another anger point and excuse for whites to deflect from the real issues of racism as a system of power. Guilt shifts the conversation to irrelevant notions. Last century, the Grimke sisters, the Beecher sisters and other feminists had this very conversation: how to appeal to the moral instincts of a community without a false promise or personal pay-off: how to do right for right's sake. Neither guilt or reward is a reason to end racism as a system: it is an issue of moral clarity, done as Bob Dole said of the King holiday, because "it's the right thing to do."
Equally, in the focus of whites on the past, they ignore the present: Flint, the Roof trial, Rep. Steve King's reference to "sub-groups," Rep. Mo Brooks' declaration of "a war of whites." (Blacks didn't take to the streets with graffiti and threats when Obama won!)
Persistent dog whistles are present: in the social media of the next President!
Look forward: There is a fierce urgency of now!
They deserve a response. African-Americans have no use for white guilt: it builds no cooperation; it creates no jobs nor improves schools, it doesn't increase community investment or family net worth. What it does do is create another anger point and excuse for whites to deflect from the real issues of racism as a system of power. Guilt shifts the conversation to irrelevant notions. Last century, the Grimke sisters, the Beecher sisters and other feminists had this very conversation: how to appeal to the moral instincts of a community without a false promise or personal pay-off: how to do right for right's sake. Neither guilt or reward is a reason to end racism as a system: it is an issue of moral clarity, done as Bob Dole said of the King holiday, because "it's the right thing to do."
Equally, in the focus of whites on the past, they ignore the present: Flint, the Roof trial, Rep. Steve King's reference to "sub-groups," Rep. Mo Brooks' declaration of "a war of whites." (Blacks didn't take to the streets with graffiti and threats when Obama won!)
Persistent dog whistles are present: in the social media of the next President!
Look forward: There is a fierce urgency of now!
32
If you can't discredit a historical figure whose legacy is inconvenient for you, then you treat everything he or she said as banal. This has worked for Republicans regarding not just King, but Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and Lincoln.
13
Also Jesus, who has been morphed into a rubber stamp supporter of the GOP, arming oneself with military gear, a hater of public schools and muslims- a kind of political golem that suits the sanctity needs/cover for the powerful in our culture. Not the Jesus who inspired MLK.
7
"Many white Americans focused on one line of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech — that he longed for the day when his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” — and molded him into a gentle champion of colorblindness."
=
Well, we got that wrong, he was NOT such an apostle!
Tx, we won't that mistake again: we will no longer judge by character but rather by color.
I like the distortion better.
=
NONE of this pertains to Lewis' diss, that T is not legitimate, except that herein we say that some people may not be criticized.
We just had an election, about whether the Left can be criticized.
We said 'Yes the Left can be criticized.
Mr Lewis is free to boycott, and also those who agree, over being dissed.
=
It is good to bring out King's Lefto alliances, making his universalistic views on race, partisan views on all the rest of the left right split, and make him a class warrior. If so, such a revised view makes opposition to him NOT racist, or not per se.
Oops.
=
As to 'some people cheered his death,' - once again: white leaders are more likely to be killed than black leaders.
For example:
1968 also saw the murder of Robert Kennedy, the first Muslim terrorism in US, a Palestinian killing Mr Kennedy, over the Israeli Palestinian conflict,
- lest we forget why and 're-appropriate' that death.
Was George Wallace shot over racism?
Open borders also, by Dr King, we just had an election over that, also.
Mr Lewis?
=
Well, we got that wrong, he was NOT such an apostle!
Tx, we won't that mistake again: we will no longer judge by character but rather by color.
I like the distortion better.
=
NONE of this pertains to Lewis' diss, that T is not legitimate, except that herein we say that some people may not be criticized.
We just had an election, about whether the Left can be criticized.
We said 'Yes the Left can be criticized.
Mr Lewis is free to boycott, and also those who agree, over being dissed.
=
It is good to bring out King's Lefto alliances, making his universalistic views on race, partisan views on all the rest of the left right split, and make him a class warrior. If so, such a revised view makes opposition to him NOT racist, or not per se.
Oops.
=
As to 'some people cheered his death,' - once again: white leaders are more likely to be killed than black leaders.
For example:
1968 also saw the murder of Robert Kennedy, the first Muslim terrorism in US, a Palestinian killing Mr Kennedy, over the Israeli Palestinian conflict,
- lest we forget why and 're-appropriate' that death.
Was George Wallace shot over racism?
Open borders also, by Dr King, we just had an election over that, also.
Mr Lewis?
3
Sirhan Sirhan is Orthodox Christian.
2
Do you want to try that again, this time with coherence?
Hint: Separating every sentence with a paragraph break does nothing to improve the clarity of whatever it is you are trying to say.
Hint: Separating every sentence with a paragraph break does nothing to improve the clarity of whatever it is you are trying to say.
5
The Left is ALWAYS criticized - fairly and (mostly) foully. It is only when the Left criticizes the Right, no matter how warranted the criticism is that Republicans run around in circles in a faux hysterical high dudgeon with their hair on fire and talk about getting even or shutting down liberal speech.
6
You'll never get to justice by respecting all the utterly specious claims of narcissists to know what "God" thinks about anything.
11
I didn't know that MLK had been in favor of a guaranteed income. The media kept this quiet. It is a new idea for most in the U.S., but as automation increases, it will become a necessity. Like Gandhi, Jesus, Muhammad, Mandela or Buddah---Martin Luther Ling was a complicated visionary.
10
It amazes me how often the name Jesse Helms is connected to something morally repugnant.
20
As will Mitch McConnell's be. Soon to become a verb: "Somebody mconnelled the poor guy," or maybe "Judge, I was mcconnelled!"
3
Scott D--I bet you're amazed by similar statements about Jeff Sessions, and his ilk. Go figure.
3
I still remember when he blocked a Clinton nominee in 1993 because "she's a damn lesbian!"
6
The Poor People's Campaign, the opposition to the Vietnam War and the support of a Union (AFSCME) were not 'radical' any more than demanding equality for African-Americans. Progress always comes from the left and pushback from the conservatives.
Something commonly left out of the story of the March on Washington was the involvement of Labor Unions in getting many in the crowd to Washington,D.C.
The March was for Jobs and Freedom and Walter Reuther spoke that day. From the asking Center link you can read his remarks as released in advance to the press:
http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/walter-reuther-remarks-mar...
From The New Republic article on the Roth Anniversary of that speech:
"...progressive unions like the UAW made sure the event would succeed. In New York and several other cities, mobilizers worked out of union halls. Dozens of labor groups chartered buses, trains, and even airplanes to get members to the capital city. The UAW paid for a first-class sound system, so that every speech would ring out along the Mall, and produced thousands of signs with the slogan, “Equal Rights and Jobs NOW” printed in big, block letters. Reuther, who often took Randolph’s side in pushing the AFL-CIO to take a more assertive stand against racism, was the natural choice to represent organized labor on the program."
You also forget how Republicans have been trying to do revisionist history with MLK.
Something commonly left out of the story of the March on Washington was the involvement of Labor Unions in getting many in the crowd to Washington,D.C.
The March was for Jobs and Freedom and Walter Reuther spoke that day. From the asking Center link you can read his remarks as released in advance to the press:
http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/walter-reuther-remarks-mar...
From The New Republic article on the Roth Anniversary of that speech:
"...progressive unions like the UAW made sure the event would succeed. In New York and several other cities, mobilizers worked out of union halls. Dozens of labor groups chartered buses, trains, and even airplanes to get members to the capital city. The UAW paid for a first-class sound system, so that every speech would ring out along the Mall, and produced thousands of signs with the slogan, “Equal Rights and Jobs NOW” printed in big, block letters. Reuther, who often took Randolph’s side in pushing the AFL-CIO to take a more assertive stand against racism, was the natural choice to represent organized labor on the program."
You also forget how Republicans have been trying to do revisionist history with MLK.
20
Let's not forget that if Dr King had kept out of union strong-arm tactics he might well be alive today.
2
The AFSCME Sanitation workers organized because they were paid less and treated differently than the white workers. There were no "strong-arm tactics". The Mayor refused to recognize a legal union and Dr King stood with working people simply trying to get fair treatment at work. The his plans for the summer of 1968 was a Poor People's March on Washington.
I would suggest you come to Memphis to the National Civil Rights Museum which is located at the Lorraine Motel site where Dr King was murdered by a racist- James Earl Ray. Ray had been stalking Dr King. I would also recommend Roads to Memphis- shown on PBS's American Experience which can be watched on streaming video or DVD. The PBS webpage for the documentary is here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/memphis
Dr King went where others feared to go and all of America is the better for it. Many times in history progress has been paid for in blood and suffering and his work touched not only equal rights for African-Americans, but the rights of all Americans to a dignified life and fair treatment.
The greatest unfinished work of Dr King is the Poor People's Campaign.
I would suggest you come to Memphis to the National Civil Rights Museum which is located at the Lorraine Motel site where Dr King was murdered by a racist- James Earl Ray. Ray had been stalking Dr King. I would also recommend Roads to Memphis- shown on PBS's American Experience which can be watched on streaming video or DVD. The PBS webpage for the documentary is here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/memphis
Dr King went where others feared to go and all of America is the better for it. Many times in history progress has been paid for in blood and suffering and his work touched not only equal rights for African-Americans, but the rights of all Americans to a dignified life and fair treatment.
The greatest unfinished work of Dr King is the Poor People's Campaign.
To get everyone's mind off politics, here is a piece of information. The 8 richest people in the world, according to Forbes, are Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega (owns Zara, etc.), Carlos Slim of Mexico, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison and Michael Bloomberg.
Today's Happy Thought: Together, these eight men are EQUALLY rich as the 3.6 billion people around the world who comprise the poorest half of the world population. Who says we don't have equality?
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Today's Happy Thought: Together, these eight men are EQUALLY rich as the 3.6 billion people around the world who comprise the poorest half of the world population. Who says we don't have equality?
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
23
And thanks to Oxfam for speaking truth to power as we all should be doing in our own way.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-o...
"Oxfam is also calling on business leaders to play their part in building a human economy. The World Economic Forum has responsive and responsible leadership as its key theme this year. They can make a start by committing to pay their fair share of tax and by ensuring their businesses pay a living wage."
People around the world can join the campaign at www.evenitup.org.
Time to stop billionaire welfare.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-o...
"Oxfam is also calling on business leaders to play their part in building a human economy. The World Economic Forum has responsive and responsible leadership as its key theme this year. They can make a start by committing to pay their fair share of tax and by ensuring their businesses pay a living wage."
People around the world can join the campaign at www.evenitup.org.
Time to stop billionaire welfare.
15
Thanks, Socrates, for elaborating on the OXFAM information used in my comment. It appears that the world business leadership which meets in Davos is getting the message. It is up to all of us to keep applying pressure.
The facts about the plight of half the world, if presented by solely by Democrats, would probably be labeled “fake news” by our President-elect. The call for reform in tax and wage policies would be deemed unnecessary by Paul Ryan and the other Republican purveyors of phony, trickle-down schemes.
The facts about the plight of half the world, if presented by solely by Democrats, would probably be labeled “fake news” by our President-elect. The call for reform in tax and wage policies would be deemed unnecessary by Paul Ryan and the other Republican purveyors of phony, trickle-down schemes.
5
sdw, here's another bit of information. At least six of the richest supported the Democratic candidate for President. Buffet was particularly outspoken. Bezos, of course, owns the WaPo.
3
I cry
4
I have never heard anything about whites thinking anything horrible about Dr. Martin Luther King. We were brought up in a white suburb and had deep respect for the man. I find your comments regarding that as again "fake news/reporting." And except for banks, postal, and some public schools private companies do not honor the holiday so perhaps next year you might investigate and relay the correct reason for that discrepancy.
4
Perhaps before next year you could read some American history which will confirm all that Professor Sokol writes. Surely you must be aware that there is a past and a country that extends beyond the white suburb where you acquired the values you now hold? News isn't "fake" simply because it reports something different from your own experience.
5
Jan--Since YOU have never heard of it, it must be untrue. Or, maybe you are misinformed. Millions of Americans, mostly white, do not think MLK was an American hero and martyr, and should not be celebrated with a federal holiday. Maybe that's why you either voted for trump, or didn't vote at all.
6
To Jan and others who may be tempted to describe this article as "fake news":
I too grew up in a largely white suburb and was taught the sanitized version of Dr. King's legacy. Unlike you, I've been willing to hear and accept a more complete version of events. Did you notice that the author is a university professor of history and is researching for a book on MLK? Does that not suggest to you that he has access to far more information than you or I do? My perspective is that Professor Sokol has done the hard work and we are the beneficiaries. Three cheers for Truth!
I too grew up in a largely white suburb and was taught the sanitized version of Dr. King's legacy. Unlike you, I've been willing to hear and accept a more complete version of events. Did you notice that the author is a university professor of history and is researching for a book on MLK? Does that not suggest to you that he has access to far more information than you or I do? My perspective is that Professor Sokol has done the hard work and we are the beneficiaries. Three cheers for Truth!
2
This was a great read. I was certainly aware of how many have picked and chose which "version" of Dr King they championed. But this certainly added some much needed context and details. Great read to start my KING Holiday.
6
Think of all the people who are put on postage stamps years after they have been ridiculed, marginalized, jailed and murdered. This never stops the jailing and marginalizing and murdering of the next group of people who step forward with vision,passion, integrity and greatness.
13
MLK didn't die for anyone. He was murdered by an unhinged, lone wolf murderer. And had MLK not been cut down, he would have become another Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, or John Lewis.
Most white Americans today know little to nothing about MLK's radical pacifism, Communism, and class warfare. Most know little to nothing about his numerous infidelities to his wife. Most know nothing about how his children have systematically tarnished what little good he did by trying to grift off of his legacy, save perhaps for people in Atlanta who are all too well aware of the King clan's greed, corruption, and embarrassing lack of shame. Most know nothing about how he was regarded by the leading lights of the mid-century; the author Flannery O'Connor thought MLK was a charlatan for instance. She was pretty smart.
All of this gets swept under the rug though, all because King was assassinated. But at the end of the day it was white progressives who created "Saint Martin Luther King" and brought him into classrooms and TV programs, and as these same white progressives lose favor with the broader public (not even black people have much patience with these people anymore, thanks to gentrification), the myth of "Saint Martin Luther King" will also fade. And so it goes. Across the South, we used to celebrate Jefferson Davis as fervidly as we now celebrate MLK.
We never should have celebrated either. The myth making and sanctification can't be sustained in light of the facts.
Most white Americans today know little to nothing about MLK's radical pacifism, Communism, and class warfare. Most know little to nothing about his numerous infidelities to his wife. Most know nothing about how his children have systematically tarnished what little good he did by trying to grift off of his legacy, save perhaps for people in Atlanta who are all too well aware of the King clan's greed, corruption, and embarrassing lack of shame. Most know nothing about how he was regarded by the leading lights of the mid-century; the author Flannery O'Connor thought MLK was a charlatan for instance. She was pretty smart.
All of this gets swept under the rug though, all because King was assassinated. But at the end of the day it was white progressives who created "Saint Martin Luther King" and brought him into classrooms and TV programs, and as these same white progressives lose favor with the broader public (not even black people have much patience with these people anymore, thanks to gentrification), the myth of "Saint Martin Luther King" will also fade. And so it goes. Across the South, we used to celebrate Jefferson Davis as fervidly as we now celebrate MLK.
We never should have celebrated either. The myth making and sanctification can't be sustained in light of the facts.
9
On the other hand, his work did help to end segregation.
That is worth a lot.
I live in the South and I remember "for colored" bathrooms and the murdering of people fighting for civil rights.
It was not just some Facebook debate.
That is worth a lot.
I live in the South and I remember "for colored" bathrooms and the murdering of people fighting for civil rights.
It was not just some Facebook debate.
5
You're right. King was not intending to die for his beliefs - or was he? MLK and the others expected violent opposition for their goals. They knew that death could occur during that violence and carried on anyway.
I respect that commitment and the US is better for it. The effect of the Civil Rights movement is a more complete application of the US Constitution.
That MLK is used to symbolize that effort may be what you're complaining about. All I have to say to you is that someone had to lead that work and it was MLK.
I respect that commitment and the US is better for it. The effect of the Civil Rights movement is a more complete application of the US Constitution.
That MLK is used to symbolize that effort may be what you're complaining about. All I have to say to you is that someone had to lead that work and it was MLK.
3
Going by your criterion, positive inspirational figures wouldn't exist. We wouldn't have the benefit of these rare, remarkable, essential, inevitably flawed human beings.
All we'd be left with are the disturbingly common bad inspiration figures who fill the day's news, whose failings wouldn't be disqualifyingly contradictory, in your opinion.
No thanks.
All we'd be left with are the disturbingly common bad inspiration figures who fill the day's news, whose failings wouldn't be disqualifyingly contradictory, in your opinion.
No thanks.
2
To Clemson Coach Swinney and those who condemn Colin Kapernick: You need to hear the same message that the University of Chicago communicated to incoming freshman. Like the university, the world of football and the nation at large are not giant, politically correct safe spaces where you never have to hear something that offends you. Mr. Kapernick is merely using the right to free speech that the nation's founders left to all of us, not just to us, our friends, and people who agree with us. When yo hear something objectionable, just like the sensitive college kids, you need to grow a thicker skin and get over it.
11
You missed the point of the U of C's communication. You missed it badly.
3
...or you need to pause and ask yourself, "why would this person purposefully choose to offend others with whom he or she disagrees? What kind of upbringing encourages the use of intimidating, derogatory speech delivered with such bluster and lack of empathy?" They we can answer those questions truthfully, without hiding behind our "right to free speech" will be the day this society finally grows up.
3
In a long form interview on NPR from several years ago Claybourne Carson a young lawyer who was by Dr. King's side throughout the struggle talked in a personal way. He took away the iconic deity we all know and took listeners back to what it was really like to be there. Dr. King was stressed, not getting much sleep, smoking too much and somewhat overweight as he boarded that small plane bound for Memphis. Those close to him worried about his health. Everybody wanted a piece of him. Many closest to him didn't want him to go. He went anyway, he showed up. He left his needs behind and summoned the strength.
To me that interview took away the shining light for a moment and gave you a personal look at the man. It illustrated his true greatness. He always showed up. He brought people together even when they were determined to hate each other. Dr. King's earthly struggles have been over since that fateful day in Memphis. Were he with us he would worry about today's state of things. But I think he would try to find solutions that unite. Can we learn the lessons of his life as a people?
To me that interview took away the shining light for a moment and gave you a personal look at the man. It illustrated his true greatness. He always showed up. He brought people together even when they were determined to hate each other. Dr. King's earthly struggles have been over since that fateful day in Memphis. Were he with us he would worry about today's state of things. But I think he would try to find solutions that unite. Can we learn the lessons of his life as a people?
18
Dr. King was not servile or docile or meek but that's the version certain Americans prefer. It's the version of him I was taught in school. I was in high school when Arizona decided not to celebrate MLK day as a holiday and I couldn't understand why, given who I was taught that he had been. I wrongfully believed that the mere visual of people hurling insults and objects as marchers marched with dignity, singing Swing low sweet chariot through Selma and Birmingham had been enough to provide America with a certain crisis of conscience about race and race relations; I hadn't been fully taught that what Dr King and those marchers experienced wasn't uncommon.
It was years later that I learned how white-centric that version of Dr King's story is: his quiet dignity brought out the best in white people, and the KKK are the real racists, etc.
To go back to Arizona: white America shows what they really felt about him, and how much they understood, despite the rhetoric in schools and Norman Lear created sitcoms in syndication, that Dr King's story is rooted in blackness, in the demand for recognition of the full humanity of black people in America, including its myriad transgressions and crimes against the humanity of black people in America for centuries. That's why Helms and Reagan and Arizona resisted, and that's why they burnished the legacy of Martin Luther King, and tarnish the humanity of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland et al.
It was years later that I learned how white-centric that version of Dr King's story is: his quiet dignity brought out the best in white people, and the KKK are the real racists, etc.
To go back to Arizona: white America shows what they really felt about him, and how much they understood, despite the rhetoric in schools and Norman Lear created sitcoms in syndication, that Dr King's story is rooted in blackness, in the demand for recognition of the full humanity of black people in America, including its myriad transgressions and crimes against the humanity of black people in America for centuries. That's why Helms and Reagan and Arizona resisted, and that's why they burnished the legacy of Martin Luther King, and tarnish the humanity of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland et al.
67
MLK was also a politician who knew the rules of the white man's game, and did what he had to to accomplish his goals. Sometimes he had to grit his teeth. Finally, he gave his life.
4
What about the humanity of Tayshawn Lee? Is his humanity less because his memory cannot be used by liberals to advance their bigoted narrative? Justice denied for Taywhawn is justice denied for all.
The first and only time that I ever heard and saw Dr. King in person was in August, 1966 in a park at a rally the black South Side of Chicago.
"Any time that you are south of the Canadian border you are in the South in America". Dr. King's answer to the question as to why he was in Chicago when the problem of racist bigotry was a Southern problem. After being met by chanting violent white mobs on the ethnic white South Side of Chicago, King remarked that he had never seen such hate in the South.
"Any time that you are south of the Canadian border you are in the South in America". Dr. King's answer to the question as to why he was in Chicago when the problem of racist bigotry was a Southern problem. After being met by chanting violent white mobs on the ethnic white South Side of Chicago, King remarked that he had never seen such hate in the South.
7
Unless one sees justice in holistic perspective and feels an urge to side with the oppressed and segregated sections of society one can't appreciate the spirit of the civil rights movement spearheaded by Reverent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who sacrificed his life for the cause of justice.
8
We're watching the President-elect pick a fight with the finest living exemplar of Martin Luther King's legacy, Congressman John Lewis.
Trump's stupidity & vileness in insulting Congressman Lewis is startling, even as we've watched Trump's recent tirades & obnoxious tweets against Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Clapper, Hillary Clinton, President Obama, Angela Merkel & more who possess more intelligence, honor & decency than Trump.
Congressman Lewis is in a class by himself. I've met John Lewis & his kindness, thoughtfulness & deep humility are remarkable. Like Dr. King, Lewis risked his life to bring justice to America.
On this day we honor Dr. King, we should also give thanks Congressman Lewis is still alive & courageously fighting for justice, peace, nonviolence, kindness. John Lewis is a gift to this country.
Trump is a fool to trash him.
Trump isn't even in office yet & his presidency is a trainwreck.
The closing sentence in the inaugural address of our greatest president:
"With malice toward none, and charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him that shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865
On this day honoring Dr. King, I'm thankful for John Lewis.
Trump's stupidity & vileness in insulting Congressman Lewis is startling, even as we've watched Trump's recent tirades & obnoxious tweets against Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Clapper, Hillary Clinton, President Obama, Angela Merkel & more who possess more intelligence, honor & decency than Trump.
Congressman Lewis is in a class by himself. I've met John Lewis & his kindness, thoughtfulness & deep humility are remarkable. Like Dr. King, Lewis risked his life to bring justice to America.
On this day we honor Dr. King, we should also give thanks Congressman Lewis is still alive & courageously fighting for justice, peace, nonviolence, kindness. John Lewis is a gift to this country.
Trump is a fool to trash him.
Trump isn't even in office yet & his presidency is a trainwreck.
The closing sentence in the inaugural address of our greatest president:
"With malice toward none, and charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him that shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865
On this day honoring Dr. King, I'm thankful for John Lewis.
16
Well said!
4
As so as a person who grew up in a white neighborhood in DC and a white grade school which both slowly integrated in high school in the mid 70's I would offer this.... My 15 year old son attends a public high school and lives in one of the richest counties in the world in Maryland and both are fully integrated. My neighbors represent all walks of life and it all just seems normal to the youth.... That's real progress and I thank Dr King . I celebrate just how far we have come understanding it is still an important work in progress.
10
No doubt Martin Luther King, Jr., made possible the Presidential election of Barack Hussein Obama. In the minds of both races, Obama was like King when we first elected him as President. He seemed an avatar symbolizing peace, racial reconciliation and justice ---- worthy of a Nobel Prize Peace like King. But who among us believes that King would have supported Obama's assassinations of even mass killers like Osama Bin Laden?
Without Bin Laden, we will never obtain vital information to suppress terrorism. In all the years we have held foreign prisoners at our Cuban concentration camp Guantanamo, we have obtained no answers still to questions only Bin Laden could have provided.
King would have protested Bin Laden's assassination as stridently as he would have demonstrated against our Cuban concentration camp. Obama long ago showed us that he is no Martin Luther King, Jr. He has none of King's moral courage in the face of insurmountable political opposition. But none of our publicly elected officials in the incoming Trump administration seem to have moral courage, either, to resign in protest for keeping the Cuban camp open.
Without Bin Laden, we will never obtain vital information to suppress terrorism. In all the years we have held foreign prisoners at our Cuban concentration camp Guantanamo, we have obtained no answers still to questions only Bin Laden could have provided.
King would have protested Bin Laden's assassination as stridently as he would have demonstrated against our Cuban concentration camp. Obama long ago showed us that he is no Martin Luther King, Jr. He has none of King's moral courage in the face of insurmountable political opposition. But none of our publicly elected officials in the incoming Trump administration seem to have moral courage, either, to resign in protest for keeping the Cuban camp open.
2
The last 8 years showed that just because the President is half black, racism is alive and thriving. The last year with vilification of Muslims and the election of an orange thing that has been convicted of racist acts ( see 1968 Trumps and unfair real estate practices ) should make all reasonable people shudder in disgust. I am a Jew so therefore i am black, I am Muslim, I am gay, I am for any who would be shunned as " the other". The next 4 years will be very hard but we must continue MLKs march to justice.
12
Today, I'm celebrating his Nostradamus-like voice:
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Who would have believed so many of us would be having the opportunity in 2017 to grieve the exit of a brilliant, well-educated, elegant, ethical, high road outgoing black president!
Who would have believed we'd be so upset that we were getting stuck with a blow hard loose cannon sack full of lies white guy who seems hell bent on dragging equal rights for all and common decency through the mud on its way back to the stone ages.
Millions of good people have heard you, Martin. We're not going down without a peaceful fight.
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Who would have believed so many of us would be having the opportunity in 2017 to grieve the exit of a brilliant, well-educated, elegant, ethical, high road outgoing black president!
Who would have believed we'd be so upset that we were getting stuck with a blow hard loose cannon sack full of lies white guy who seems hell bent on dragging equal rights for all and common decency through the mud on its way back to the stone ages.
Millions of good people have heard you, Martin. We're not going down without a peaceful fight.
10
I thought from the headline this was going to tell us something uplifting about Dr. King. Instead it is more polarizing fuel that wants to educate us on those who resisted today's holiday. Too bad.
8
So what if Martin Luther King was alive today, what would he say? One moment you have the first biracial (Kenyan father/white American mother) President, and then you have Trump. So I see him scratching his head as he ponders on that dynamic shift in position. And the words he utters will astound most by saying, "Malcolm was right by any means, by any means necessary we should've declared our freedom. To have a puppet in one instance and the grand wizard in the next, my approach of being civil was a detriment when fighting a ravaging beast with no scruples.?
3
K--If Martin Lurther King, Jr., were alive today, I would like to think that he would advise his son not to take trump's bait, but to keep his own counsel.
4
We all wish we could get positive change without turbulence but it doesn't work that way.
7
Almost all non-violent movements succeed, in part, because there is truly seething anger and impatience in the wings. This is true of everybody from Ghandi to King. The next generation was ready to take to the streets if the non-violence movement failed. The only non-violent movement that comes to mind that worked with no threat of violence behind it was in Denmark during WW II. The Germans had captured Denmark and had informed the Danish king that, henceforth, all Danish Jews would be required to sew the yellow Jewish Star on their outer clothes. The king came out onto the palace balcony wearing a yellow Jewish star and told ALL Danes to wear the star. Since Jewish Danes were Danes first and Jews second, all Danes would wear the star. The Nazis gave up on the idea and the Danes had one of the few moral victories of modern times.
1
Dr. King was a man of God. For the next four years we will be ruled by the moneylenders. Workers rights, the attack on Mr. Lewis, women's rights, Trump cozying up to a former KGB official... The philistines are ruling the country. Enjoy free speech while we still have it. Trump would know Atlanta is a great city if he could pull himself away from his golf courses and penthouse. Oh yes - and the home of Dr. King.
10
Dr. King worshiped a God as he saw him. All his Republican detractors worship is Mammon. They all want the Crown of Thorns AND the Thirty Pieces of Silver. They want to get to Heaven, but don't want to die to get there.
King was not a god, but a man with faults, like every other man. But he transcended those faults to become a beacon, a rallying cry that energized the drive for Civil Rights, and changed our country as few before him had ever done. He gave hope to the hopeless, strength to the disenfranchised, dignity to the demeaned, and direct and motivation to those who thought they were helplessly trapped in segregation's and Jim Crow's vicious clutches.
I was 15 during 1963, when my parents took me to the "I Had a Dream" march on Washington. I was just turning 17 in 1965 when I went to Selma, Alabama, and marched in the third Selma-Montgomery march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I was just a young, white, movement footsoldier from Philadelphia, PA, but seeing MLK, Ralph Abernathy, Ralph Bunche, John Lewis, and religious leaders from all over the world leading the front row changed my life forever.
King was not a god, but a man with faults, like every other man. But he transcended those faults to become a beacon, a rallying cry that energized the drive for Civil Rights, and changed our country as few before him had ever done. He gave hope to the hopeless, strength to the disenfranchised, dignity to the demeaned, and direct and motivation to those who thought they were helplessly trapped in segregation's and Jim Crow's vicious clutches.
I was 15 during 1963, when my parents took me to the "I Had a Dream" march on Washington. I was just turning 17 in 1965 when I went to Selma, Alabama, and marched in the third Selma-Montgomery march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I was just a young, white, movement footsoldier from Philadelphia, PA, but seeing MLK, Ralph Abernathy, Ralph Bunche, John Lewis, and religious leaders from all over the world leading the front row changed my life forever.
2
It HAS to hurt deeply for people like the Hon. John Lewis who was severely wounded as a Freedom Fighter, and marched with Dr. King to see Dr. King's legacy white-washed, and whittled down to one sentence from a fervid speech about justice and equality. In fact the "I Have a Dream" segment was not a part of the original speech, but an impromptu sermon that was included at the urging of singer Mahalia Jackson who sat behind King on the stage. "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!"
The most demeaning thing about this for me is that instead of a day commemorating his pursuit of social justice for all Americans, it has become a day for people to hit the streets with clean-up brooms, the jobs of the very people with whom King was marching in Memphis when he was murdered.
The pain of continuing racial discrimination after physically suffering the effects of the protracted struggle against it and Dr. King's legacy, means something to the Hon. John Lewis. He lived it! To paraphrase what The President-elect said about Black people, Congressman Lewis might have thought, "What do I have to lose?"
The most demeaning thing about this for me is that instead of a day commemorating his pursuit of social justice for all Americans, it has become a day for people to hit the streets with clean-up brooms, the jobs of the very people with whom King was marching in Memphis when he was murdered.
The pain of continuing racial discrimination after physically suffering the effects of the protracted struggle against it and Dr. King's legacy, means something to the Hon. John Lewis. He lived it! To paraphrase what The President-elect said about Black people, Congressman Lewis might have thought, "What do I have to lose?"
12
There is NOTHING wrong with Lewis' attack on Trump.
And even if Trump's response was justified, it was probably unwise.
But what is totally unjustified is for white liberals to conveniently forget that Lewis attacked FIRST.
But white liberals love the fact that more than 90% of African Americans vote Democratic. It is a nice little bundle to have in your pocket. Whether this actually helps African Americans is another issue.
They do not need more attacks on Trump. They need jobs and education.
I predict that the joblessness rate among young African Americans will go DOWN under Trump.
And Democrats will go ON playing the racism card.
And even if Trump's response was justified, it was probably unwise.
But what is totally unjustified is for white liberals to conveniently forget that Lewis attacked FIRST.
But white liberals love the fact that more than 90% of African Americans vote Democratic. It is a nice little bundle to have in your pocket. Whether this actually helps African Americans is another issue.
They do not need more attacks on Trump. They need jobs and education.
I predict that the joblessness rate among young African Americans will go DOWN under Trump.
And Democrats will go ON playing the racism card.
1
Racism, as one of the many challenges mankind must overcome if Justice is to be approximated here on Earth, is small potatoes. If all the movement was about was getting blacks equal opportunity in a morally empty scrum for goodies, we were morally better off as slaves, hideous as that is to say. No offense to whites, but Jonah wasn't sent to Nineveh to obtain the right to shake his butt on VH-1, buy black gold rings, or prove he can be just as worshipful of a fiction's bottom line as the paler guy. We didn't travel through the belly of the slave ship, sharecropping, Jim Crow and civil rights struggle whale just to jump back in it "freely" and "fairly." The point was to advance everyone toward Justice, starting with a very, very powerful nation that, as God put it, didn't know it's left hand from its right, and had many heads of cattle to boot. America, black failure in clarifying the heart of the nation -- which failure began the moment the bait was taken in the riots after MLK was shot -- is a failure for America itself, not just blacks. We're Nineveh, no longer spared for a season. Very, very dark clouds have formed, and there is tremendous rumbling I hear.
8
Theo--Racism is NOT "small potatoes." Maybe for someone who thinks it's only about white hatred of black skin. Furthermore, I wonder if YOU have experienced a day in a non-white skin. When one American suffers, we all suffer.
4
What?
2
Theo, I think you're looking past the image of MLK as a prophet, and you're picking up the prophecy itself!
1
Hopefully we all are celebrating the King who so eloquently said that our children should be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. A lost message? I hope not.
10
Not a lost message, just one that many Americans have still not embraced.
9
Respectfully, what you choose to celebrate about Dr. King, a single line from Dr. King's speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, was the LEAST of what he had to say and not by any means the focus of his life's work. Indeed, it was not even the primary thing he had to say during the speech in which he uttered it. (The primary thing he had to say in that speech had to do with America giving Black people a bum check, and us demanding that it be honored - or did you even know that?) Please spend today, if you are not in service, seeking out and reading and learning the truth of what Dr. King's PRIMARY MISSION was in his lifetime. It was not about children or being judged by color. It was about JUSTICE. Too many Americans cling to his Dream like a life raft because they are terrified of the actual substantive change that Dr. King called for in this country, right up until the day he was murdered.
28
Who thinks racist, divisive Republicans "sanctify" the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.? None of their actions, in the last 3 decades would support such a misleading statement.
19
Dr. King was not assassinated by a white American racist terrorist because he was the “dreamer” the mainstream media has packaged him as today.
Rather, he was assassinated because he was a radical who challenged the lie of white supremacy and who demanded that America “just be true to what you said on paper”-- paper being the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The mainstream “whitewashed” narrative constructed to characterized Dr. King, leaves one believing that Dr. King gave one speech, and that one speech, only contained one sentence, “I have a dream.”
The mainstream media will never play what many believe, to include the iconic John Lewis, to be Dr. King’s greatest speech, “A Time to Break Silence,” given at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, exactly a year before he was assassinated. There, Dr. King spoke powerfully that “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world was his own government;” where he spoke about the “giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism;” and where he stated that the “nation must undergo a radical revolution of values…”
The “whitewashed” Dr. King is the one that America is most comfortable with, just as it is most comfortable with the fictional narrative that it has constructed to whitewash its own brutal history.
“We have constructed a history which is a total lie, and have persuaded ourselves that it is true. I seriously doubt that anything worse can happen to any people.” James Baldwin
Rather, he was assassinated because he was a radical who challenged the lie of white supremacy and who demanded that America “just be true to what you said on paper”-- paper being the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The mainstream “whitewashed” narrative constructed to characterized Dr. King, leaves one believing that Dr. King gave one speech, and that one speech, only contained one sentence, “I have a dream.”
The mainstream media will never play what many believe, to include the iconic John Lewis, to be Dr. King’s greatest speech, “A Time to Break Silence,” given at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, exactly a year before he was assassinated. There, Dr. King spoke powerfully that “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world was his own government;” where he spoke about the “giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism;” and where he stated that the “nation must undergo a radical revolution of values…”
The “whitewashed” Dr. King is the one that America is most comfortable with, just as it is most comfortable with the fictional narrative that it has constructed to whitewash its own brutal history.
“We have constructed a history which is a total lie, and have persuaded ourselves that it is true. I seriously doubt that anything worse can happen to any people.” James Baldwin
116
"De's jest abunch of happy folk down there on the plantation, a singin and a dancin away."
The lies we tell ourselves to shield our delicate natures from our own base inhumanity is staggering.
The lies we tell ourselves to shield our delicate natures from our own base inhumanity is staggering.
1
Dr. King epitomized the enlightenment values of justice and critical thinking.
May we, as we enter a period of dimming that challenges thoughtful righteousness, return to those values espoused by King, and hue to a higher road.
May we, as we enter a period of dimming that challenges thoughtful righteousness, return to those values espoused by King, and hue to a higher road.
34
On the night of his death Dr. King was planning his Poor People's Washington DC campaign where he hoped to unite Americans by socioeconomics, politics and educational class instead of dividing them by their colored caste.
J. Edgar Hoover's tried to destroy Dr. King via racist corrupt criminal activity. Hoover's name stains the FBI Building.
J. Edgar Hoover's tried to destroy Dr. King via racist corrupt criminal activity. Hoover's name stains the FBI Building.
4
Martin Luther King was a man who admonished us to meet the challenges of his time. Those challenges included civil rights, but also the Vietnam War and the pervasive poverty that hurt whites as well as black.
Just a violence undermines the purity of protest today, those who sought to undermine Dr. King used instances of violence to defame his cause. Charges of womanizing and affiliation with Communism were other tools to undermine the movement. Racism was always effective in shaping negative perceptions.
It was part of an effort to turn the US from the trajectory begun with the programs of FDR. It's hard to understand now that most people supported those programs and, despite the Cold War, still believed the government could be part of the solution, not just the problem. That is the legacy of Dr. King and it's worth celebrating.
Just a violence undermines the purity of protest today, those who sought to undermine Dr. King used instances of violence to defame his cause. Charges of womanizing and affiliation with Communism were other tools to undermine the movement. Racism was always effective in shaping negative perceptions.
It was part of an effort to turn the US from the trajectory begun with the programs of FDR. It's hard to understand now that most people supported those programs and, despite the Cold War, still believed the government could be part of the solution, not just the problem. That is the legacy of Dr. King and it's worth celebrating.
3
Unfortunately except in the educated Black community and for some of the liberal media, there seems to be little celebration of Martin Luther King Day anymore. For most people it is just an opportunity for the kids, bankers and government workers to have a day off. Perhaps that is because one has to be rather old to remember the turmoil of the sixties and the civil rights movement and the accomplishments of Dr. King.
2
I suspect that Martin Luther King Jr. would have supported single-payer.
Or at least a public option.
(If one is looking to eliminate poverty, that would be a good place to start.)
Or at least a public option.
(If one is looking to eliminate poverty, that would be a good place to start.)
9
"History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self defeating path of hate".
It seems Dr. King's message is lost in the shouts of hatred spouted by 62 million of my fellow Americans and their new "Leader" as evidenced by the voting results.
As Biloxi Mississippi celebrates "Great Americans Day" today, totally insulting Dr. King and every American with any kind of conscience, and the Confederate flag finds itself re-born in the South and as young blacks with absolutely no future suffer and die in our "great" cities with nothing substantive being done to help alleviate stifling poverty and racism, I wonder if it is, indeed, our time to end up defeating ourselves with hatred.
Ironic that "Martin Luther King Day" is to be followed by what I, and several friends are calling, "Black Friday", the inauguration of Donald Trump as president.
It seems Dr. King's message is lost in the shouts of hatred spouted by 62 million of my fellow Americans and their new "Leader" as evidenced by the voting results.
As Biloxi Mississippi celebrates "Great Americans Day" today, totally insulting Dr. King and every American with any kind of conscience, and the Confederate flag finds itself re-born in the South and as young blacks with absolutely no future suffer and die in our "great" cities with nothing substantive being done to help alleviate stifling poverty and racism, I wonder if it is, indeed, our time to end up defeating ourselves with hatred.
Ironic that "Martin Luther King Day" is to be followed by what I, and several friends are calling, "Black Friday", the inauguration of Donald Trump as president.
3
I like to remember King for his stance against militarism. One of my favorite MLK quotes woul be, "When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
President Carter shared similar concerns in a speech to the Commonwealth club in which he said, "Our country is now looked upon as the foremost warlike nation on earth, and there is almost a complete dearth now of commitment of America to negotiate differences with others."
President Carter shared similar concerns in a speech to the Commonwealth club in which he said, "Our country is now looked upon as the foremost warlike nation on earth, and there is almost a complete dearth now of commitment of America to negotiate differences with others."
7
Half a century hasn't diminished the fundamental truth: everyone seeking racial justice was brave and sought a better country at no little risk to themselves, while those who opposed advancement consistently exhibited cowardice and non - Christian hostility. The needle has moved since then, but nowhere near where it ought to be. That Lincoln's Party has been co-opted by the most recalcitrant among us is an assassination no less than that of Dr. King or of Medgar Evers.
4
It would be another thing if toxic incivility had not driven the Republican primary -- and in particular the Trump campaign.
It's continued to this day.
John Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr. sacrificed life and limb for deeply held principles.
And Trump's sacrifices?
"Over the weekend, I was offered $2 billion to do a deal in Dubai with a very, very amazing man, a great developer from the Middle East,” Trump said at his first press conference since the election. "I turned it down. I didn’t have to turn it down."
It's continued to this day.
John Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr. sacrificed life and limb for deeply held principles.
And Trump's sacrifices?
"Over the weekend, I was offered $2 billion to do a deal in Dubai with a very, very amazing man, a great developer from the Middle East,” Trump said at his first press conference since the election. "I turned it down. I didn’t have to turn it down."
2
As for me, I celebrate the man of brilliance and inspired courage who had faith not only in those he led, but also in the path of future history and of peace. It must have been really difficult to preach peace and understanding in a land that hated you solely for the color of your skin.
I am a Vietnam Veteran and several times a year I go back and listen to his later speeches, especially the ones on the crime of Vietnam aggression and the non-Christian work of those who take from the poor and give to the rich.
America is a far more glorious place thanks to his work and courage, and those who opposed him...well, time has not served their memories well.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
I am a Vietnam Veteran and several times a year I go back and listen to his later speeches, especially the ones on the crime of Vietnam aggression and the non-Christian work of those who take from the poor and give to the rich.
America is a far more glorious place thanks to his work and courage, and those who opposed him...well, time has not served their memories well.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
6
Some people appear preordained to carry out a mighty work. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and like the other revolutionary, paradigm shifting, and life altering men and women throughout history, had to make a sacrifice in order that their mere idea become tangible. (And no ordinary sacrifice of time, talent or money would do.) These men and women, from Jesus Christ to Dr. King, and so many in between, had to make the ultimate sacrifice and paid for the freedoms enjoyed by so many throughout history with their very life. In the words of Jesus Christ in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Oh, how a thief, James Earl Ray, stole, killed, and destroyed a man who brought a new sense of life and freedom to so many, yet failed in his very mission of carrying on hatred towards African Americans. "Free at last!"
2
King is mostly known for his nonviolent protests against segregation, which paved the way to civil rights laws of 1964 and 1965. His campaign against poverty began in 1966 and made little headway before his assassination.
I do not think we distort history by honoring King principally for the great work of his lifetime in freeing Southern blacks from Jim Crow. And, considering the opposition he encountered during this effort, anyone who remembers King as gentle is far off the mark. The I Have a Dream speech -- which many consider the greatest speech in American history -- was anything but gentle. It was not the recounting of a dream. It was a non-negotiable road map to the future.
After the riots of 1964, King turned his attention to black poverty. But that effort had not yet crystallized before his death and falls well short of his accomplishments in the South. Ultimately, his crusade for legal justice touched all Americans. Calls for economic justice are not well-suited to consensus acclaim.
And so, when we remember King, we focus on his civil rights activism. That does not distort the man. It honors his seminal contribution to justice in America.
I do not think we distort history by honoring King principally for the great work of his lifetime in freeing Southern blacks from Jim Crow. And, considering the opposition he encountered during this effort, anyone who remembers King as gentle is far off the mark. The I Have a Dream speech -- which many consider the greatest speech in American history -- was anything but gentle. It was not the recounting of a dream. It was a non-negotiable road map to the future.
After the riots of 1964, King turned his attention to black poverty. But that effort had not yet crystallized before his death and falls well short of his accomplishments in the South. Ultimately, his crusade for legal justice touched all Americans. Calls for economic justice are not well-suited to consensus acclaim.
And so, when we remember King, we focus on his civil rights activism. That does not distort the man. It honors his seminal contribution to justice in America.
3
We should be mourning the persistence of the slavery-inspired Electoral College that makes voting an illusion for everyone participating in presidential elections to this day.
3
This nation is still a land of wandering ghosts. We'll find no peace until we have our own "truth and reconciliation" process. When Washington DC is home to two enormous new monuments -- one dedicated to the enslaved peoples who made this country prosperous, the other to the indigenous people whom we destroyed -- then, and only then, will we have the necessary courage and determination to make this a better country . . .
6
The Martin Luther King, Jr. that I always celebrate is the human being.
The barnyard rooster serial adulterer who loved white blue-eyed blondes. The privileged educated son of a black preacher. The arrogant misogynist and homophobe. The lousy father and terrible husband. The plagiarist. The betrayer of friends. A man of some time very limited vision and failed strategies.
King was a lot like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela with regard to all of their flaws. Martyrdom is the stuff of mythology.
And yet look what he managed to do. We can not emulate saints nor supermen. Our heroes triumph over their faults encourages and inspires. We have no excuse for inaction if King is human instead of a portrait or bust or statue.
The Jesus that I love wondered who men said he was and whether he could avoid the crucifixion that left him wondering why he had been forsaken. That was his mortal human humane empathetic message. Ecce homo aka Behold the Man.
The barnyard rooster serial adulterer who loved white blue-eyed blondes. The privileged educated son of a black preacher. The arrogant misogynist and homophobe. The lousy father and terrible husband. The plagiarist. The betrayer of friends. A man of some time very limited vision and failed strategies.
King was a lot like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela with regard to all of their flaws. Martyrdom is the stuff of mythology.
And yet look what he managed to do. We can not emulate saints nor supermen. Our heroes triumph over their faults encourages and inspires. We have no excuse for inaction if King is human instead of a portrait or bust or statue.
The Jesus that I love wondered who men said he was and whether he could avoid the crucifixion that left him wondering why he had been forsaken. That was his mortal human humane empathetic message. Ecce homo aka Behold the Man.
4
Dr, King hid his cigarette smoking and pool playing self.
1
A great reminder of the full breadth of King's philosophy and activism. It reminds me of what has happened to the story of Helen Keller - we all learn as children the story told in The Miracle Worker, how she overcame being deaf and blind. But we don't learn about her later activism for women's suffrage and on behalf of the poor, and how she was targeted and smeared by our leaders as a result.
It is all too easy to take only the pieces that are comfortable for us, and leave the rest. But do so is our loss and a disservice to those who still face great injustices today.
It is all too easy to take only the pieces that are comfortable for us, and leave the rest. But do so is our loss and a disservice to those who still face great injustices today.
6
Prof. Sokol's piece is an important reminder. Go and read (or better yet listen to) Dr. King's speeches. Start with his I Have Dream Speech, read Letters from a Birmingham Jail, listen to his speeches on economic justice and the Vietnam War. Then, at the end of the day, listen to his last speech in Memphis.
During his life, he was condemned by his countrymen, reviled by his white Southern neighbors, and denounced as a heretic from the pulpits of white churches throughout the world. And yet, he rose that fateful day in Memphis to be seated beside his Father in heaven as a prophet for all people, not just HIS people.
Who cares how or why his holiday came about. If everybody uses today as an excuse to listen to even a small fraction of Dr. King's teachings, then the day serves its purpose.
As for its current political significance, I imagine if Dr. King were here today he would remind us that thousands died last year from poverty, millions were unnecessarily incarcerated in our prisons, countless innocent civilians were killed fighting the US's wars of imperial aggression, and Barack Obama was president. He would tell us that God's justice doesn't discern between Republican or Democrat. Let's start listening to his words.
During his life, he was condemned by his countrymen, reviled by his white Southern neighbors, and denounced as a heretic from the pulpits of white churches throughout the world. And yet, he rose that fateful day in Memphis to be seated beside his Father in heaven as a prophet for all people, not just HIS people.
Who cares how or why his holiday came about. If everybody uses today as an excuse to listen to even a small fraction of Dr. King's teachings, then the day serves its purpose.
As for its current political significance, I imagine if Dr. King were here today he would remind us that thousands died last year from poverty, millions were unnecessarily incarcerated in our prisons, countless innocent civilians were killed fighting the US's wars of imperial aggression, and Barack Obama was president. He would tell us that God's justice doesn't discern between Republican or Democrat. Let's start listening to his words.
8
Ultimately, the thing that the right wing and the Republicans most opposed about Dr. King was not racial equality; the thing they opposed, and oppose even more vigorously today, is government as a tool of the people instead of a tool of the powerful.
12
As a damning indictment that resonates even today for those evangelicals who support Donald Trump, Dr. King said, "And any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that cripple the souls—the economic conditions that stagnate the soul and the city governments that may damn the soul—is a dry, dead, do-nothing religion in need of new blood."
122
Didier -
Thanks for this quote. I'll bet many Americans have never heard or read it. You have done them a service.
Thanks for this quote. I'll bet many Americans have never heard or read it. You have done them a service.
The truth is that government sponsored celebrations of King don't honor any aspect of him. And so the people must. Dr. King's transformation occurred as he looked more deeply into the structure of American society. In it he found not only a spiritual emptiness, but structural inequality at all levels.
His transformation from civil rights advocacy to human rights advocacy was at the center of the Poor Peoples Campaign in 1968. In many ways it captured the international debate on whether nations should emphasize political and civil rights, or economic and social rights. King embraced both.
But I think that were he alive today Dr. King would be appalled at the morality of international inequality. Oxfam just released a report showing that the ten wealthiest people in the world control more wealth and income than the bottom 2.6 billion people on earth. Any system that creates and tolerates this disparity is immoral.
Dr. King also spoke about when or if war was ever morally justified. This is a conversation that we have long ceased having. We don't even ask whether our wars are legal under our own constitution.
I hope on this day dedicated to our prince of peace that we stop to ask ourselves whether 15 years of war and plans for 15 years more is morally justified?
We should ask our politicians that question. Few have offered any answers and many act as if this decision doesn't even belong to we the people. I think Dr. King would disagree.
His transformation from civil rights advocacy to human rights advocacy was at the center of the Poor Peoples Campaign in 1968. In many ways it captured the international debate on whether nations should emphasize political and civil rights, or economic and social rights. King embraced both.
But I think that were he alive today Dr. King would be appalled at the morality of international inequality. Oxfam just released a report showing that the ten wealthiest people in the world control more wealth and income than the bottom 2.6 billion people on earth. Any system that creates and tolerates this disparity is immoral.
Dr. King also spoke about when or if war was ever morally justified. This is a conversation that we have long ceased having. We don't even ask whether our wars are legal under our own constitution.
I hope on this day dedicated to our prince of peace that we stop to ask ourselves whether 15 years of war and plans for 15 years more is morally justified?
We should ask our politicians that question. Few have offered any answers and many act as if this decision doesn't even belong to we the people. I think Dr. King would disagree.
63
In my mind there was one Martin Luther King: the one who died for ideals that have merged in our minds with the original ideals of our nation, and as such, still inspires us today. That's enough.
19
Martin Luther King had no intention or desire to be slaughtered by an assassin. Nor did Gandhi.
2
True enough Scot, but the author of this Op-Ed is off target if he thinks that things that happened 50 years ago happened "fairly recently". If events were recent then young people, even middle-aged people, would be more cognizant of history.
But they are not.
Could Dr. King have had any influence on the motives and methods of BLM or other more radical groups that use his name (if they do at all) to continue their efforts? I give you the non-violence of Kaepernick, but not those who assassinate police, the Ferguson arsonists, or the situation in Chicago where the Mayor accepts warfare in his city without national horror.
Now THAT'S recent!!
But they are not.
Could Dr. King have had any influence on the motives and methods of BLM or other more radical groups that use his name (if they do at all) to continue their efforts? I give you the non-violence of Kaepernick, but not those who assassinate police, the Ferguson arsonists, or the situation in Chicago where the Mayor accepts warfare in his city without national horror.
Now THAT'S recent!!
3
Like most leaders of seismic change, Dr. King certainly had his detractors. While that is an accepted fact, we should especially right now remember and celebrate the gains he and his movement achieved and others would now seek to take back.
16
King, Gandhi and others died to bring an age of common humanity. Their legacy is now threaten everywhere by the rise of tribalism and racism from Asia to Europe and the United States of America. The pendulum of history swings relentlessly, this may be the time that the legacy of greats like Dr. King will be eclipsed by hate. Many people will suffer. The storm is coming. The hope is that the next generation of true leaders will rise again to turn humanity from self-destruction even though they will likely pay the price for peace as Dr. King.
22
I completely agree, PeterS. As we understandably get distracted by the details of the election (God knows there is plenty there to distress and distract us there), we lose sight or perhaps never notice that the same forces of tribalism, fear and hate are sweeping away the achievements of peace and prosperity of post-WWII Europe. A huge and perhaps more just realignment will eventually come but that moment seems far in the future.
2
Apocalyptic religion panders self-fulfilling prophesies.
Dr. Marting Luther King's message was about justice, period. But it was an understanding of justice he learned from the Hebrew prophets, including the prophet Jesus.
The prophetic understanding of justice was not simply symbolized by the blinded lady holding the scales and weighing the evidence. The prophets' understanding focused on right relationships: the right relationship with one another, right relationship with a God having a special concern for the vulnerable (e.g., widows and orphans) and the oppressed, right relationship with themselves that was manifested in living a life of integrity, and right relationship with the world/environment that humanity was charged with caring for.
King measured the justice of a society in the way the prophets did: The justice of a society could be measured by how the most vulnerable of that society were faring and being treated.
Many years ago, I was taking a graduate level course on the history of ancient Israel. The professor, an esteemed Catholic biblical scholar and former president of the Catholic Biblical Association, was asked whom he considered to be a modern prophet. Without batting an eye, he said Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
That has stayed with me all my life, and I continue to believe that is one of the best ways to understand Dr. King, a man who worked for justice and gave his life to setting things aright in society, i.e., advancing right relationships that gave everyone a place at the table.
The prophetic understanding of justice was not simply symbolized by the blinded lady holding the scales and weighing the evidence. The prophets' understanding focused on right relationships: the right relationship with one another, right relationship with a God having a special concern for the vulnerable (e.g., widows and orphans) and the oppressed, right relationship with themselves that was manifested in living a life of integrity, and right relationship with the world/environment that humanity was charged with caring for.
King measured the justice of a society in the way the prophets did: The justice of a society could be measured by how the most vulnerable of that society were faring and being treated.
Many years ago, I was taking a graduate level course on the history of ancient Israel. The professor, an esteemed Catholic biblical scholar and former president of the Catholic Biblical Association, was asked whom he considered to be a modern prophet. Without batting an eye, he said Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
That has stayed with me all my life, and I continue to believe that is one of the best ways to understand Dr. King, a man who worked for justice and gave his life to setting things aright in society, i.e., advancing right relationships that gave everyone a place at the table.
30
Everything related to "God" is a posturing charade. Nature has no personality at all and it does not respond to any human emotions or pleas.
1
Steve, the question isn't whether "nature" responds to human emotions or pleas, or has a personality - it's whether people respond to human emotions or pleas, or have personalities. See the possibility there? When a lot of people talk about God, that is what they are talking about.
2
Among Dr. King's last words were, "I tried to be a drum major for justice." His poetry and philosophy, his actions and values, are inextricably bound in this image of the cheering, enthusiastic parade, participants and excited viewers, guided by an infectious, collective spirit which had settled on his beloved American community with him as drum major: not a leader but a singular time keeper, a single performer standing in the middle but yet apart from the celebration, listening and watching for the source of struggle, its success, its tests, its patient march; the drum major stands at the head not out of ego or importance, but as a servant to guide and watch for trouble, to pace and direct, and to be responsible for seeing and hearing what is beyond the immediate moment to focus on what is to come.
Justice rests on truth. We have seen little of it lately. The raised baton is its beacon. Dr. King never used words to put people down or to sell something. He despised lies. He loved humanity, its charms small and large. He loved prayer. He loved big ideas; Thoreau, Thurman, Gandhi offered personal and social substance. He laid plans, not promises.
The drum major, to lead, must keep the rhythm true; it must hold both sorrow and dreams with respect. Listen today, in the words and actions of leaders, political figures, the media: do you hear truth, that word/echo/veiled silence of substance that illuminates your heart? No? Find the parade: truth will prevail.
Justice rests on truth. We have seen little of it lately. The raised baton is its beacon. Dr. King never used words to put people down or to sell something. He despised lies. He loved humanity, its charms small and large. He loved prayer. He loved big ideas; Thoreau, Thurman, Gandhi offered personal and social substance. He laid plans, not promises.
The drum major, to lead, must keep the rhythm true; it must hold both sorrow and dreams with respect. Listen today, in the words and actions of leaders, political figures, the media: do you hear truth, that word/echo/veiled silence of substance that illuminates your heart? No? Find the parade: truth will prevail.
36
Justice is just an illusion where your vote is just an illusion.
The truth will prevail. That is what will doom the trump Republlican congress. They cannot survive is a sea of lies.
2
beautiful
Last night our orchestra performed at Calvary Baptist Church - an annual event in celebration of MLK Day. Joined by soloists and a vocal jazz ensemble, there was a bitter-sweet feeling this year but also an inspiring reservoir of hope. The Conductor, a young Jewish man from New England, choked up a little when he spoke of Barack Obama and the crowd murmured in concurrence and support. But a quote from Dr. King about despair being finite and hope being infinite is probably what most people took home.
There is always one person selected to be honored at this annual concert and last night it was ("Hidden Figure") Katherine Johnson who is over 98 years old and could not be present, though she lives close by. Family members traveled to Norfolk to accept the award for her. She also has family in the community. (In fact, her niece is the orchestra's Principal Violist.)
The presentation was a reminder of where this country has been and why we will surely endure the unresolved issues of our time - progressing not in a straight line, but eventually. The powerful and timeless teachings of the church are the guiding principles of those who want to apply them to the secular & political issues of our time. The tolerance and love for other faith paths is part of the message and we were reminded in remarks this evening of the respect in which the Torah and the Quran were held by Dr. King.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
Martin Luther King Jr.
There is always one person selected to be honored at this annual concert and last night it was ("Hidden Figure") Katherine Johnson who is over 98 years old and could not be present, though she lives close by. Family members traveled to Norfolk to accept the award for her. She also has family in the community. (In fact, her niece is the orchestra's Principal Violist.)
The presentation was a reminder of where this country has been and why we will surely endure the unresolved issues of our time - progressing not in a straight line, but eventually. The powerful and timeless teachings of the church are the guiding principles of those who want to apply them to the secular & political issues of our time. The tolerance and love for other faith paths is part of the message and we were reminded in remarks this evening of the respect in which the Torah and the Quran were held by Dr. King.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
Martin Luther King Jr.
19
I find adherence to preposterous beliefs for the sake of post-mortem benefits from an imaginary perfected humanoid creator of the whole universe utterly ludicrous and unworthy of respect. It has the ultimate effect of putting off all fulfillment until after death, which goes a long way to explain why the US is utterly incapable of curing itself of any of its cancers.
3
This article reminds me of Justice Roberts’ tautology: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Clever - yes. But true - no. Stopping affirmative action/fair hiring would *not* stop racial discrimination.
First, history matters. Perfectly equal treatment in an historically unequal society tends to perpetuate the same unequal results. For example, because of past discrimination, blacks tend to inherit less wealth from their parents than do whites. As a result - a result only compounded by generally lower wages and greater difficulty in obtaining bank loans - blacks generally have less money for food, healthcare, transportation, investments, rent/mortgage, higher ed, and retirement.
Second, even with affirmative action, society still continues to make black people swim against a very powerful current in order to succeed:
1. Statistics overwhelmingly demonstrate a deep-rooted devaluation of blacks’ lives, well-being, and rights in the criminal justice system. All else being equal, blacks are much more likely to be arrested, convicted, and punished (more severely) than whites.
2. The school-to-prison pipeline diminishes future opportunities and thereby only increases recidivism.
3. Police brutality
4. Primarily black public schools tend to receive much less tax revenue.
5. Unconscious racism in hiring and housing
6. Easy access to guns enables urban violence.
7. Gerrymandering and voter suppression
First, history matters. Perfectly equal treatment in an historically unequal society tends to perpetuate the same unequal results. For example, because of past discrimination, blacks tend to inherit less wealth from their parents than do whites. As a result - a result only compounded by generally lower wages and greater difficulty in obtaining bank loans - blacks generally have less money for food, healthcare, transportation, investments, rent/mortgage, higher ed, and retirement.
Second, even with affirmative action, society still continues to make black people swim against a very powerful current in order to succeed:
1. Statistics overwhelmingly demonstrate a deep-rooted devaluation of blacks’ lives, well-being, and rights in the criminal justice system. All else being equal, blacks are much more likely to be arrested, convicted, and punished (more severely) than whites.
2. The school-to-prison pipeline diminishes future opportunities and thereby only increases recidivism.
3. Police brutality
4. Primarily black public schools tend to receive much less tax revenue.
5. Unconscious racism in hiring and housing
6. Easy access to guns enables urban violence.
7. Gerrymandering and voter suppression
69
Don't forget the blatant and systematic vaporization of votes in all urban areas of the US by the Electoral College.
1
The "school to prison pipeline" exists because these kids are taught nothing about proper decency or morals at home, by peers or at schools. It does not matter what color you are, if no one ever teaches you that your needs are no better or worse than others needs, so therefore it is not okay to take what you want, then society will continue with cities such as Chicago. It is plainly apparent that affirmative action is not working for those who need it.
Everyone has less money for what you mentioned, it's not 1950 and whites generally don't inherit anything these days.
Dabo Swinney's comments on Martin Luther King, and his anachronistic "love it or leave it" attitude toward Jason Kaepernick and the First Amendment, just whets our appetite for his analysis of Ta-Nehisi Coates quote on American Exceptionalism and how it relates to college football . "American Exceptionalism understands itself as God's handiwork, but the Black Body is the clearest proof that America is the work of men."
7
Dabo (that boy) Swinney is a decent person with good intentions but he is a product of Alabama and has not had much exposure to the rest of the world.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" doesn't seem to restrain the God's Own Pets Congress in any way. Their oaths on Bibles are utterly worthless. They legislate faith-based excuses for discrimination.
3
The message from Donald Trump is that he cannot handle pressure.
That he is not the "master negotiator' he tells us he is.
Nor does he have "the best words."
It bodes poorly as to insight + judgment of Donald Trump he'll attack every single critic at the same intensity....even a civil rights icon.
It reveals he makes matters worse!
Nor does he lead by example.
Couple this with a history of racial discrimination in housing, derogatory attacks on President Obama for 8 years, the insulting generalizations on how blacks live----the message is Trump may not value the contributions of blacks in America.
Every day the country winces in dismay this man cannot seem to control his impulses.
That he is not the "master negotiator' he tells us he is.
Nor does he have "the best words."
It bodes poorly as to insight + judgment of Donald Trump he'll attack every single critic at the same intensity....even a civil rights icon.
It reveals he makes matters worse!
Nor does he lead by example.
Couple this with a history of racial discrimination in housing, derogatory attacks on President Obama for 8 years, the insulting generalizations on how blacks live----the message is Trump may not value the contributions of blacks in America.
Every day the country winces in dismay this man cannot seem to control his impulses.
40
I am sorry trump's name appeared in a discourse concerning Martin Luther King, Jr. I was hoping that for a few minutes would be at peace remembering a man of peace. But it's not to be.
There is the myth and the man, which one do I choose? The man. The man that straightened the spine of an overbearing president, causing that president to sign off on a civil rights bill, long in coming. A man taunted and spied on by the FBI's director to a fare thee well.
Now a spineless FBI director and a ignorant president-elect loom over this country of ours. One affects the outcome of a free election the other defiles the name of a civil rights soldier.
There is the myth and the man, which one do I choose? The man. The man that straightened the spine of an overbearing president, causing that president to sign off on a civil rights bill, long in coming. A man taunted and spied on by the FBI's director to a fare thee well.
Now a spineless FBI director and a ignorant president-elect loom over this country of ours. One affects the outcome of a free election the other defiles the name of a civil rights soldier.
3
The words we all should remember by heart in my opinion
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
“Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
“when we let it ring from every village 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 Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!”
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
“Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
“when we let it ring from every village 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 Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!”
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
16
Thank you for the reminder of who the Rev. Dr. King actually was. Being 70 years old and an adolescent supporter of efforts to desegregate America, I recall his being reviled by much of white America. It was alleged he was a communist; he was called an outside agitator by the communities in which he organized. Conservatives seemed to hate him for "disturbing the peace" and for violating laws.
Now, American celebrations of his birthday have almost totally sanitized him, shearing away his pacifist qualities, his radical approach to elminating poverty, and his attempts to empower the downtrodden. We have forgotten about his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to white clergy explaining why he was in jail and questioning why they were not also in jail. Today his message and work continues to be needed in America. His truth shall make us free.
Now, American celebrations of his birthday have almost totally sanitized him, shearing away his pacifist qualities, his radical approach to elminating poverty, and his attempts to empower the downtrodden. We have forgotten about his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to white clergy explaining why he was in jail and questioning why they were not also in jail. Today his message and work continues to be needed in America. His truth shall make us free.
176
Near the end of his life King was reviled by young black nationalists who derisively referred to his as "De Lawd" from "Green Pastures".
Along with the "talented tenth" black elite like Carl Rowan who thought that King should stay away from the war in Vietnam and stick to civil rights.
Along with the "talented tenth" black elite like Carl Rowan who thought that King should stay away from the war in Vietnam and stick to civil rights.
1
Finely written --and so needed to be read.
The day Dr. King was killed, my father told me the news as though it had been our own relative. He never mentioned that a black man had been murdered, because in our family, MLK was a man, a man of peace, a man of great humanity, and then, somewhere farther down the list, his race would have been mentioned.
That's what the sixties meant to me. My father, who lost his family to racism, whose own father had been made a slave before he was murdered in 1945, Dr. King represented hope. America was something new, a place where great dreams seemed possible.
They seem far less possible today. I wonder exactly what version of 'Great' we're supposed to be longing for. For my family it died on April 4th 1968. For others it seems to have begun then.
We can honor Dr. King, but we can't thank him, so thank you John Lewis, and so many others. And no, that unnameable cretin will never be my president either.
That's what the sixties meant to me. My father, who lost his family to racism, whose own father had been made a slave before he was murdered in 1945, Dr. King represented hope. America was something new, a place where great dreams seemed possible.
They seem far less possible today. I wonder exactly what version of 'Great' we're supposed to be longing for. For my family it died on April 4th 1968. For others it seems to have begun then.
We can honor Dr. King, but we can't thank him, so thank you John Lewis, and so many others. And no, that unnameable cretin will never be my president either.
77
What jumped out at me in this piece was the reminder that Dr. King was accused by the intelligence community of being a Communist -- a reminder that agencies with letters on them can have political agendas and politicians sometimes use these agencies (and are used by them) for their own purposes. There are many in the Black community aware of this and who rightly are skeptical when they see red-baiting.
20
Martin Luther King Jr.'s message was as much about economic justice as it was about civil rights.
In 2015, there were 43 million people in poverty, 13.5% of the population.
From MLK's Poor People's Campaign speech one week before he was slaughtered in 1968:
"I would remind you that in our own nation there are about forty million people who are poverty-stricken...this is America’s opportunity to help bridge the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The question is whether America will do it. There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and the resources to get rid of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will."
"In a few weeks some of us are coming to Washington to see if the will is still alive in this nation. We are coming to Washington in a Poor People’s Campaign. Yes, we are going to bring the tired, the poor, the huddled masses. We are going to bring those who have known long years of hurt and neglect. We are going to bring those who have come to feel that life is a long and desolate corridor with no exit signs. We are going to bring children and adults and old people, people who have never seen a doctor or a dentist in their lives."
As one political party prepares to savage universal healthcare for 20 million Americans with 'free-market' abandonment while giving the 0.2% richest Americans a giant gift by eliminating the estate tax, we can rest assured that MLK means absolutely nothing to Greed Over People.
In 2015, there were 43 million people in poverty, 13.5% of the population.
From MLK's Poor People's Campaign speech one week before he was slaughtered in 1968:
"I would remind you that in our own nation there are about forty million people who are poverty-stricken...this is America’s opportunity to help bridge the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The question is whether America will do it. There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and the resources to get rid of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will."
"In a few weeks some of us are coming to Washington to see if the will is still alive in this nation. We are coming to Washington in a Poor People’s Campaign. Yes, we are going to bring the tired, the poor, the huddled masses. We are going to bring those who have known long years of hurt and neglect. We are going to bring those who have come to feel that life is a long and desolate corridor with no exit signs. We are going to bring children and adults and old people, people who have never seen a doctor or a dentist in their lives."
As one political party prepares to savage universal healthcare for 20 million Americans with 'free-market' abandonment while giving the 0.2% richest Americans a giant gift by eliminating the estate tax, we can rest assured that MLK means absolutely nothing to Greed Over People.
225
President Obama is responsible for much of the poverty that we are seeing in America today. He promised hope and change during his campaign but did not deliver. Americans have regressed under his policies and more people are receiving public assistance today than ever before. He promised jobs and instead people received low-paying ones when they did find employment.
People are struggling financially and one of the reasons the Democrats lost the presidential election. In addition, both houses of congress are now under Republican control due to the dissatisfaction of our current policies. The people voted out the Democrats out of office for a good reason. They failed the American people. Dr. Martin Luther King would not have approved and might have even voted for Donald Trump. His niece, Dr. Elvira King, did.
People are struggling financially and one of the reasons the Democrats lost the presidential election. In addition, both houses of congress are now under Republican control due to the dissatisfaction of our current policies. The people voted out the Democrats out of office for a good reason. They failed the American people. Dr. Martin Luther King would not have approved and might have even voted for Donald Trump. His niece, Dr. Elvira King, did.
Super well-written and so savvy. You impress.
For those of you observing MLK jr day--Know that some southern states INCLUDING Jeff Sessions’ Alabama are celebrating “Bobby Lee” Day instead---Yes my white neighbors are saying “Happy Robert E. Lee Day” to each other...with a wink and a smirk.
The formal name for the holiday in Alabama is Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Day.
The combination of a day to honor a Civil War leader, a conflict spurred on at least in part by the South's reluctance to give up slave ownership, and a civil rights leader who fought for the rights of African Americans is more than ironic. It’s archaic.
The South is STILL fighting the “War of Northern Aggression” and those of us not born here are called the derogatory term “Yankee.”
Genteel men and women. Southern hospitality. What a horrific joke.
The formal name for the holiday in Alabama is Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Day.
The combination of a day to honor a Civil War leader, a conflict spurred on at least in part by the South's reluctance to give up slave ownership, and a civil rights leader who fought for the rights of African Americans is more than ironic. It’s archaic.
The South is STILL fighting the “War of Northern Aggression” and those of us not born here are called the derogatory term “Yankee.”
Genteel men and women. Southern hospitality. What a horrific joke.
117
General Robert E. Lee was, and is, considered one of the greatest armed forces leaders this country ever produced. He answered the people of the souths call to lead their army and did so with distinction and honor as General Grant acknowledged on multiple occasions. If some citizens in the south choose to pay respect to him, just as many choose to pay respect to Dr. King, why is that wrong? For the party that calls itself inclusive the liberals sure do have a lot of rules that if you do not follow them all to the letter you are of the devil.
We should let them secede and in fact encourage it. The rest of the country will welcoem the refugees from our own lands as they did during the time of the underground railroad.
1
Dear GH,
Should we honor those who fight well for un-just causes? He chose to answer the call and fought well to retain the "right" to keep slaves! To me and I am sure most Americans this does not deserve any honor. It is not a question of conservatism or liberalism. Slavery is wrong, always was and always will be. I woould honor him if he went to prison or was executed for not fighting for evil.
Should we honor those who fight well for un-just causes? He chose to answer the call and fought well to retain the "right" to keep slaves! To me and I am sure most Americans this does not deserve any honor. It is not a question of conservatism or liberalism. Slavery is wrong, always was and always will be. I woould honor him if he went to prison or was executed for not fighting for evil.
6
In an age when our Congress and incoming president have become oppressors it is important that we all remember the message of Martin Luther King Jr so that the dream is not lost and we are not knocked off the mountain top.
28
Dr. King is deservedly lionized by most people on this planet who know anything about U.S. history. Nobody is perfect, but Dr. King was as close to perfection as anyone could hope to be in the context of prevailing race relations and the call from many blacks to protest violently.
As for the sentence: "In 1967 he denounced the Vietnam War and warned that America was courting “spiritual death”," such comments actually make him a prophet, because he was tragically accurate on both counts.
As for the sentence: "In 1967 he denounced the Vietnam War and warned that America was courting “spiritual death”," such comments actually make him a prophet, because he was tragically accurate on both counts.
186
I don't mean to minimize Dr. King's contributions, but the threat of violence by more militant black leaders played its part in helping the white establishment see Dr. King's peaceful alternative as preferable.
The omnipotence of nonviolent resistance in the political arena is one of the most cherished myths of our time.
The omnipotence of nonviolent resistance in the political arena is one of the most cherished myths of our time.
3
Hamid, the overwhelming majority of Americans detest Donald Trump. Please don't give up on us because of a fluke in our electoral systems. Hands across the water.
Martin Luther King Day shouldn’t be a contentious holiday, especially this year when we have a surfeit of hatred flying around. The best way to remember King is as a saint of restraint compared to the divisive rhetoric the Black Panthers were spouting back in his day.
Also, no one should forget his legacy includes the sickening fact he, while far from being a violent man, was savagely gunned down.
Unfortunately, our president-elect has little understanding of this. In his ill-timed, ill-advised criticism of John Lewis, Donald Trump once again has demonstrated he has the tact of a Rottweiler and is unaware of the racial chaos he can trigger in America.
Also, no one should forget his legacy includes the sickening fact he, while far from being a violent man, was savagely gunned down.
Unfortunately, our president-elect has little understanding of this. In his ill-timed, ill-advised criticism of John Lewis, Donald Trump once again has demonstrated he has the tact of a Rottweiler and is unaware of the racial chaos he can trigger in America.
23
Don't insult Rottweilers!
9
I agree overall but take exception to the claim "divisive rhetoric" to describe the Panthers. King's work was also viewed as "divisive"--a loaded term that seems to mean "makes white people uncomfortable"--which is why so many despised and mistrusted his philosophy and leadership. It's important to recall that though the Panthers were often excoriated as "violent" this term was assigned to them because they believed in armed self-defense. Not bombing white people's churches, not attacking white people while they shopped or attempted to use public transportation, all of which were tactics used by whites to paradoxically promote law and order. To describe black self defense as violent or "divisive" is to deny a fundamental America right to life and liberty.
4
No human is perfect; no human life is perfect. But we do have heroes and models, and it is not helpful to cover over their humanity and make gods of them. Warts and wrinkles included, MLK was a gift to America. His willingness to put himself in harms way was a gift to us all from history.
The influences that affect our lives are varied. There is the tendency of water to flow downhill: this we see in the herd mentality that embraces consumerism, the modern version of the Golden Calf. We see it, too, in a soon-to-be First Family of cheetah-killers, bling vendors, and bankrupt organ-grabbers.
The opposing influence is rarer in America now. The Obamas, John Lewis, Meryl Streep... Perhaps we cannot live in peace and happiness in a varied society like that of America. Perhaps we all need to seek the comfort and shelter of like-minded people, a peer-group or tribe. But to retreat into such a group and to ignore everything else is to deny our human urge to say NO to injustice. Long live the memory of MLK. Long live John Lewis.
The influences that affect our lives are varied. There is the tendency of water to flow downhill: this we see in the herd mentality that embraces consumerism, the modern version of the Golden Calf. We see it, too, in a soon-to-be First Family of cheetah-killers, bling vendors, and bankrupt organ-grabbers.
The opposing influence is rarer in America now. The Obamas, John Lewis, Meryl Streep... Perhaps we cannot live in peace and happiness in a varied society like that of America. Perhaps we all need to seek the comfort and shelter of like-minded people, a peer-group or tribe. But to retreat into such a group and to ignore everything else is to deny our human urge to say NO to injustice. Long live the memory of MLK. Long live John Lewis.
31
"...In 1967 he denounced the Vietnam War and warned that America was courting “spiritual death.” ..."
The man was prescient. America has now just arrived at "spiritual death".
It took 50 years of southern strategy, reagonomics, a stream of Lee Atwaters-like misanthropes (rush, rove, etc), fox fake-news, chinos (christian in name only), ALEC, etc to finally reach the tipping point. Well, we have now reached it. Should Jesus himself reappear here, some republican NRA gun nut would shoot him dead. So long America, it's been good to know ye.
The man was prescient. America has now just arrived at "spiritual death".
It took 50 years of southern strategy, reagonomics, a stream of Lee Atwaters-like misanthropes (rush, rove, etc), fox fake-news, chinos (christian in name only), ALEC, etc to finally reach the tipping point. Well, we have now reached it. Should Jesus himself reappear here, some republican NRA gun nut would shoot him dead. So long America, it's been good to know ye.
24
Here, now, after losing again to the manipulations of the rich and powerful, our Democracy on the killing floor, bleeding out, we need Dr. King's example and teachings more than ever.
His dedication to moral progress- to human advancement- is all the more essential now, to help resuscitate our sense of duty to oppose- to fight- against the forces of plutocracy and empirical hegemony that appear to have finally won it all, again.
If he could stand in opposition then, risking his life for the good of mankind, what now should we do at this juncture?
His dedication to moral progress- to human advancement- is all the more essential now, to help resuscitate our sense of duty to oppose- to fight- against the forces of plutocracy and empirical hegemony that appear to have finally won it all, again.
If he could stand in opposition then, risking his life for the good of mankind, what now should we do at this juncture?
83
Dr. King is dead. It is not the 1960's.
We do not need Dr. King.
We need each other to love one and other as brothers and sisters to birth the leaders that we deserve for the 2010's.
We do not need Dr. King.
We need each other to love one and other as brothers and sisters to birth the leaders that we deserve for the 2010's.
4
I think you already know Bruce. Now is the time for every American who believes in the constitution of your country and is alarmed at it's continuing descent into an oligarchy to put their congressional and senate reps on notice that they will be held accountable in 2018 if they dismantle health care for 20 million Americans and deal harshly with those that aided and abetted with the tampering with your democracy. The time for action is now, a totally unworthy and dangerous man with no loyalty to anyone but himself is about to become POTUS. The non-violent path chosen by Dr. King is the only one that will prevail over this blight on your history.
When we look around at all of the intolerance in the world today and the violence associated with that intolerance we can appreciate the gift Dr. King gave to our country. One hundred years before approximately 600,000 lost their lives in a conflict over human freedom. King brought changes to the front of our concerns with his words and courage. But he wasn't alone. Rosa Parks , the Woolworth four, and the Little Rock Nine were part of the the non-violent movement. The work to assure equal rights and respect is not finished but the process we have in this country is non violent even when the opposition to that change isn't. We owe Dr King, who represents the non violent movement, and the others who were part of it, a day to recognize their gift to our country.
7
Jason, as we celebrate one of the greatest souls of America, Rev. King, we also have to recommend some people for highest honor.
And one of them is a very distinguished member of the House Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a famed civil rights leader who was attacked and received a life threatening injury after his skull was burst open from repeated blows on his head by the billy clubs holding very depraved state troopers while he was on a march in Selma,Alabama, in 1963.
And now for our president-elect to attack the same icon just for saying the truth as it is that all of us know now, thanks to that 'dossier' which our highly respected branches of intelligence,N.S.A., C.I.A. and the F.B.I. handed over to Obama and Trump, which makes it very clear that Trump's presidency is "illegitimate" as his team had contacted the Russian intelligence to help them dig up some manufactured dirt, like Ms. Clinton's running a child prostitution ring from a pizzeria in Washington D.C.
And it's a well established fact that Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was sitting next to Putin in a RT dinner, was behind all those dirty smear campaign that Russia's Putin told him to start to smear Hillary so that Trump wins.
So today, when we celebrate the life of MLK, a civil rights leader who preached non-violence, this twitter attack by Trump on John Lewis who almost sacrificed his life, is criminal, as there are 250+ million of us who also think Trump's presidency is "illegitimate".
And one of them is a very distinguished member of the House Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a famed civil rights leader who was attacked and received a life threatening injury after his skull was burst open from repeated blows on his head by the billy clubs holding very depraved state troopers while he was on a march in Selma,Alabama, in 1963.
And now for our president-elect to attack the same icon just for saying the truth as it is that all of us know now, thanks to that 'dossier' which our highly respected branches of intelligence,N.S.A., C.I.A. and the F.B.I. handed over to Obama and Trump, which makes it very clear that Trump's presidency is "illegitimate" as his team had contacted the Russian intelligence to help them dig up some manufactured dirt, like Ms. Clinton's running a child prostitution ring from a pizzeria in Washington D.C.
And it's a well established fact that Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was sitting next to Putin in a RT dinner, was behind all those dirty smear campaign that Russia's Putin told him to start to smear Hillary so that Trump wins.
So today, when we celebrate the life of MLK, a civil rights leader who preached non-violence, this twitter attack by Trump on John Lewis who almost sacrificed his life, is criminal, as there are 250+ million of us who also think Trump's presidency is "illegitimate".
18
The Wrong King
It's the wrong King
the wrong president
an evil puppet swindled into power
over the voice of the people
but this is different.
The wrong King --
not the Elvis impersonator
on the beach but
much worse --
The wrong King --
That familiar face adorning January --
eyes set wide
on the promised land of justice
seems an impostor,
a pretender to the dream,
a one dimensional doppelganger.
Despite the preacher's and politician's
shallow acknowledgments and
the recognizable visage
this is not the King that called his country
"the number one purveyor of violence in the world"
or that called for a guaranteed annual income.
Not the King that talked of the "triple evils
of racism, economic exploitation and war"
so popular but unmentionable in these times.
No, the face looks right but the
message is all wrong
They're confusing Martin with Rodney
"Can't we all get along?"
-- Al Markoitz
It's the wrong King
the wrong president
an evil puppet swindled into power
over the voice of the people
but this is different.
The wrong King --
not the Elvis impersonator
on the beach but
much worse --
The wrong King --
That familiar face adorning January --
eyes set wide
on the promised land of justice
seems an impostor,
a pretender to the dream,
a one dimensional doppelganger.
Despite the preacher's and politician's
shallow acknowledgments and
the recognizable visage
this is not the King that called his country
"the number one purveyor of violence in the world"
or that called for a guaranteed annual income.
Not the King that talked of the "triple evils
of racism, economic exploitation and war"
so popular but unmentionable in these times.
No, the face looks right but the
message is all wrong
They're confusing Martin with Rodney
"Can't we all get along?"
-- Al Markoitz
3
When, in his 1967 Riverside Church speech condemning the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King called the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today," he aligned himself against the very forces that have shaped this nation: imperialism, militarism, racism, and an expansionist, predatory capitalism. King's opposition to the violent underside of the American Dream is what makes his legacy so dangerous to our dominant institutions -- hence, it's buried and forgotten.
60
It was also the day when he, like Malcolm X, JFK, & RFK, took on the Deep State, & signed his own death warrant.
What about what the Left has forgotten about Dr. King. At the time of his death and to the dismay of his closest followers Dr. King was trying to build a coalition of the poor including all races and religions for a march on Washington. He knew that to purge racism from the hearts of men you had to end poverty and inequality first, and African Americans couldn't do it by themselves.
Today that spirit is gone from the Left as shown by the Women’s March on Washington for this week’s inauguration, only women, and the white and black women are bickering with each other. The Left used to be a joyful celebration of diversity now they just demand it petulantly even when they already have it. It used to be people coming together to protest injustice and war - White and Black students together boarded buses on the freedom rides and our martyrs included Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman. Now all students talk about are trigger warnings and safe spaces and friendly questions are taken as racist statements. We used to work to end wars and pass laws to insure voting rights today we celebrate taking names off buildings and removing flags. We used to love each other now we argue about which races are good and which are evil.
Identity politics has changed the Left from a grand mosaic to shattered glass.
Today that spirit is gone from the Left as shown by the Women’s March on Washington for this week’s inauguration, only women, and the white and black women are bickering with each other. The Left used to be a joyful celebration of diversity now they just demand it petulantly even when they already have it. It used to be people coming together to protest injustice and war - White and Black students together boarded buses on the freedom rides and our martyrs included Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman. Now all students talk about are trigger warnings and safe spaces and friendly questions are taken as racist statements. We used to work to end wars and pass laws to insure voting rights today we celebrate taking names off buildings and removing flags. We used to love each other now we argue about which races are good and which are evil.
Identity politics has changed the Left from a grand mosaic to shattered glass.
9
No, the real left is alive and well and talking about just what Dr. King was trying to build -- much of it inspired by the candidacy of Bernie Sanders -- just as Bernie was inspired by the Rainbow Coalition of Jesse Jackson and brought his state home for Jesse in the presidential primary.
11
You have a completely distorted view of identity politics (for which I fear the NYT bears some responsibility). There is much to say about your misunderstanding of this term and your forced retro-fitting of it to MLK. I wanted to defend America's students, whom I work with closely. It is false to say that all they talk about are "trigger warnings" and "safe spaces." It is also hypocritical to chide them for being overly sensitive to "innocent questions." These charges that you lay at the feet of America's youth are more applicable to its next president. He is the man for whom the most mundane of slights "triggers" a Tweetstorm. He is the man who would make the White House Press Corps a "safe space" for himself and his cronies. He is thin-skinned, impulsive, and lacks nuance which would be fine if he were a fifth grader or even 19 year old college freshman. As the leader of this nation, however, it is certainly not fine.
Nonsense.
The most racist white people are always the poorest. They cling onto white supremacy as an ego boost, as in "I may be poor but I'm still better than a n-word". LBJ summed it up nicely in 1964.
There's a reason why poor whites and poor minorities vote in complete opposition.
The most racist white people are always the poorest. They cling onto white supremacy as an ego boost, as in "I may be poor but I'm still better than a n-word". LBJ summed it up nicely in 1964.
There's a reason why poor whites and poor minorities vote in complete opposition.
3
Some advice for the president-elect Donald Trump:
Better to be thought a fool, than to tweet and remove all doubt.
Better to be thought a fool, than to tweet and remove all doubt.
136
Yes, and let us follow John Lewis and not give him any quarter. We should work on getting the ruling cabal out soon and sooner, by any means possible.
2
Mr. Sokol quotes from Dr. King's 1967 speech at the Riverside Church, a speech that also included this line:
"When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
Those giant triplets have grown larger in the fifty years since that speech at the Riverside Church... and there is no evidence that our nation is emphasizing people over profit. On this day honoring Dr. King, we should recall that Dr. King aspirations included economic justice and world peace as well as civil rights.
"When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
Those giant triplets have grown larger in the fifty years since that speech at the Riverside Church... and there is no evidence that our nation is emphasizing people over profit. On this day honoring Dr. King, we should recall that Dr. King aspirations included economic justice and world peace as well as civil rights.
106
Like Mahtma Ghandi. Many confuse non-violence with passivity. Dr King and Ghandi used civil disobedience against what they considered unfair laws and practices. Their activisim should inspire us to continue non-violent, civil disobedience against unfair laws. With modern tech and social networking it is an even more powerful tool against injustice.
16
Dr. King protested war. I rarely see talk against militarism in this news outlet. Ironically, US arms sales topped the world at 44 billion under the first black president! Words and deeds belong to two worlds.
Dr King was a beacon of light from my childhood. i saw this man through the lens of a young boy. i noticed different members of my family and how they reacted to him. divorce and remarriage caused my brother and i to be members in a rather racist family all of a sudden. we both fought with and against step siblings cause we had not encountered any of this foolishness as children. i am proud to say neither succumbed to the hatred. today neither has any contact wanted or sought with members of that family. sorry people all. now in my early 60's i am disgusted we have not come farther. maybe if the planet gets a break from our destruction of it, racially the world may be better when all people have the same skin tone. who knows. i will not be here but good luck world. and as stevie sang Happy Birthday to ya
4
Over half-a-century after the enactment of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, America has yet to eradicate racism. According to listovative.com, the U.S. is currently among the top 12 most racist countries in the World -- ranked 10th. Thus the land of the free and the land of the brave remains the land of some of the most racist people. Blacks still face disproportionately high social and economic barriers. Almost half of all hate crimes committed in the U.S. are race-related. Black men are far more likely to be shot and killed by police than white men. Around a third of America's population is comprised of people of color, yet they account for nearly two-thirds of the prison population. One in three black men will go to prison at some point in their lives. Blacks consistently earn less than whites. There are active hate groups in every single state.
15
A white felon with only a high school diploma fares better in the US job market than a black college grad with no record.
Look it up.
Look it up.
2
"many conservatives had 'discovered,' and embraced, a useful version of Dr. King."
It's too bad that the conservatives, the Tea Party, and the rest of the obstructionists in Congress never "discovered and embraced a useful version of" President Obama. That would have helped them to pragmatically, albeit cynically, "burnish their party’s civil rights bona fides".
As things stand, the mendacious, as Big Daddy Pollitt would say, characters who are about to steer the USA's ship of state into a super-seawalled safe harbor for the super-rich, super-ungenerous, super-punitive, super-white, super-theocratic, super-sanctimonious, and supercilious incubi rattling their antidemocratic sabers in the halls of the government that they daily profess and prove to hate and desire to destroy, are doing nothing to celebrate the ML King holiday, and their ostensible leader is doing everything he can disparage it and those who helped ML King create the only decent populist movement the USA has ever seen.
Some of us who fought for and lived through the civil rights movement will live through the upcoming civil wrongs movement that is about to be unleashed full-force upon the exceptional city on its pitiless, perilous hill during its transmogrification from dress rehearsal into opening night performance.
May all the demonic actors break their legs!
It's too bad that the conservatives, the Tea Party, and the rest of the obstructionists in Congress never "discovered and embraced a useful version of" President Obama. That would have helped them to pragmatically, albeit cynically, "burnish their party’s civil rights bona fides".
As things stand, the mendacious, as Big Daddy Pollitt would say, characters who are about to steer the USA's ship of state into a super-seawalled safe harbor for the super-rich, super-ungenerous, super-punitive, super-white, super-theocratic, super-sanctimonious, and supercilious incubi rattling their antidemocratic sabers in the halls of the government that they daily profess and prove to hate and desire to destroy, are doing nothing to celebrate the ML King holiday, and their ostensible leader is doing everything he can disparage it and those who helped ML King create the only decent populist movement the USA has ever seen.
Some of us who fought for and lived through the civil rights movement will live through the upcoming civil wrongs movement that is about to be unleashed full-force upon the exceptional city on its pitiless, perilous hill during its transmogrification from dress rehearsal into opening night performance.
May all the demonic actors break their legs!
20
While the civil rights movement certainly was a decent populist movement, it was hardly the only one. The labor movement of the early 20th century, women's suffrage, etc were also decent populist movements.
We, as Americans, have a long history of decent populism (and also a long history of indecent populism, alas).
We, as Americans, have a long history of decent populism (and also a long history of indecent populism, alas).
13
Those movements for all their decency were also racially stratified, privileging the concerns of whites above all others.
2
The feminist movement of the 60s/70s was purely about the concerns of white women.
Minority women weren't a part of it.
Minority women weren't a part of it.
1
And as we honor Martin Luther King, we see a President Elect, five days from taking oath, insulting one of Martin Luther King's closest comrades, John Lewis.
"Talk, talk, talk....." tweeted the new incoming President. Tweeting about the very man who was not only beaten for something as righteous as voting, but who has served the public in Congress for decades. No, Mr. Trump, John Lewis is a man that goes way beyond talk, talk, talk.
Martin Luther King believed in non violence. And as many dreams as he had, he knew the deep cruelty of racism, disrespect, dishonor. Seriously, he may not be surprised at Trump's degrading statements. And how sad is that?
The world is watching. The disrespect Donald Trump bestowed on John Lewis this weekend and on our country by doing so is disgusting. I will never look up to Trump. I won't be watching the inauguration either. But I will be in DC, on the streets the day after to show my old woman disdain for a leader of a country that is prejudiced against my fellow Americans, whether by color, religion, gender preference, heritage, and in other ways he can come up with.
No world, we will not accept these qualities in our leader. And we will show our voice and mind.
Any man who praises and cozies to Vladimir Putin and throws John Lewis under the bus, has some sanity issues.
"Talk, talk, talk....." tweeted the new incoming President. Tweeting about the very man who was not only beaten for something as righteous as voting, but who has served the public in Congress for decades. No, Mr. Trump, John Lewis is a man that goes way beyond talk, talk, talk.
Martin Luther King believed in non violence. And as many dreams as he had, he knew the deep cruelty of racism, disrespect, dishonor. Seriously, he may not be surprised at Trump's degrading statements. And how sad is that?
The world is watching. The disrespect Donald Trump bestowed on John Lewis this weekend and on our country by doing so is disgusting. I will never look up to Trump. I won't be watching the inauguration either. But I will be in DC, on the streets the day after to show my old woman disdain for a leader of a country that is prejudiced against my fellow Americans, whether by color, religion, gender preference, heritage, and in other ways he can come up with.
No world, we will not accept these qualities in our leader. And we will show our voice and mind.
Any man who praises and cozies to Vladimir Putin and throws John Lewis under the bus, has some sanity issues.
207
To be fair, Rep. Lewis hurled the first insult and PE Trump responded in kind. Both men could have behaved better.
6
What's Donald going to do when the pokes come from North Korea and his pal Vladimir? John Lewis is a 76 year old man who has fought and gotten beaten for Civil Rights, not nuclear explosions. Let him say he thinks the election was illegitimate and why. He is a revered American.
14
Rep. Lewis made a convincing argument as to why this is an illegitimate presidency. The PE responded with a racist rant about Lewis district making the assumption that because he is black his district must be crime infested.
To really be fair President Obama has been insulated far worse then the thin skinned PE and has never responded with anything resembling what Trump has done. Hardly leadership, not presidential.
To really be fair President Obama has been insulated far worse then the thin skinned PE and has never responded with anything resembling what Trump has done. Hardly leadership, not presidential.
14
I read a similar reminder of Dr. King's true deeds and accomplishments on https://theintercept.com/2016/01/18/martin-luther-king-jr-celebrations-o... and, having mostly been taught about the merely pacifist colorblind version of King, appreciated him even more. I think a King today would've appreciated Bernie Sanders, for one; and a shame that JFK and Bobby wiretapped him because commies.
A further shame that the GOP twisted his words to hinder minority causes. It's a vile vocabulary subversion they honed then and remain skilled at now—see e.g. the people who say they need "safe spaces" to avoid people rightly disgusted with their vote for the racist pair of Pence and the Rallyist, or the hideous "religious freedom" discrimination argument.
We could use Dr. King right about now, and not just in a comfortably packaged holiday form.
A further shame that the GOP twisted his words to hinder minority causes. It's a vile vocabulary subversion they honed then and remain skilled at now—see e.g. the people who say they need "safe spaces" to avoid people rightly disgusted with their vote for the racist pair of Pence and the Rallyist, or the hideous "religious freedom" discrimination argument.
We could use Dr. King right about now, and not just in a comfortably packaged holiday form.
42
Fortunately, we have the Rev. William Barber and Rev. Sekou. We have the Catholic Worker and we have ourselves, many thousands influenced by the writings and actions of Dr. King. In this he is still with us but, in the modern America, gets little press coverage. Without press coverage, active nonviolence and civil disobedience become less effective. As John F. Kennedy said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible
make violent revolution inevitable."
make violent revolution inevitable."
8
Fortunately we have Bernie Sanders who spent this weekend holding a rally in freezing cold with 8,000 in support of Obamacare.
Peace/justice/decency/respect/hope.
Thank you Bernie Sanders.
Peace/justice/decency/respect/hope.
Thank you Bernie Sanders.
6
"Until fairly recently, many white Americans loathed" Martin Luther King. That truth alone underscores why white America will never respect or accept, much less love, black Americans. That Dr. King, a peaceful and nonviolent man of the cloth, could arouse the wrath and rage of millions of racists, North, South and the entire fruited plain, they could hate any citizen, regardless of his or her station.
Dr. King represented the best in all Americans and in his quest for reconciliation of the races and in the spirit of brotherhood, untold scorn and abuse was heaped upon him across the land. James Baldwin once said that if white America could kill Dr. King, they could kill all of us.
President Barack Obama is also in the crosshairs of a large segment of white America. They loathe and disrespect him and can't wait for him and his family to leave the White House. Whatever his faults and mistakes were, he was president of all Americans, not just black folk. His achievements have been dismissed and his personal qualities have been overlooked. Maybe one day, President Obama will have the high regard and respect of white America that Dr. King has today. Time and history have a way of rendering a fair and just verdict.
Dr. King represented the best in all Americans and in his quest for reconciliation of the races and in the spirit of brotherhood, untold scorn and abuse was heaped upon him across the land. James Baldwin once said that if white America could kill Dr. King, they could kill all of us.
President Barack Obama is also in the crosshairs of a large segment of white America. They loathe and disrespect him and can't wait for him and his family to leave the White House. Whatever his faults and mistakes were, he was president of all Americans, not just black folk. His achievements have been dismissed and his personal qualities have been overlooked. Maybe one day, President Obama will have the high regard and respect of white America that Dr. King has today. Time and history have a way of rendering a fair and just verdict.
118
Please don't forget that lots of use whites love President Obama (just look at his numbers) and wish he could stay on as president. I have no doubt that history will judge him as one of our very best. Otherwise I agree with your comment. I believe that the racists will eventually die out but it's hard to live through the interim.
9
You speak as if you know all Americans and they fall into two baskets - good and bad, right and wrong. No one is perfect, not King, Obama, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Jackson, etc. When one disagrees on a point (e.g. every American must be guaranteed an income by the government), it doesn't make them a racist. Frankly, I've heard this from some in 2016 - all millennials and all self declared progressives.
The author is correct - King had changed in later years, once civil rights laws were enacted and affirmative action put in place. He moved on to new complaints. Activists never say 'we did it' now let's go home and live. They have created a career of activism - it's their job to find new complaints.
That is okay, of course. Nothing is ever fully resolved as long as there is someone that wants more or different policies/outcomes. I do not criticize King for his on-going efforts, but those do not elevate him in my mind. His success was speaking out peacefully. And, he was killed by an insider, not by a white person as some here contend. The Black Panthers did not like his peaceful rhetoric and chose a different path. I do not agree with that path - violence has never solved anything, at least not in the long term. We have only the Arab Spring to teach us that lesson.
The author is correct - King had changed in later years, once civil rights laws were enacted and affirmative action put in place. He moved on to new complaints. Activists never say 'we did it' now let's go home and live. They have created a career of activism - it's their job to find new complaints.
That is okay, of course. Nothing is ever fully resolved as long as there is someone that wants more or different policies/outcomes. I do not criticize King for his on-going efforts, but those do not elevate him in my mind. His success was speaking out peacefully. And, he was killed by an insider, not by a white person as some here contend. The Black Panthers did not like his peaceful rhetoric and chose a different path. I do not agree with that path - violence has never solved anything, at least not in the long term. We have only the Arab Spring to teach us that lesson.
Dr. Sokol, much of white America, while Dr. King was alive, was ambivalent. They had (belatedly) awakened from the sleep of centuries in which the ugly reality of life for non-whites was a sharp stick in the eye of a nation that went about priding itself on its moral goodness, decency, fairness, its divinely-appointed right to order the universe according to principles in which it paid false lip service.
America today is a far different place from 1954 (Brown vs. Topeka), in which a courageous SCOTUS admitted that our societal foundations were based on a lie. In 1955, the Johnson Publishing Company dragged out from under the national mattress its horrifying spread about the abduction and mutilation-murder of Emmett Till. Lynch law ruled in America but whites were shocked, shocked, that such a thing was acceptable. Hence the rise of Dr. King.
When the Vietnam War went into overdrive, he was excoriated as a traitor. An excerpt from his 1967 speech at Riverside Church, reveals otherwise:
"I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America."
He had much to be disappointed about but he never counseled the violent overthrow of government. His enemies worked to clothe him in false dress. What's changed since 1968?
America today is a far different place from 1954 (Brown vs. Topeka), in which a courageous SCOTUS admitted that our societal foundations were based on a lie. In 1955, the Johnson Publishing Company dragged out from under the national mattress its horrifying spread about the abduction and mutilation-murder of Emmett Till. Lynch law ruled in America but whites were shocked, shocked, that such a thing was acceptable. Hence the rise of Dr. King.
When the Vietnam War went into overdrive, he was excoriated as a traitor. An excerpt from his 1967 speech at Riverside Church, reveals otherwise:
"I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America."
He had much to be disappointed about but he never counseled the violent overthrow of government. His enemies worked to clothe him in false dress. What's changed since 1968?
99
"What's changed since 1968?" Well, nothing, really. Three black man of note who were always outspoken about the injustice of racial inequality, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were dealt with. These were men of substance and the honesty of their words, in Dr. King's own phrasing, was "self evident".
I did not mention Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Huey Newton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton. Well meaning but militant and abrasive, these men seemed to want to chart a new course for the civil rights movement. That they failed to do so is a tribute to NAACP Field Secretary Evers, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz and Dr. King.
I did not mention Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Huey Newton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton. Well meaning but militant and abrasive, these men seemed to want to chart a new course for the civil rights movement. That they failed to do so is a tribute to NAACP Field Secretary Evers, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz and Dr. King.
When the rich steal from the poor (white, black, or brown) it is called "business as usual".
When the poor want it back it is called "violence".
When the poor want it back it is called "violence".
As Ghandi stressed, there is nothing milquetoast about this concept of non-violent action. It was known by all of these that non-violence was a more difficult, requiring more courage, and also more effective form of protest. It was the courage and wisdom required to manifest this quality in the face of such great obstacles that forms the core of the King legacy that many people celebrate and revere.
Having said that, it's also clear that later in life he turned his attention to economic inequality and the Vietnam War. That was also a part of his legacy and story. They're both true, and to celebrate the man is to celebrate both. Both can be honored, and neither should be exploited to make a narrow, political point.