The Washington Mall welcomes another hero. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is unveiled. Sitting directly between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, "the composition of the [King] memorial utilizes landscape elements to powerfully convey four fundamental and recurring themes throughout Dr. King's message: justice, democracy, hope and love."
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posted by darkstar
on Aug 22, 2011 -
72 comments
On MLK Day, Some Thoughts on Segregated Schools, Arne Duncan, and President Obama "American schools are more segregated by race and class today than they were on the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, 43 years ago. The average white child in America attends a school that is 77 percent white, and where just 32 percent of the student body lives in poverty. The average black child attends a school that is 59 percent poor but only 29 percent white. The typical Latino kid is similarly segregated; his school is 57 percent poor and 27 percent white."
posted by Fizz
on Jan 17, 2011 -
55 comments
It was a
mass protest held outside the halls of Washington. Led, or at least it was supposed to be, by
Martin Luther King Jr. (before he was assassinated) it was going to show the world the
glaring divide that existed between the
Rich and the Poor of America.
Black, White, Red, Yellow--they all gathered from all over the US, to stay together for six weeks, outside the Capitol, and
inform the public about what life in America could sometimes mean, if you were not considered economically, socially or racially acceptable. Unfortunately, the problem still
persists, even today.
posted by hadjiboy
on Aug 10, 2008 -
8 comments
"I have a dream..." Take 17 minutes out of your day and remember. And then maybe take a look at this
NY Times slide show of murals depicting Dr. King.
Feel free, in fact please do, add appropriate links and suggestions in the comments section.
posted by brookeb
on Jan 21, 2008 -
40 comments
Two score years ago, a great American, whose birthday we celebrate every year with a three-day weekend, stood in the shadow of the
Lincoln Memorial and uttered
those famous words, "I Have A Dream." Five years later, older and weary, saddened and yet emboldened for a new task, that man was assassinated in Memphis. He has rightly become an American icon, a symbol of all that we consider great about our nation. And yet is is the very fact of his
apotheosis that has done his dream the most damage. Safely iconized and sanitized, MLK has been used cynically by his most bitter opponents, to ends he very clearly opposed during his life. The man who considered himself a
democratic socialist, and who supported both reparations and affirmative action is used by conservatives to stymie the efforts of his philosophical and activist heirs. Some of them, like U2's
Bono, want to
save Africans from AIDS. Others, like
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, suggest a
10-year moratorium on the famous speech, so that we can pay attention to
other,
more important statements.
King's last great effort was not a march to combat racism but rather a new initiative to end poverty, the
Poor People’s Campaign. Thirty-five years later, the
gap between rich and poor is larger than ever in this country, and our president, who claims to follow the same religion that underwrote all King said, did and thought, is conducting a war not on poverty, but
on the
poor. How many of
us who, like G.W. Bush,
pay lip service to the ideas of King and of
Christ will stop stalling and
stand up for justice?
posted by eustacescrubb
on Jan 17, 2003 -
47 comments
I See the Promised Land "Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"---MLKing Jr.
posted by JohnR
on Dec 25, 2002 -
4 comments
Is Jesse ever happy? You'd think he'd be happy with the #1 movie in the country for 2 weeks straight being a movie that is cast totally with black people. But nope, he's not. He's upset because there was a goof on Rosa Parks and MLK Jr. Wasn't this just a movie?
posted by the_0ne
on Sep 24, 2002 -
83 comments
Two words: Bad Taste The Washington Post today is running an article on Alcatels new pitchman, Martin Luther King, Jr! Yes! MLK joins the likes of John Wayne and Alfred Hitchcock as undead spokespeople.
posted by cornbread
on Mar 28, 2001 -
47 comments
"I was there!" If you read the comments about Bob Doran's death threats against Clinton in
this thread, you may get a kick out the photo of him "marching with Martin Luther King Jr." that's on Doran's site.
posted by gluechunk
on Aug 10, 2000 -
7 comments
