The #BlackLivesMatter movement is seeking to reclaim the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in protests across the nation with the hash tag #ReclaimMLK. People are not focusing on his “I Have a Dream” speech but instead on his challenge to the United States as the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world” as well as his criticism of capitalism.
When King was murdered he was preparing to lead an occupation of Washington, DC — Resurrection City — as part of the Poor People’s Campaign. King had already shown himself to be a powerful organizer and mobilizer of people in the Civil Rights movement, but at the end of his life he had taken on other big causes and was mobilizing people to challenge capitalism and militarism. Since his death both of those issues have gotten worse and much of the world and many thousands in the United States are organizing to challenge them.
King described three interlocking evils: “the sickness of racism, excessive materialism and militarism.” Below are tweets from around the country describing actions being taken to #ReclaimMLK.
We have been reclaiming the full Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for quite some time. Here’s some more reading:
Beyond Capitalism: A Revolution Of Values
The Forgotten, Radical Martin Luther King Jr.
‘Selma’ Portrays The True Martin Luther King Jr: A Despised Radical
Prophecy Delivered! Martin Luther King Jr. & The Death of Democracy
Dr. King: Beyond The Dreamer, A Personal Story
Remember Direct Action As Part Of Dr. King’s Legacy
Remembering The Officially Deleted Dr. King
Martin Luther King: “My Dream is Not Obama”
The Dream: A Movement Without Beginning Or End
I Have a Dream, a Blurred Vision
Below are two video reports of Washington, DC and Baltimore done by Elias Weston-Farber, followed by tweets from around the country.
Exciting #BlackLivesMatter Protest in D.C. is happening right now! #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/yeZWfBVRAb
— Popular Resistance (@PopResistance) January 15, 2015
Marching past MLK Library in DC – “No justice, no peace” #ReclaimMLK #DCFerguson w/ @EugenePuryear @DCFergusonMoves pic.twitter.com/zWu2DiIFPp — ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) January 15, 2015
#BlackLivesMatter confronting the nations capital! #ReclaimMLK #DCFerguson #weactradio pic.twitter.com/i7MZNKEPQG
&mash; Popular Resistance (@PopResistance) January 15, 2015
#PledgeOfResistance actions are happening all day/all over the country! Find yours #ReclaimMLK http://t.co/rYjsuYdLFN pic.twitter.com/ZVfC4lmw7u — Ferguson Action (@fergusonaction) January 15, 2015
A New Generation Reclaims MLK Day in Chicago http://t.co/2UpPRqD3sa @TheVLAcademy @BYP_100 #ReclaimMLKchi #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/N8hnNDiT00
— Chicago Rising (@ChicagoRising) January 15, 2015
Happy birthday Dr. King. Philly airport workers are keeping that dream alive today @ PHL #ReclaimMLK #dreamdelayed pic.twitter.com/Iz80HsflnB — 32BJ SEIU (@32BJ_SEIU) January 15, 2015
TODAY 12P: #ReclaimMLK Day Teach-In: Radical Roots of Black Freedom Mvmt https://t.co/no2fLeZD1q 800 S Halsted pic.twitter.com/c4lA28Mes5
— Chicago Rising (@ChicagoRising) January 15, 2015
.@genyproject_ stood w us this morning, now workers say that #BlackLivesMatter in MLKs hometown- Atlanta #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/KJQmhvp735 — ATLRaiseUp (@ATLRaiseUp) January 15, 2015
How will u #ReclaimMLK? We choose to fight until our demands are met. March w/ us on 1/19! https://t.co/doawTFvHEI pic.twitter.com/vnsDqsIF0B
— Justice League NYC (@NYjusticeleague) January 15, 2015
.@fightfor15 worker Michael stands w airport workers today in Philly “We are in this fight together” #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/6NZWhfIrm9 — 32BJ SEIU (@32BJ_SEIU) January 15, 2015
Happy Birthday, Dr. King. Your legacy of resistance & vision for Black freedom is alive & well #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/wPB4Gdu7iA
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) January 15, 2015
Low wage workers need to stand together & we stand in solidarity w airport workers. #DreamDelayed #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/T3lYrgO2s0 — Fast Food Forward (@FastFoodForward) January 15, 2015
The crimes of the system being read are extensive & include the criminalization of the trans* community. #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/kOfKZuMlot
— Feminist Bully (@bullhorngirl) January 15, 2015
Boston protesters ‘united against racism’ shut down highway during rush hour http://t.co/9agSxzhg8n pic.twitter.com/dWOkoZvHZ1 — Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) January 15, 2015
Weight watchers RT @karengeier: 17 people were arrested in Boston today. How you can help: pic.twitter.com/0sLtRb5JC0 pic.twitter.com/TE8uvYHiXy
— Bill O’Keefe (@DefendWallSt) January 15, 2015
23 arrested as #BlackLivesMatter protest blocks busy #Boston interstate http://t.co/gPoJw6VXPP pic.twitter.com/9CfXC1DUtX — RT America (@RT_America) January 15, 2015
LIVE: Protesters Shut Down 2 Parts of I-93 in Massachusetts http://t.co/VZUZDBCgio #BlackLivesMatter @GlobalRevLive pic.twitter.com/L5Kg8bLVlm
— JigmeUgen (@JigmeUgen) January 15, 2015
At least 29 arrested as activists protesting police violence block Boston-area highway http://t.co/c0POmVVuq2 pic.twitter.com/mX2f2kuHc6 — NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) January 15, 2015
#MLKStrike protesters arriving at African Burial ground NYC, Follow @AshAgony for live updates. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/iqACRLwJMN
— Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) January 15, 2015
Blocked cars honk as #DCFerguson protesters stop and shout “Justice for Michael Brown, Racist cops shut ’em down.” pic.twitter.com/tRwnomxT5f — Natalie DiBlasio (@ndiblasio) January 15, 2015
RT @stopmotionsolo: #NYC4MLK greets strap hangers at Wall St. #BlackLivesMatter #J15MLKStrike #MLKDay2015 #MLKStrike pic.twitter.com/DL8TICB1xW
— Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) January 15, 2015
Are you listening yet, @RahmEmanuel? RT @chicopwatch: Activists demand reparations for survivors of police torture pic.twitter.com/8FbiirJRfa — Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) January 15, 2015
#BlackLivesMatter activists are demonstrating outside the BK DA’s office now. For live updates follow @StopMotionsolo pic.twitter.com/ZkwR6QvkGk
— Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) January 15, 2015
“We who believe in freedom shall not rest.” A sing-along in Fulton Station. #MLKStrike #J15MLKStrike #Black… https://t.co/qBDpo0fjcy — StopMotionsolo (@StopMotionsolo) January 15, 2015
Marching around manhattan correctional center now #ReclaimMLK #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/665v02TBuu
— Shay Horse (@HuntedHorse) January 15, 2015
Assembling now in grand central for #reclaimMLK #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/di6Fm0CoiX — Shay Horse (@HuntedHorse) January 16, 2015
Circling up now in grand central terminal , chanting “if we don’t get it the SHUT IT DOWN” #reclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/ywsO5xo7Ef
— Shay Horse (@HuntedHorse) January 16, 2015
Protesters are doing a die in now with a circle formed around the action #ReclaimMLK #icantbreathe #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/IAqF6RTEba — Shay Horse (@HuntedHorse) January 16, 2015
Incarcerated youth banging on the windows #wewantfreedom #reclaimmlk no more school to prison pipeline #ff15 pic.twitter.com/XLaIbbwgd4
— TinaRivero/MECHA tho (@TinaLucha_16) January 16, 2015
Indict the System projected on Cook County Juvenile Detention Center #ReclaimMLK #ReclaimMLKchi #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/CwncHoTnjT — PSL larissa (@happyislarissa) January 16, 2015
Want to #ReclaimMLK in New Orleans? Great things planned with @StandwDignity @Show_Me15 @BYP_100 @ExhibitBE pic.twitter.com/HpdnqJcTr5
— Ben Zucker (@ben_zucker) January 15, 2015
Go Stanford!! #ReclaimMLK RT@StanfordBSU: For Jordan Baker. For Vonderrit Myers. For John Crawford III. pic.twitter.com/eAfR20dnWK
— BrownBlaze (@brownblaze) January 15, 2015
Breaking: fast food wrkrs stage die-in at @McDonalds to #ReclaimMLK #ReclaimMLK #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/QI8gxENijl
— Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) January 15, 2015
About to kick things off at #ReclaimMLKchi! #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/zpib1YS6S7
— Feminist Bully (@bullhorngirl) January 16, 2015
March gathering now in #Chicago #ReclaimMLK http://t.co/BdXlhxM6j5 RT @megmantis: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ #ReclaimMLKChi pic.twitter.com/6g5f58nA6H
— Chicago Rising (@ChicagoRising) January 16, 2015
Elementary school students lead the march. #ReclaimMLKchi #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/cV3c7Rh5NK
— Feminist Bully (@bullhorngirl) January 16, 2015
Hundreds of Chicagoans, fast food wrkrs, led by youth of color take the streets to #ReclaimMLK #ReclaimMLKchi pic.twitter.com/n0t1acdYXF
— Deivid Rojas (@DeividSRojas) January 16, 2015
Adriana & Donald @McDonalds wrkrs marching today to #ReclaimMLK and demand dignity for all. #ReclaimMLKChi pic.twitter.com/XLPdnUVDHQ
— Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) January 16, 2015