MLK

Beyond MLK: 9 Others Who Died For Black Liberation

January 19, 2015 Atlanta Blackstar, www.handsupunited.org Educate! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Civil Rights, MLK, Racial Justice

Black history has been celebrated in America throughout the month of February since 1976, and 50 years prior in Negro History Week. During this time, classrooms across America typically engage in activities from plays and artwork to writing assignments that highlight the contributions of Black people. Despite its nearly 100-year history, Black History Month often excludes the contributions of African and Caribbean-born leaders and even some American-born leaders, who get buried beneath staples such as civil rights activists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. These leaders and activists have earned their rightful place in history, however a disservice is done to countless other leaders from around the world who too fought for Black liberation.

Why Selma’s Critics Are Wrong About Civil Rights History

January 19, 2015 Jim Naureckas, www.inthesetimes.com Educate! Journalism, Media, MLK

Even before it was released on Christmas Day, Selma was under attack. In Politico's “What Selma Gets Wrong,” LBJ Presidential Library director Mark Updegrove charged that the fictional film's depiction of the epic voting-rights battle in the Alabama town “misses mightily in faithfully capturing the pivotal relationship—contentious, the film would have you believe—between [Martin Luther] King and President Lyndon Baines Johnson.” This served, Updegrove scolded, to “bastardize one of the most hallowed chapters in the civil rights movement by suggesting that the president himself stood in the way of progress.” Johnson adviser Joseph Califano struck next in the Washington Post, complaining that the film “falsely portrays President Lyndon B. Johnson as being at odds with Martin Luther King Jr.”

King’s Condemnation Of US Atrocity Wars

January 19, 2015 Jay Janson, www.countercurrents.org Educate! Martin Luther, Media, MLK, Wars and Militarism

Dear readers and Leaders of anti-imperialist organizations everywhere in the world, starting now, During the days running up to and through Martin Luther King's three day birthday holiday, have your members and friends and families and kids use social networking Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube and cellphone with cameras spread a call throughout the world and especially in the dozens of countries suffering US bombings, occupation wars or CIA covert violence, death and destruction to BREAK the 48 year BLACKOUT of King's condemnation of his country's government as the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world," and his having held himself and his fellow Americans responsible for "atrocity wars and covert violence on three continents since 1945 in order to maintain unjust predatory investments."

From Selma To Citizens United: Struggle For One Person, One Vote

January 18, 2015 Chris Kromm, www.southernstudies.org Educate! Citizens United, Democracy, Martin Luther King Jr, MLK, Selma, Voting Rights

The 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches -- and the brutal backlash to them from Alabama state troopers -- galvanized national support for the Voting Rights Act, changing the balance of power in the South. Building on years of local organizing, "roughly a million new voters were registered within a few years after the [Voting Rights Act] became law," says historian Alexander Keyssar in his seminal book "The Right to Vote," "with African-American registration soaring to a record 62 percent." While Selma and the Voting Rights Act strengthened the voice of ordinary voters, Citizens United has heightened the power of mega-rich donors. By opening the treasuries of companies, unions and other groups to limitless political spending, the decision has fueled a spending spree on elections, especially by outside groups not tied to a candidate. According to a new report by the Brennan Center, outside spending in U.S. Senate races has doubled since 2010, to more than $486 million in 2014.

Newsletter: What It Means To #ReclaimMLK

January 16, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter fast track, Martin Luther King Jr, militarism, MLK, New Economy, Police abuse, Racism, TPP, Wars and Militarism

This week, in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, people around the country are organizing actions to #ReclaimMLK as the true person he was; one that recognized the roots of the crises being experienced and who made connections between many issues. Dr. King was a critic of capitalism, racism and imperialism. He said: “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.” Dr. King called for a “revolution of values,” meaning a shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. A new generation of young activists is embracing the radical Dr. King and rejecting the watered-down version presented in major media. We have no doubt that Dr. King would be part of the movement for social, economic and environmental justice. Many of us are already working on the issues of Dr. King, in many ways we have already reclaimed him.

A New Generation Reclaims MLK Day

January 16, 2015 Ms. Bullhorn, www.transformativespaces.org Organize! MLK, Racial Justice, Youth

Chicago’s young black organizers, who have mobilized with great speed and ingenuity since nationwide protests erupted in August, have been especially creative in their tactics and radical in their messaging. While some of the language employed in their chants and speak outs has included talk of indicting police officers like Darren Wilson, youth organizers from BYP 100and We Charge Genocide, among others, have also broadened the dialogue around police violence to include the language of de-incarceration, transformative justice, and calls for an all out systems change. Local activist and teacher Jerica Jurado, whose students have been involved in a number of protests in recent months, credits an already active community of young people for having brought their vision to the front lines.

#ReclaimMLK Protests Begin On Rev. King’s Real Birthday

January 15, 2015 Staff, www.PopularResisitance.org Resist! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Capitalism, militarism, MLK, Police abuse, Racism

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."

Ferguson Action Calls For #BlackLivesMatter To #ReclaimMLK

January 9, 2015 Staff, www.FergusonAction.com Resist! MLK, Police abuse, Racism

Martin Luther King Jr’s life’s work was the elevation, honoring, and defense of Black Lives. His tools included non-violent civil disobedience and direct action. Dr. King was part of a larger movement of women, and men, queer, and straight, young and old. This movement was built on a bold vision. This vision was radical, principled, and uncompromising. The freedom fighters attached to this vision did not bow to political expediency or the calls for gradualism heard in their day. They were called impractical, rash, not strategic, irrational, and naive. Their tactics were controversial. Some elders distanced themselves from what was then a new movement for change. Some of the older generation joined in. The present day Movement for Black Lives draws a direct line from the legacy of Dr. King and the current day struggle we face today. Unfortunately, Dr. King’s legacy has been clouded by efforts to soften, sanitize, and commercialize it.

2015 Pledge Year Of Resistance, Take Back MLK

January 4, 2015 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Organize! MLK, Police abuse, police brutality, Racism

Ferguson Action is urging people to sign to pledge to make 2015 a Year of Resistance. They are also calling for the weekend leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on January 19th for protests to take back MLK. #TakeBackMLK and #MLKD. The movie, Selma, opens on Thursday, January 8. This is a great opportunity to mobilize people by protesting from Friday through Sunday when the movies are letting out. This is a great opportunity to reach people because the movie will inspire them, remind them of the people power of the civil rights movement and move people to take action. #WeekendOfAwarness #BlackLivesMatter would be great hashtags for this. When you protest, sign people up, tell them how to get involved. PLEDGE: I pledge to make 2015 my year of resistance to state violence against Black lives. I challenge myself and those in my community to take risks as we confront the many ways that Black lives are diminished and taken from us. This pledge is in defense of ALL black lives. We stand with Black men and women. . . .

‘Selma’ Portrays The True Martin Luther King Jr: A Despised Radical

December 28, 2014 Zaid Jilani, www.alternet.org Educate! MLK

In the conventional wisdom, King was a beloved figure who worked with national politicians to defeat a fringe group of Southern racists; Selma upends this narrative by showing King facing off not only with Alabama governor George Wallace but also the Democratic president Lyndon Baines Johnson and his FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. King, and all those who stood alongside him in the demonstrations in the South, are shown not as conciliators looking to simply make racial harmony through dialogue, but as both agitators and lawbreakers – in the most righteous ways. Selma's portrayal has irked some, like Marke Updegrove, the director of the LBJ presidential library. He writes that the film engages in a “mischaracterization” of the King-LBJ relationship, and that “LBJ and MLK were close partners in reform.” The truth is that MLK's movement created even greater hostility among the political class than the film portrays.

“The Bravest Man I Ever Met” By Dr. King, Jr (1965)

November 22, 2014 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., www.warisacrime.org Educate! Media, MLK, Socialism, Speech

Truly, the life of Norman Thomas has been one of deep commitment to the betterment of all humanity. In 1928, the year before I was born, he waged the first of six campaigns as the Socialist Party's candidate for President of the United States. A decade earlier, as a preacher, he fought gallantly, if unsuccessfully, against American involvement in World War I. Both then and now he has raised aloft the banner of civil liberties, civil rights, labor's right to organize, and has played a significant role in so many diverse areas of activity that newspapers all over the land have termed him "America's conscience." There are those who call Norman Thomas a failure because he has never been elected to office.

Mass Dragnet Surveillance: We Are All Black Now

February 11, 2014 Kymone Freeman, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Black Panthers, MLK, NSA, Racism, Surveillance

On October 26, 2013 I had the pleasure and honor to host the Stop Watching Us Rally against NSA surveillance on the National Mall. It was an honor to have had an opportunity to speak truth to power on national TV and it was a pleasure to see a massive sea of white faces respond to the provocative assertion that ‘we are all black today.’ I told them that ‘equality has finally come to the shores of America: it is called surveillance and it is for everyone.’ The often ignored truth is that surveillance is nothing new for African Americans. From the times of slavery that made it illegal for the enslaved to congregate without a European American present, to the modern US intelligence agencies who have historically engaged in political repression, black people have always been closely monitored. Due to the peculiar institution of the white supremacist policies of the U.S. government, this repression and surveillance have disproportionally targeted people of color. With mass dragnet surveillance, equality has finally come to the shores of America in the form of surveillance. We are all in the same boat now and when the lights go out, we are all black.

Video: Resistance Report Week In Review #18 – January 25, 2014

January 25, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Citizens United, Inequality, MLK, TPP, Video

The Resistance Report Week in Review collects all of the Resistance Report segments from the previous week and rolls them into one big show. Watch the video below, or jump to the individual segments linked below. - Responding to the Oxfam report that concluded that the world's 85 richest people own the same amount as the bottom half of the entire global population, self appointed spokesperson for the global elite, and celebrity Judge on the reality show The Shark Tank Kevin O’Leary, applauded the news, stating that is “fantastic news (…) the motivation everybody needs (…) it inspires everyone to want to be like the 1%” and scoffing at the idea of “re-distribution of wealth” stated, “ I celebrate Capitalism.”

Portland MLK Rally Honors More Radical King

January 21, 2014 Pete Shaw, www.portlandoccupier.org Resist! Martin Luther King Jr, MLK, Worker Rights and Jobs

On Friday January 17th, over 150 supporters of people without housing and day laborers marched to Portland City Hall to demand the City Council live up to King’s vision of a truly compassionate society, one that does not require some people to live in impoverished conditions, while others reap the rewards of avarice. The boisterous crowd called on City leadership to start acting on behalf of all people in the city, not just the business interests. Day laborers and people without housing have been under attack by the City. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Laborer Center, which serves as a safe place off the street where employers and workers can contract for daily work, and also provides classes to help people improve their work and language skills finds itself on unstable ground.

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