The 50th. anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..."
- Thread starter annabenedetti
- Start date
Christian Liberty
Well-known member
The solution to that, as with everything else, is freedom. Abolish public schools and let the market sort out education.
annabenedetti
like marbles on glass
The solution was federal (Civil Rights Act, 1964) and judicial (Brown vs. Board of Education).
If you left it to the market, there would still be segregation in many places in the U.S.
Christian Liberty
Well-known member
The Federal Government and the judicial court both stomped on the Constitution with those rulings.
annabenedetti
like marbles on glass
Rather, they ensured African Americans their full constitutional rights as citizens of the United States.
PureX
Well-known member
I can't think or MLK's 'mountain' speech these days without also thinking of Patty Griffin's beautiful musical tribute to MLK and that speech. And she wrote it for the best of reasons ... she said she was thinking about how she felt like she was always too timid, in her own life, and that she finally understood the meaning of courage when she heard that speech.
annabenedetti
like marbles on glass
Thanks PureX. She's amazing, and it's such a great song, and what a great addition to the thread. 
You have to wonder, if he were alive today, what MLK would think of race-baiting a-holes like Al Sharpton
PureX
Well-known member
Toward the end of his life, MLK had become very concerned about economic disparity as much as racial inequality. His friend Harry Belafonti wrote this about MLK:
Sadly, it seems MLK was right.
Midway through the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. realized that the struggle for integration would ultimately become a struggle for economic rights. I remember the last time we were together, at my home, shortly before he was murdered. He seemed quite agitated and preoccupied, and I asked him what the problem was. "I've come upon something that disturbs me deeply," he said. "We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I've come to believe we're integrating into a burning house."
That statement took me aback. It was the last thing I would have expected to hear, considering the nature of our struggle, and I asked him what he meant. "I'm afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had," he answered. "And I'm afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation."
That statement took me aback. It was the last thing I would have expected to hear, considering the nature of our struggle, and I asked him what he meant. "I'm afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had," he answered. "And I'm afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation."
Sadly, it seems MLK was right.
annabenedetti
like marbles on glass
Doormat
New member
Sounds like he followed the money and saw where it led. A burning house is a fitting metaphor.
that's so sad and pathetic.
Saved.One.by.Grace
New member
Great thread.
One thing I like to tell people who did not live through those days is that Martin Luther King kept the Civil Rights Movement non-violent and focused. Those days could have easily gone out of control. But it was MLK who gave the movement a non-violent voice that would be heard, and is still resonating some 50 years later. After his murder, many would come and try to take his place. But no one could match his passion.
annabenedetti
like marbles on glass
Thanks. And it's so easy for the average person to look back at the post-war 50's and say they were golden years of upward mobility, technological progress, booming job markets, two cars and a house in the suburbs, when the reality for black American citizens was so radically different, and for poor Americans of any color to be sure; sharecroppers, immigrants, etc., but there was a certain demographic that was actively and legally forced into 'separate but equal' treatment that was beyond their control.
That history resonates into today and I suspect only those who were never subjected to it or hear about it from their parents and grandparents are able to so blithely toss it off as water under the bridge, no big deal, everyone has the same chance today... because the reality is that historical subjugation has rippled forward from the time of slavery through each generation which followed - and the road to complete freedom from the past is still a rocky one, even if it's certainly more level than it was.
Last edited:
99lamb
New member
Then we have a difference of opinion, when the POTUS injected himself into a local police matter by
1. Saying if he had a son he would look like Trayvon.
2. When POTUS said that 35 years ago he could have been Trayvon.
He injected himself into the matter, similar to when he said the Cambridge Mass police 'acted stupidly' especially when he him self admitted he didn't know all the facts, these are examples of foolishness.
In the cases discussed an affiliation with and glorification of gansta/thug mentality, which is usually prevelant with an adolescent mind.
On a broader level it is the break down of the family unit.
But seriously I blame Bush.... I kid.
Well rather like scar tissue, picture a boxers eyes, if you hit them the scar tissue just rips open and bleeds all over.
So it is with the people who are affectionately known as the race baiters, race hustlers, who have their worth tied into the 'unfairness' of America, who take every opportunity to exploit an issue, rather than discuss inhumanity carried out by one person against another and condemn such actions. Instead their aim is to strike at deep seated emotional scars for the express purpose of blood shed not healing.
PureX
Well-known member
... Nor the clarity of his vision of truth, fairness, and humanity.
The reason he didn't need violence to make his point was because he understood that the truth stands up for itself, for all the world to see. Racism, sexism, scapegoating the poor and unemployed, and other forms of bigotry all require willful ignorance to be maintained and justified. But the simple truth of fairness, justice, and compassion is like a light shining into the darkness of that willful ignorance, forcing it to run and hide in the far corners of our hearts and our society, where it belongs, if it can't be erased completely. But now days it seems that darkness is creeping back. Willful ignorance is on the assent, again, and so is the bigotry and scapegoating of the minorities, and of the weak.
Saved.One.by.Grace
New member
:thumb:
Saved.One.by.Grace
New member
Of all the places I've lived, I saw the most prejudice in southern California when I lived there in the '70s. While there was prejudice against Blacks, there was more against Mexicans. I couldn't understand why. The Mexicans I worked with were the nicest people. When a car dealer was refusing to take my check for work done and refusing to give me my keys back, it was a Mexican in-line behind me who volunteered to drive me to my apartment, then back to the dealership so I could I could pay them in cash. The guy who drove to and from the dealership didn't want any money, but I forced him to take $5, at least I could pay for his gas.
A Black woman I worked with and my wife and I attended church with in St. Louis had moved from San Diego to the Midwest. She told me her kids had never experienced prejudice until they moved to St. Louis. This was the middle '80s. I found that incredibly sad that St. Louis had not grown with the times.