Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Lost Legacy of Martin Luther King















"When we 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!"

On the day when America honours the great Martin Luther King. And some worry that his full legacy is being lost.

Nearly 40 years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some say his legacy is being frozen in a moment in time that ignores the full complexity of the man and his message.

Worry that people are forgetting how unpopular his views had become. Even on the left.

By 1968, King's opposition to Vietnam and his unwavering commitment to nonviolence made him largely an outcast. The far right still despised him and everything he represented. But even more telling was the rejection he received from the left. He endured editorials from the Democratic establishment calling for a moratorium on civil rights and a break from marches. He was called a "disservice to his cause" and his people.

A reminder of what the great man had to say about a crazy war.

With some pictures from the latest one...



Also some words from Barack Obama at King's church yesterday.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community. We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone

In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

Before Obama and Hillary attacked each other like pitbulls tonight.

And finally a picture of George Bush and a black child today.

That just about says it all.













Or at least speaks to how I feel.

Whatever you do.... don't let our differences... gender, race, or anything else DIVIDE us.

Remember Martin's journey. Focus on bringing down the REAL enemy.

Because our hopes for a better more just and peaceful world are riding on your shoulders. And if you let us down.

We will never EVER forgive you...

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