Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

sharedvalues

(6,916 posts)
Sat Jul 7, 2018, 11:11 AM Jul 2018

Martin Luther King had it right, and we can all learn from Dr. King now

I recently read this article about MLK, and saw that his words have direct lessons for today.
His philosophy, and what he was saying in the 60s, are exactly applicable to today's debate about civility and the Republicans' attempts to suppress protests.

And his philosophy is applicable to us, to Democrats who are trying to achieve change in 2018.

http://time.com/5101740/martin-luther-king-peaceful-protests-lessons/

Over the course of a decade, King became synonymous with nonviolent direct action as he worked to overturn systemic segregation and racism across the southern United States. The civil rights movement formed the guidebook for a new era of protest.
...
For 381 days, thousands of black residents trudged through chilling rain and oppressive heat, ignoring buses as they passed by. They endured death threats, violence and legal prosecution. King’s home was bombed. But instead of responding in kind, the members of the movement took to the pews, praying and rallying in churches in protest of the discrimination they suffered. In the courthouse, 31 testified to the harassment they endured on the city’s segregated buses, not so much a legal strategy as a moral one. Unsurprisingly in a city whose white–supremacist “White Citizens’ Council” membership skyrocketed after the boycott, King was found guilty and jailed for two weeks. As he said later, “It was the crime of joining my people in a non-violent protest against injustice.”


And here is what started to work - started to cause change:

But by 1960, nonviolent protests were sweeping across the South. In just one week in April, hundreds of black students were arrested as young people sat in and picketed segregated stores and diners from Nashville, Tenn., to Greensboro, N.C. Yet progress was painfully slow. In Savannah, Ga., the white mayor, Lee Mingledorff, demanded that the city council outlaw unlicensed picketing. “I don’t especially care if it’s constitutional or not,” he said. There were even more arrests, but the protests tired before achieving change.
...
The tactics changed too. While there were sit-ins and kneel-ins and demonstrations, the SCLC also encouraged an economic boycott of the city. Birmingham’s economic heart, its shopping district, was crippled when black residents refused to shop in segregated stores. Boycott organizers patrolled the streets to shame black residents into toeing the line. The protests were designed to force a crisis point, and Connor only aided the effort. When business took down “Whites Only” signs, the avowed racist threatened to pull their licenses. On Good Friday, King was jailed for his 13th time for more than a week. Using the margins of scrap paper smuggled into his cell, King drafted his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” among the clearest representations of his philosophy.


Such a powerful article and powerful words from King.

-------------

So why is nonviolent direct action important today?

Because MLK would have LOVED what the Red Hen did. Would have loved what protesters did to Kirstjen Nielsen. What Kristin Mink did to Scott Pruitt.

Why? Because the goal of nonviolent action is to force Americans to pay attention.

And that is why Republicans HATE the Red Hen and Mink, and that is why Republicans call for "civility".

King said:
“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue,” King wrote. “It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.



The right knows that direct protests work. That is why they are scared and want the protests to stop.

And here’s why:
15% of Americans are Trumpite deplorables and Re short-term unreachable.
20% are deeply in the Fox and Limbaugh bubble and don’t know what is really going on.
35% are not paying close attention
30% are informed, angry, and want something done now. (That’s us)

So the Republican plan is to keep the 20% Fox and Limbaugh listeners in the dark, and try to keep a lid on any outrage to prevent the 35% from learning that this is a national emergency.

OUR goal is to reach that 35%. And the best way to do it is exactly what Kristin Mink did to Scott Pruitt. THAT is why the right attacked Mink and the Red Hen. Because they know that is the key to stopping Republicans.

1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Martin Luther King had it right, and we can all learn from Dr. King now (Original Post) sharedvalues Jul 2018 OP
KICK! Cha Jul 2018 #1
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»Martin Luther King had it...