Fellow DU'ers, Join Me Here In Honoring The Great Dr. King.

[David Zephyr]

I miss him so very much.
We need his spirit today.
We need his genius today.
We need his heart today.
We need his words today.
I miss him greatly.
He changed my life.

[Minstrel Boy]

1. What America lost we can see,

because we see what America's become.

A number of speeches are available here in mp3. Listened to a few yesterday, and was shaken to my core.

http://atl-imc.org/audio/speeches/ML_King/

[David Zephyr]

2. Thank You For the Links, Minstrel Boy!

And here's another photo of Dr. King. Check out the photo on the wall.

Thanks for the great links. I have bookmarked them all!

:hi:

[Minstrel Boy]

4. you're welcome!

Sometimes it seems as though he'd made only one speech in his life. (And "I have a dream" has been co-opted by just about everyone, because if that's all you hear, it doesn't demand much more of a response than wishful thinking.) He had much more to say, and it's good to hear some of it.

[necso]

3. A towering giant,

who made us all see how small we really were.

[Muddleoftheroad]

25. Amen

[madmax]

5. We miss you Martin.

Thank you.

[Blue_Roses]

6. I was very young when he was assinated

but I remember clearly when integration started (my 7th grade year) and I couldn't understand what all the "stink" was about. My parents, who were life-long Democrats and believed in the policies of FDR, were scared. I don't think it had to do with hate, but more with fear.

It's amazing how fear and intolerance continue to keep us "stifled." I just wish I had a genie in a bottle to tell me how it could have been different if MLK and JFK had not been assassinated.

[underseasurveyor]

7. What would The Great King say about this.....

He would have PLENTY to say about it.
--------------------------
January 16, 2004

Bush to Protesters: Get behind the buses!

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY

Dear BuzzFlash,

Boy, was Al Gore right about Bush being a moral coward. While Gore was giving that speech, Bush was at MLK's grave forcing protesters back behind buses. He is AFRAID of peaceful people with signs. Some of the protesters were people who fought for civil rights because they were told to sit at the back of the bus, then Bush shows up and tells them to get BEHIND the bus! Words cannot do justice to what a low moment this was.

Connie
---------------------------

Reading that hurts my heart. It really does :cry:
We need to revitalize the spirit and bring Dr. King back to life in the hearts of all peoples.

We need you Dr. King, come back.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

18. RFK2 --

I wrote that letter. I wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words. Because I wanted to talk about what King said the night before he was murdered, how he ended the speech:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Because the courage of that is unbelievable. Then you contrast that with Bush, the lying, posing bully, who sends people to die from the safety of hiding and won't even face peaceful people. It makes me so frustrated that people can't or won't understand what real courage is and it makes me sick to see how the press glorifies Bush as a hero when he is a true coward in every way.

I truly worry about the Democratic candidate because I feel like there are very hateful people out there. Even if they are not in danger from that, and I sure hope they aren't, they are standing up to the smearing machine of the Bushed and that is brave. When there is a nominee, that person is going to face -- who knows what?

Anyway, I couldn't say any of this with any logic, but I guess there are just some people that see beneath the surface and other people that won't.

[underseasurveyor]

20. What you wrote was plenty said.

"I wrote that letter. I wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words."

Yes you did. You found just the right words and I found it to be a most powerful visual. It truly struck at my heart at the sad and deteriorating state of our country.

I wept when I first read it. It's not suppose to be like this, I thought to myself. We are suppose to be far beyond where we have fallen back too. If Dr. King were standing in front of me today, I couldn't possibly apologize enough for the way we have allowed our country to fall back 40, 50 years.

That was awesome CalmityJane :thumbsup:

on edit: I should use the spellchecker more often ;-)

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

21. Thanks! I hope some of the Democratic leaders will address what

happened there. They tried to put the protesters back to one of those damned "free speech zones." One account said 500 feet away, another said 200 feet away. The protesters said, "no, we're not going." So they brought in the buses and kept them back 150 feet from MLK's grave site.

I have been there and it is an open area. Why should they say this site is not a free speech zone because Bush needs to stay in his bubble? If Bush can tell you that you cannot stand in front of MLK's crypt and express yourself like a free American because he needs to make a photo op, where CAN you stand and use your free speech?

He has no right to do that, if he is worried about security and keeping himself in a bubble, then HE should not go, not order Atlantans away.

[underseasurveyor]

26. Of all the times I've heard wingers say

Oh show me proof of your free speech rights being denied? This has to be the ultimate and perfect example of the denial of that right.

The protesters that broke through the barriers made me feel proud though. We should take their lead, we need to start pushing even harder. *Dr King would.

on edit: wanted to add *

[calimary]

29. Man, you said it.

I can't believe how that schmuck defiled the MLK event, and added insult to injury with the bus blockade. JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stunning!!!!! I hope the subtext of that was NOT lost on the African-American community, OR, for that matter, on ANY of the rest of us who care about a level playing field, or addressing the wrongs in our history. And I hope we all Remember in November.

Blockading them behind buses. UNBELIEVABLE! At a service honoring a civil rights inspiration. UNBELIEVABLE! What a smack in the face! Let's return that favor, come election day.

[prolesunited]

8. READ this article!!! I just found it and it's simply incredible!

Martin Luther King: Terrorist On the stunning disparity between a nation that glorifies war and one that honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a holiday

Let’s not mince words. Were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive today, he would be at risk for being imprisoned indefinitely, without charges or access to legal counsel, as an “enemy combatant.” He would be decried, by powerful figures inside and outside government, as at worst a domestic terrorist, at best a publicity-seeking menace whose criticisms of America gave comfort to our unseen enemies.
<snip>

The literal whitewashing of King also serves another purpose: to locate American racism as safely in the South and in our historical past. The changes of the past half century are, indeed, remarkable; Jim Crow seems today as unthinkable as slavery itself. But struggles against racial equality happened in every state -- not just Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. As for our progress since then, consider: the persistently huge economic gaps between whites and non-whites; the horrific public health indices in some non-white areas, including the re-emergence of TB and widespread, endemic hunger among often non-white children; the shameful failure of public education in many predominantly non-white school districts; the War on Drugs and its imprisonment of a generation of non-white youth; the race-coded political attacks on welfare and workfare programs; the near-complete dismantling of affirmative action; and the still-striking disparity between how America looks and how its leaders look. We still have a long, long way to go.
<snip>

Dr. King, nonviolent martyr to reconciliation and justice, has become a Hallmark Card, a warm, fuzzy, feel-good invocation of neighborliness, a file photo for sneakers or soda commercials, a reprieve for post-holiday shoppers, an excuse for a three-day weekend, a cardboard cutout used for photo ops by the same political leaders that wage wars and let black children starve.

He deserves better. We all do.
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=16294

[Octafish]

37. You understand.

Our nation and this world would be a far, far different place were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. still with us. Who knows? He might have become President. Were it possible, I certainly would vote for Dr. King.

[IronLionZion]

9. I have him to thank for my Civil RIghts

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, but George W. Bush is destroying that dream.

This one is for you Dr. King:toast:

[Robin Hood]

10. We also need his courage.

We miss you Dr. King. God bless you.

[Honesthumanbeing]

11. This man was a truly great

appreciated.

[Shanty Oilish]

12. We need him

You said it. We need his spirit today.

(He wrote my sig line...)

[economic justice]

13. Very well said, David! <eom>

[lostnfound]

14. May his descendants be as numerous as stars in the sky..

Descendants of body and also his descendants of spirit.

I stood at the Rothko Chapel the other day which is dedicated to him and thought about him.. thought this about the symbolism of the sculpture:

first there is a ledge, slightly underwater at the border of the reflecting pool..go slowly into justice and activism and wade in shallow water, a tiny sacrifice or perhaps simply a pleasant diversion, easy to step right back out..



but to go deeper.. how hard it seems to step down off the ledge into deeper water, to sacrifice the security of staying on safe, sane, dry land..a baptism of sorts..

climb the pyramid to a higher place is a personal struggle..
after wading awhile, perhaps you find some dry space, but it is a struggle..an island of sorts, but not for rest, only for support..it seems to me that people deep in activism find that kind of place where there is an element of mutual support by those others involved in the same struggle

but then at some point, a man is faced with the knowledge that going forward in the struggle of the spirit for justice will have great personal cost..Jesse Jackson spoke on DemocracyNow! this week of MLK's own struggle, MLK's own decisions not to pull back or tone down his efforts..

at the top of the pyramid a gap and a leap up, unsupported by anything earthly
MLK knew that to go forward, his life might well be lost..
In the moment when he decided to choose to continue to honor the values -- of justice, peace, love -- and in that sacrifice, in that moment, he transcended, was given grace, became full spirit.

[LibertyorDeath]

15. A truly Great American needed now more than ever.

[Guaranteed]

16. Thank you, Dr. King.

You are missed.

[dbt]

17. I was 12 years old and clueless

when Dr. King led the March on Washington. I had heard, in my small southern village, how the black people (and that was certainly not the term the grownups used) were getting out of hand and wanting too much.

But as I watched the coverage on a black-and-white TV, "those people" didn't look any different from "us," except for the color of their skin!

Many of "those" marchers were wearing overalls and work shirts and plow shoes and old straw hats. Some were driving wagons that were drawn by mules, just like most of the grownups who were trying to convince me that "they" were getting out of hand!

I think it was the March on Washington that began to show this kid that people were a lot more alike than I was being led to believe.

Thank you for that lesson, Dr. King.

:bounce:
dbt

[G_j]

19. in honor of MLK

I think he would have appreciated this,

www.twinoakscenter.com/perspec/perspectives_cpestes.htm
CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTES, Ph. D.

Letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times

Do not lose heart.� We were made for these times.� I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now . . . Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.

You are right in your assessments.� The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking.� Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times.� Especially do not lose hope.� Most particularly because, the fact is - we were made for these times.� Yes.� For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plane of engagement . . .

I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able crafts in the waters than there are right now across the world.� And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind . . .� Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you.� Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.

We have been in training for a dark time such as this, since the day we assented to come to Earth.� For many decades, worldwide, souls just like us have been felled and left for dead in so many ways over and over brought down by naivete, by lack of love, by being ambushed and assaulted by various cultural and personal shocks in the extreme.� We have a history of being gutted, and yet remember this especially -- we have also, of necessity, perfected the knack of resurrection.� Over and over again we have been the living proof that that which has been exiled, lost, or foundered can be restored to life again.
..more..

[Malva Zebrina]

31. that is wonderful

thank you for posting it. I have read "Women Who Run With the Wolves" twice and often refer to it.

MLK, the great man--deserved better than a cheap little punk of a man using his grave for his own publicity.

However , it did happen--and perhaps the whole staged event will backfire on this stupid pretender to the throne.

Estes may be right--we are stronger than that, collectively.

[GabysPoppy]

22. A picture iis worth a 1000 words

In remembrance this weekend, I am proud to have his avatar represent me at DU.

[JohnLocke]

54. A great man, with a great mind, in a great country.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

23. in the words of Dion "it seems the good they die young" ...lyrics.....

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

[Bill McBlueState]

46. those are such beautiful words

I haven't heard that song in a while.

We need heroes like them today.

Where have they all gone?

[kentuck]

24. He helped poor whites as much as poor blacks..

As a young kid growing up in poverty in Appalachia, I was not aware of that until much later in life. I was in Viet Nam when he was assassinated. He was a true hero.

[F-5]

27. Thank you, Dr. King.

Thank you for fighting for what was right.
Thank you for your courage.
Thank you for your loving spirit.
Thank you for your kind and gentle heart.
Thank you for everything.

You are surely missed. :cry:

[G_j]

28. "MLK" new flash video

In commemoration of MLK's birthday CODEPINK, Global Exchange and Black Voices for Peace created an inspiring flash movie using an excerpt from a powerful Dr. King speech with heart-wrenching images of the US occupation of Iraq. Check it out at�http://www.bushflash.com/mlk.html�and send it to your friends and family.

The next day, January 20, the nation will hear another speech, but one that will undoubtedly be contrary to the ideals of Dr. King: George Bush's State of the Union address.� The litany of half-truths, excuses, and lies that characterized his March 2003 State of the Union address paved the road to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. So, we know we can't afford to ignore this address.� We have to pay attention because too much is at stake.�
www.codepinkalert.org

[David Zephyr]

30. Waves and Waves of Love of Martin Here. Thanks to All.

What moving words and memories and comments each of you are sharing.

It's really great to know that here at the DU we all really know what things that unite us, huh? Who has inspired our lives collectively, as well.

Missing Dr. King.

Tomorrow I will attend a celebration to Dr. King here locally. We go every year and it just seems that each year it gets bigger and the power of love and unity and human dignity gets stronger.

:thumbsup:

[KoKo]

32. Kick....for the "Remembrance." If we can't remember those who fought

for "Equality for All" then why are we here....and thanks for the Pix and the poem.

A Special Day! We need to be "dragged kicking and complaining" to commeorate MLK Day? :shrug:

As Democrats? What the hell has happened here?

[many a good man]

33. The greatest American of the 20th Century

After much reflection, I honestly have to say that he is at the top of my list!

[Comadreja]

34. He was shot

one year to the day after his "Declaration of Independence from the Vietnam War" speech in NY. I wonder how much the current neocon denizens of the White House knew about that?

[AlabamaYankee]

35. Read his "Letter From A Birmingham Jail"

Every year I read - out loud - his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail". It's such a powerful statement of his vision, his drive and his love for all mankind. He truly carried on the tradition of the Old Testament prophets.

A Google search provides numerous source for the document. Here's one: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

[mitchum]

36. The Greatest American...

even Mr Jefferson comes in second

[Beearewhyain]

45. Beyond a doubt The Greatest American of the 20th Century

That we should lay our eyes on the likes of him again would be to know that truth still determines greatness.


We should always celebrate his existence and profoundly mourn his loss.

[Catherine Vincent]

38. Amen!

"The cost of freedom has always been an expensive thing!"--Dr. Martin Luther King

The above quote is one of my favorites from him. Yes, freedom is very expensive and it cost America citizens dearly but most important...it cost his life. Although I was only a kid when you left this world, Dr. King, your words will forever give hope to every being in this country that is oppressed.

[Catherine Vincent]

39. kick!

:kick:

[sal]

40. not forgotten

rest in peace

[NNN0LHI]

41. I think about him every day n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

42. A man beyond his time

Who was brutally cut down before his work was done. Such is the story of many a great man and woman. He was a man who stood head and shoulders above the chaos and turmoil of his time and said loudly, "This is not RIGHT!" I wish we had more like him.

[manfriend]

43. I'd be careful

The King family isn't very tolerant of people using images/text/speeches of MLK's without permission. Strange how that worked out.

[manfriend]

44. You need a license to quote Martin Luther King Jr.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/219-08272003-148920.html

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's immortal speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. I'd like to quote from the speech, but I hesitate to even mention its title, since I leave myself open to a lawsuit.

The King family, you see, holds a copyright on the 1963 speech along with most of MLK's papers, writings, and images.

Publish or use these without permission and you likely will find yourself receiving correspondence from the family's lawyers, which begins: "You have been sued in court."

USA Today discovered this when it reprinted the full text of the "I Have a Drea-" oops, I mean The Famous Speech On The Mall - and was sued for copyright infringement.

Gannett, which owns the paper, settled out of court for $1,700, plus legal fees.

Then CBS, whose cameras captured King delivering the speech live on Aug. 28, 1963, was sued. Its mistake was including excerpts from its archives in its documentary series, "The 20th Century with Mike Wallace."

CBS settled the case before it went to trial.

Harry Hampton, producer of the marvelous series on the civil rights era "Eyes on the Prize" was sued by the Kings, and settled for an amount "under $100,000," according to news accounts.

The King family has said it's protecting the image of the great civil rights leader from hucksters with crass gift shop proposals like refrigerator magnets, MLK ice cream and pocketknives, according to Slate, a Web magazine.

Yet, the family approved "Keep the Dream Alive" personal checks and a "tasteful" King statuette available from the King Center in Atlanta.

Even so, it's hard not to empathize with the King family.

The King children were small when James Earl Ray murdered their father in 1968. King was not a wealthy man. When he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he donated the $54,000 prize money to civil rights groups.

Only the most hardened heart would begrudge King's survivors the licensing deal they have with Time Warner, which reaps them about $10 million a year.

Still, the complete commodification of a modern prophet is cheesy.

And, despite son Dexter King's assertion that the Time Warner deal helps spread King's message far and wide through all kinds of media, well, I doubt it. In fact, it works against it.

The family's vigorous enforcement of copyright protections and heavy restrictions on King's personal papers have driven away researchers, writers and scholars who either can't afford or who refuse to pay the royalties the family demands, according to a story published on CNN's Web site.

In a rare interview on the subject, Dexter King told The New York Times: "It has nothing to do with greed. It has to do with the principle if you make a dollar, I should make a dime."

While he's making all those dimes, he should consider this: A quarter million people stood on the Washington mall as King delivered his speech. It was seen live on TV by 80 million Americans. Each January we celebrate Martin Luther King Day and are reminded of his "dream."

And yet, as famous as that event is, most of what King said that day is largely unknown.

If you read King's text, it sends chills not only because of the beauty of phrasing, but also because a lone man speaking truth to mighty power is so biblical.

America would reap the whirlwind, he warned. Revolt is here. A new militancy has emboldened black Americans. Racial injustice must be ended immediately, not gradually.

But today, for a news network to broadcast much more than the old reliable touchy-feely snippets of the 16-minute speech, it will cost money, lest they violate the family's copyright privilege. You want more than a couple of stock lines from the speech? Licensing fees start at $2,000.

If King remains a one-dimensional grainy black-and-white figure who utters the same sunny sound bite year after year until it's a cliche, it's because news networks won't pay for more, and researchers have been kept from delving deep into his papers to tell us something new about the Martin Luther King the man, not the statuette.

And his family wants it that way.

[Beearewhyain]

47. This is a thread to honor MLK jr. What is your point

I find it offensive that you would bring up, even if it is true, something that has nothing to do with the legacy of king.

[Jack Rabbit]

48. Tribute

Tribute in the DU Longe

Dr. King died when I was 16 years old. I knew this was a greater man than most at that time, greater than any President or other politician. He was determined, but never angry. He possesed a strength of character that could only make all who men of goodwill stand up and take notice.

[frank frankly]

49. He is my inspiration

I try to read as much as time permits about him, but, god, to hear the man speak...

thank you, MLK. this thread is providing some wonderful new information and links for me to read and read and read

[brainwashed_youth]

50. God, i wish i coulda heard him

deliver that eventful speech. he was the greatest american of the 20th century and America is a better place because of him

*sigh* why do all the good men havta be killed(Kennedy, MLK, Jesus, Ghandii, Malcolm X...)

[frank frankly]

51. because they are telling the truth, brilliant, charismatic, and fearless

that is why they are killed

we must build on their legacy...

[spooky3]

52. A great American whose influence remains profound.

[NashVegas]

53. The Older I Get, the More I Understand the Loss

As a kid, as a teen, even for most of my adulthood, MLK was a Great Man Who Was Killed.

The older I get the more I find myself mourning the loss of Dr. King, not because of his accomplishments, but because there was so much left unfinished because of the *@#$%% who took his life.

We do need his spirit today and everyday.

[frank frankly]

55. kick

we must remember