Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King.

[chequita guevara]

You can't talk about the non-violent achievements on MLK without considering the rather violent context in which they occurred. On the one hand, a rather extreme level of violence was directed at the movement. On the other hand, the threat of violence from the Black population always existed, articulated by such leaders as Roy Wilson, Malcom X, and the Black Panthers. As is often pointed out, if there was no X, there'd have been no King.

[Ben Kenobi]

Che-

It's like choosing between two masterpieces.


I agree with Che!

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
I like his Letter from Birmingham Jail better.

Sloww, all communists are socialists, so I'm both a communist and a socialist.

It depends on what your definition of a Socialist is. Lenon called himself a socialist only because he knew that he was no longer a Communist.

In general, the socialists today want to work whithin the capitalist system, not overthrough it.

[DanS]

One of the best persuaders this nation has ever seen. Thank you MLK!

http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/ra_archive/speech_167.ram

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Thanks to all the other civil rights leaders as well. It's really too bad that Martin Luther King gets all the credit for the movement, but what're going to do?

Forget the leaders for a sec. What about the virtually unkown foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement? People tend to give MLK too much credit, even if he deserves a lot as a great world leader. They tend to forget, however, that a great many people worked in the Movement.

[Drake Tungsten]

That's why we should have a "Civil Rights Day" instead of a holiday that perpetuates the myth that MLK was the end-all, be-all of the civil rights movement.

All just a part of my plan to rid the world of holidays devoted to individuals who are not deities...

[Kramerman]

MLK's speech always sends chills down my spine... he ways a great thinker, and an even better public speaker. I thank MLK for making this country an even better place. May he rest in peace.

Kman

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by DuncanK


Forget the leaders for a sec. What about the virtually unkown foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement? People tend to give MLK too much credit, even if he deserves a lot as a great world leader. They tend to forget, however, that a great many people worked in the Movement.

I believe it was Napoleon who said "An army of rabbits led by a lion is preferable to an army of lions led by a rabbit. The "foot soldiers" of the movement would have just been so many busted heads, so many pick handles in the gut, so many targets for firehoses, dogs, clubs, so many shallow graves in the boonies, if it hadn't been for leaders with enough drive and charisma to capture the attention of the media, and of civil rights supporters and enemies. Civil rights had languished for decades, and there was always something to come along and put it on the back shelf.

[SlowwHand]

MLK was the start of passive demonstration in the U.S.
Foot soldiers kind of wander around, without leadership.

[Ramo]

An amazing man.

[cavebear]

I'm not a PC person. I do not make a point of mentioning positive things about people who are noted by holidays, etc.

But I will say, on this day, that Martin Luther King, the person of this holiday, did some things that were worth the effort, that benefited many people, and that are worthy of notice.

I'm old enough to remember him. I'm old enough to remember the details of what he fought against. But even when I was younger and did not know who he was, the message that he would elegantly express in the future was part of my upbringing. I did not find his words strange or threatening; I found them sane and reasonable.

Given the anger and divisiveness that came after, perhaps we should all have appreciated the more reasonable and moderate voice of MLK at the time...

[MRT144]

this day is only good for students...i have to go to work in a few minutes

oh and he was pretty wicked cool

[chequita guevara]

For those of you who want to honor the man who challenged us to honor ourselves, tonight on PBS, The Murder of Emmett Till. Jim Crow wasn't about peeople not bein' able to use a bathroom or sit on a bus. It was a system of state-sponsored terror that lasted almost a hundred years. It was one hundred days after Emmitt Till's body was pulled out of the Tallahatchie River that Rosa Parks made her protest, which led to the rise of MLK.

The amazing dichotomy is that the same history which shames us is also the history which shows the true worth and dignity of humanity.

All of us Americans should watch the show tonight. We must never forget.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by DuncanK
It depends on what your definition of a Socialist is. Lenon called himself a socialist only because he knew that he was no longer a Communist.

Communists are a subset of socialists. Therefore, all communists are socialists but not all socialists are communists. I am a communist and a socialist.

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


I believe it was Napoleon who said "An army of rabbits led by a lion is preferable to an army of lions led by a rabbit. The "foot soldiers" of the movement would have just been so many busted heads, so many pick handles in the gut, so many targets for firehoses, dogs, clubs, so many shallow graves in the boonies, if it hadn't been for leaders with enough drive and charisma to capture the attention of the media, and of civil rights supporters and enemies. Civil rights had languished for decades, and there was always something to come along and put it on the back shelf.

So MLK could have done it all by himself huh? No, that certainly isn't true. In fact, I hate to say it but the media wouldn't have even listened to him if it had not been for the people in the trenches. We can't say with as much certainty that the media would not have paid attention to those participating in the sit-ins and the voter registration drives etc.. That is where all the news came from. I agree that MLK was very persuasive, but talk really accomplishes very little, unfortunately. Look at the Montgomery bus boycott. That hurt some people economically. When you do stuff like that you make a differences. The people who participated in that kind of stuff made the sacrafices to make a difference.