Remembering Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mon Apr 7 08:53:06 CDT 2008

[ed: thanks to Dave for continuing the reflection.]

From: "Dave Beckwith" <dbeckwith at needmorfund.org>

Thanks to Peter for reminding us that Dr. King was multi-dimensional, 
multi-issue and way more than a postage stamp/holiday cardboard “saint.”

It might help Barack Obama’s explanation of the message of the African 
American church to remember that, on that Sunday in Memphis that he was 
killed, he was working on a new sermon, reportedly titled “Why America 
May Go to Hell”, building off these lines in a sermon he did preach: 
“And I come by here to say that America, too, is going to hell if she 
doesn't use her wealth. If America does not use her vast resources of 
wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God's children to 
have the basic necessities of life, she, too, will go to hell.” (from a 
radio story on American Public Radio at 
http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/03/27/mlk_vietnam/

Dave Beckwith
Executive Director
The Needmor Fund
42 South Saint Clair Street
Toledo, Ohio 43604

419-255-5560
fax 419-255-5561
www.needmorfund.org

Discussion list for COMM-ORG wrote:
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> From: "Peter Dreier" <dreier at oxy.edu>
>
> Most Americans today know that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed 40 
> years ago -- on April 4, 1968 --  in Memphis, Tennessee, but they may 
> not know why he was there. He went to Memphis to support African 
> American garbage workers, who were on strike to protest unsafe 
> conditions, abusive white supervisors, and low wages -- and to gain 
> recognition for their union. The previous year he made a bold and 
> prophetic speech at the Riverside Church in New York against the war in 
> VietNam, linking the struggle for social justice with the struggle 
> against militarism.   In his last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos 
> or Community?, King wrote: "The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they 
> destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America."
>
> If King were alive today, he would surely be speaking out  to bring U.S. 
> troops home from Iraq immediately.  He would be speaking out about the 
> widening gap between the rich and the rest of America.  He'd also be 
> working with unions, clergy, and community groups to raise the federal 
> minimum wage, enact local living wage laws, expand health insurance to 
> all Americans. He'd be helping America's working poor -- hotel workers, 
> janitors, security guards, nurses and other hospital employees, grocery 
> workers, farmworkers, and others -- unionize for better working and 
> living conditions.  
>
> He'd be in Los Angeles this April 14-16 helping lead the March from 
> Hollywood to the Docks, a key part of the campaign for good jobs among 
> LA's diverse labor movement and its allies among community groups and 
> clergy -- an obvious parallel to the Memphis campaign 40 years ago. 
> http://www.launionaflcio.org/fullstory/2008-02-29/The-March-from-br-Hollywood-to-the-Docks-/?PHPSESSID=c2e9639e79e0f1f336ee24bc5d0dcb47
>
> No doubt he'd be pushing Congress to adopt the Employee Free Choice Act, 
> the progressive labor law reform that would level the playing field 
> between business and workers and catalyze a new wave of union 
> organizing.   
> http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/05/10/labor_law_reform_not_just_for_unions.php
> In an article in the American Prospect today, Kai Wright calls Dr. King 
> a "forgotten radical" and reminds us about his political evolution:
> http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=dr_king_forgotten_radical
>  
> In my article in American Prospect a year ago, I describe King's 
> insistence on building bridges between the civil rights and labor 
> movements: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=12380
>  
> Two of Dr. King's most stirring and prophetic speeches were his 1967 
> anti-war sermon at Riverside Church (text here: 
> http://icujp.org/king.shtml; video clip here: 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Az0bdbHOI&feature=related) and his 
> final speech in Memphis, the night before he died, to a overflowing 
> crowd of striking garbage workers and their allies (text here: 
> http://www.afscme.org/about/1549.cfm; video clip here: 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0whBALnwgQQ).
>  
> Peter Dreier
>  
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Peter Dreier
> Dr. E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics
> Chair, Urban & Environmental Policy Program
> Occidental College
> 1600 Campus Road
> Los Angeles, CA 90041
> Phone: (323) 259-2913
> FAX: (323) 259-2734
> Website: http://employees.oxy.edu/dreier
>  
> "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great 
> moral crises maintain their neutrality" - Dante
>  
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