Honor Dr. King by taking action

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

From: "tutormentor1 at earthlink.net" <tutormentor1 at earthlink.net>


I agree that we should honor Dr. King by taking action and wrote about this
on my blog at
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2008/01/whats-our-promise-to-our-kids-what-w
ill.html

While political action and signing petitions is one form of action, another
is to give some time, talent and dollars to a charity in your community who
is trying to end poverty by helping kids through school and into jobs and
careers.

Rather than just writing about this or thinking about this on Dr. King's
birthday, we need people writing about this and encouraging this every day
of the year, while pointing to web databases that show the various programs
in a community who volunteers and donors can help.

Without the database it's likely the help will just go to a few brand name
organizations and/or a few high profile neighborhoods, and not be
distributed into all of the places where less well-known organizations are
reaching kids who need help.

Dan Bassill
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Cabrini Connections
800 W. Huron
Chicago, Il. 60622


Discussion list for COMM-ORG wrote:
> --------
> This is a COMM-ORG 'colist' message.
> All replies to this message come to COMM-ORG only.
> --------
>  
> [ed:  some thoughts on this holiday.  A bit more from me below.]
>
> From:     Peter Dreier <dreier at oxy.edu>
>
>
>
> Friends,
>  
> On his TV show Friday night, Bill Moyers included a brief (7 minute) 
> segment on the relationship of President Johnson and Martin Luther King 
> (and more broadly, the civil rights movement) that was eloquent, 
> inspiring, and mesmerizing. It is available on YouTube and I encourage 
> you to view it and spread the word to others.
> (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlXpoA-MQY)  It really cuts through a 
> lot of the recent tempest about the respective roles of, and credit due 
> to, MLK and LBJ around civil rights legislation, honors the memory of 
> Dr. King, puts LBJ's efforts in proper perspective, and addresses the 
> broader theme of the importance of having both "outside agitators" and 
> inside deal-makers to win progressive legislation.
>
> Obviously, the best way to honor Dr. King's memory is to take action to 
> promote social justice.  Filmmaker Robert Greenwald (who produced the 
> brilliant "Iraq for Sale" and "Wal-Mart" documentaries) has produced yet 
> another short documentary as part of a campaign to get the Presidential 
> candidates to support higher taxes on the super-rich. Watch the video 
> (http://warongreed.org/dreams.php?utm_source=rgemail) and then help by 
> signing the petition to presidential candidates demanding they pledge to 
> close the loopholes and tax the tax dodgers. Buyout billionaires are a 
> menace to our economy. People are hurting, badly, and we must take 
> beginning steps to bring the issue of corporate greed and economic 
> equality to the nation's attention.  As Greenwald says, we all know Dr. 
> King because of his historic impact on civil rights, but many don't 
> realize that later in life he fought just as passionately for the rights 
> of workers and against the entrenched institutions of injustice : 
> "Equality means dignity. And dignity demands a job and a paycheck that 
> lasts through the week." The War on Greed is exactly this kind of fight. 
> The livelihoods of families have been directly attacked by the actions 
> of buyout billionaires like Henry Kravis putting Wall Street's special 
> interests ahead of his 800,000 employees... and pocketing $51,000 an 
> hour in the process. 
>  
> Thanks.
>  
> Peter Dreier
>
> [ed: I also remain concerned about the characterization of this 
> holiday.  We continually hear the disembodied message of "nonviolence," 
> when King's phrase was "nonviolent direct action."  At my university, 
> students are asked to contribute a "day of service" today.  I can't help 
> but think that it would be much more appropriate to ask for, and model, 
> a "day of action."  The fact that we have allowed King's message to be 
> transformed from action into service shows the disabling of the idea of 
> civic engagement in mass culture and higher education.]
>  
> _______________________________________________
> Colist maillist  - send messages to Colist at comm-org.wisc.edu
>
> To change your subscription, go to http://comm-org.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/colist
>
> All messages are archived at http://comm-org.wisc.edu/pipermail/colist/
>
> Please contact original message authors to request permission to forward messages. 
>
>