May his soul rest in peace....
"Martin Luther King Jr.’s shift from dreamer to radical resonates for activists" by Errin Haines Whack Associated Press January 14, 2017
PHILADELPHIA — For Abdul Aliy-Muhammad, the 33-year-old cofounder of the Black and Brown Workers Collective in Philadelphia, the Martin Luther King Jr. he learned about as a child was a man of love, peace, and racial harmony, a gifted orator.
‘‘There is a Martin Luther King that is important to the resistance movement that we don’t hear about,’’ he said.
The antiwar component?
Younger black activists say they prefer the pointed, more forceful King to the Nobel Prize-winning pacifist who preached love over hate as he led nonviolent marches across the segregated South. They like the fact that the urgency in King’s demand for equality in the years just before his assassination in 1968 is in keeping with the tenacious nature of today’s Black Lives Matter rallying cry.
They are twisting his legacy around into co-opted and controlled crap -- while never looking into or investigating his death.
Fifty years ago this month, King spoke out against the Vietnam War.
One year later, April 4.
Today’s young activists say King’s harsher words resonate just as much as his methods of peaceful protest.
‘‘We do King a disservice when we try to tell a flat story of turning the other cheek,’’ said 31-year-old Charlene Carruthers, national director of the Black Youth Project 100 in Chicago. ‘‘It was never simply that.’’
As Carruthers sees it, ‘‘agitation’’ was the core of King’s work. ‘‘Their agitation shows up differently than how our agitation shows up today. However, I think King’s work and the work we do are part of the larger tradition of black radical resistance.’’
Spun it away from war and towards racial division again, did my war pre$$ -- with a hint of violence that would have appalled King. He would have understood, but he would not have agreed.
King fought to end public segregation and fought for the right to vote. But he also advocated for a living wage and worked to close the employment gap for blacks and spoke out against discrimination in policing — it is a familiar climate for some working in the Black Lives Matter movement, who see their efforts in cities like Ferguson, Mo.; Chicago; Baltimore; and Cleveland on a continuum that reaches back to King.
They identify with the fact that King was only 26 when he was thrust into a leadership role in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. When he died at 39 in 1968, before he could launch his Poor People’s Campaign, King was still far younger than civil rights establishment figures.
Remembering King as a community organizer places his movement alongside contemporary activism, said Patrisse Cullors, cofounder of Black Lives Matter.
‘‘He was really focused on poor black people,’’ Cullors, 33, said. ‘‘Let’s remember the King who was invested in changing the country that he loved so much, who called out elected officials who continued to endanger black people.’’
What happened to his opposition to Vietnam?
It's the same old sh** year after year, as they usurp his memory.
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"Church is urged to hear MLK’s words as wisdom for today" by Cristela Guerra Globe Staff January 16, 2017
More important than ever as Donald Trump’s administration prepares to take office.
See: On King holiday, Trump meets with civil rights leader’s son
Charles Yancey, a former Boston city councilor, mentioned modern-day challenges such as police brutality and the limitations of local public schools. He said King would have continued to challenge the status quo and advocated for a civilian review board to provide oversight and body cameras for police officers.
I wonder what he would say about tasers.
“While many then and today view the city of Boston as a utopia, as a place where people are open-minded, not just tolerant, but people who will fight for justice,” Yancey said. “We must remember we have other elements in the city of Boston who really want to turn the clock back.”
What?
Dean Stevens, 61, of Brookline, a longtime member of the church, said he’s been dreading this week since Trump was elected on Nov. 8. But he wondered if Trump’s election might be the motivation progressives need to organize and unite.
Where has he been, on his ass while the murders piled up under Obama?
The situation reminded him of a quote by American abolitionist and reformer Theodore Parker that King adapted in one of his speeches: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Josh Rosen, 61, of Roslindale, one of two musicians who played during the event Sunday, was 8 years old when he went to Washington, D.C., with his parents and heard King give his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He said he remembers how riveted the crowd was.
This is all conventional myth and reinforced bullshit. I remember him for what he said at Riverside.
These days, he said, he performs the protest song “We Shall Overcome” differently on the piano, changing a major chord to a minor one, adding a twinge of sadness and uncertainty to the normally strong anthem.
Yancey’s speech lifted the spirits of Christle Jackson, 56, the church’s office and publications manager. She remembered being a young girl in Framingham and encountering hurdles as part of the only black family in the neighborhood.
“We still have all these challenges,” Jackson said. “But it has changed; it is better. We just have a lot of work to do.”
Her husband, Reginald Jackson, 72, said he looks to King as a source of inspiration to persevere.
“That’s the lesson I take from his life,” he said. “And his connectedness to community.”
His heart would have been broken by all the wars and their coverage -- or lack thereof -- by the pre$$. Or he would have lived and been effective or at least a threat to the war machine. That's why they killed him.
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What's this, “the city of Boston accused him of being a troublemaker and an agitator” when he was there?
The school tell you that, kids?
"Eighth-graders from all over the state give service to honor MLK" by Nicole Fleming Globe Correspondent January 15, 2017
They have now turned the day into serving the very state he was fighting against. Neat trick!
Project 351’s seventh Day of Service, held each year the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, began with an energetic ceremony at Faneuil Hall that morning. At least one eighth-grade student ambassador from almost every one of the state’s 351 cities and towns crowded into the hall before getting on buses to travel to volunteer sites.
The students were assigned to teams honoring “service heroes” ranging from Nelson Mandela and Susan B. Anthony to Yo Yo Ma and Muhammad Ali, as well as local figures such as former governor Deval Patrick, who helped found Project 351, chef Ming Tsai, and 8-year-old Martin Richard, a Boston Marathon bombing victim. Richard’s sister Jane, now 10, lost a leg in the bombings.
In addition to Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit that provides supplies to children in need, this year’s volunteer sites included the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter, the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, and the Service Village hub at the Massachusetts State House serving the DCF Kids’ Fund, the Y2Y Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, and Hope and Comfort, a nonprofit focused on distributing hygiene products.
Though Project 351 has evolved into a yearlong program since its start in 2011, the Day of Service felt “in a really beautiful way, very familiar” because the process of empowering young people has been the same since the beginning, said Carolyn Casey, founder and executive director of Project 351.
“They come in quiet and nervous,” Casey said. “By the end of the day, you can see the confidence.”
The Day of Service is affirmation for the young participants, she said. “They know that the things they do innately — to be kind, to be good, to be upstanding — that people like Governor [Charlie] Baker and others refer to that as ‘leadership,’ ” she said.
Baker took the stage at Faneuil Hall with his wife, Lauren Baker, where they spoke of their own service experiences in their youth — he as a Big Brother, she as a Brownie and Girl Scout — and encouraged the students to continue their service beyond just today.
“Model the behavior that you would like do see others model to you in response,” Baker said.
The governor then arrived at Cradles to Crayons and joined the organized chaos of children reaching into carts as big as they are, filled with clothes, toys, and books.
“I’m really happy because I just want to help these kids that don’t have all the things that we have — that we’re privileged to have,” said 13-year-old Daniel Swain of Westport, who organized clothes with Baker.
“It’s a good way to spend my Saturday afternoon compared to sitting on the couch,” Swain said.
“How do you not get involved with Project 351?” asked Dan Gilbert, principal of the Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy and one of many adult chaperones for the Day of Service. “Sometimes we overlook the power of kids to affect change in a positive way.”
OMG! Use as tools.
“It inspires me because they don’t have any negativity yet,” said Julia Hutton, a health teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School who also served as a chaperone. “They’re not tainted. They believe in everything. They have hope in the future.”
Pedophilia!
The children participating were indeed optimistic....
Who are they honoring again?
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Looks like brainwashing to me.
"Rivals Walsh and Jackson embrace at MLK breakfast" by Laura Crimaldi Globe Staff January 13, 2017
During his address to the breakfast, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh highlighted efforts he said were inspired by King’s legacy, including a building trades training program for people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, investments of more than $100 million in affordable housing, and citywide dialogues on race.
Wouldn't he consider such problems a failure after 50 years?
He urged the crowd to continue to carry out King’s work after the holiday celebrating his life.
“We can’t necessarily control what’s happening in our country, but what we can control is what’s happening in our city,” Walsh said. “Providing opportunities for young people, right here within these four walls, is something that we all should do.”
City Councilor Tito Jackson told reporters he is the best choice to help those who have missed out on the economic opportunities enjoyed by some in Boston.
He cited the $276 million public incentive package for General Electric and the failed IndyCar race in South Boston as examples of Walsh initiatives that ignored the plight of those struggling to stay in the city.
Yeah, what would King think of the incredible amounts of corporate $ub$idy and welfare?
“It’s not only about one neighborhood. It’s about 23 neighborhoods in the city of Boston,” Jackson said. “People across the city are having a difficult time staying here and that’s why I’m running for mayor and I believe I will have and offer something that will include all the people in the city of Boston, not just some of the people.”
He used the event to make a pitch for his campaign?
He said he plans to try to narrow the financial gulf between his campaign and Walsh’s by raising money at the grass-roots level.
Jackson has just about $65,000 on hand for a mayoral bid, according to his most recent filing with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Walsh has about $3.5 million, according to the office.
“We will work hard and we will ensure that all people, regardless of how big of a check that they can write, have a seat at the table when it comes to our candidacy,” Jackson said.
One beneficiary of the new contest was the YMCA, the host of the first Walsh-Jackson face-off. The men each pledged a $1,000 donation to the organization.
James O’S. Morton, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Greater Boston, said the organization wants to raise more than $150,000 this year for its Roxbury operation.
“Our goal is to serve as many young people as we can possibly serve, providing them with the best, high quality services,” he said....
What was the event supposed to be about again?
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Oh, right.
Also see:
It’s time to finally honor Martin Luther King’s ties to Boston
Yeah, give 'em a sculpture!
DeLeo to look into ‘proper honoring’ of MLK in Mass.
You need a commission for it?
How far should state leaders go in reforming justice?
Did you see who is asking?
Senators push criminal justice reform
The very same day the crooks revived pushing pay raise.
Maybe we will get better leadership on a national level:
"Warren won’t say Trump is ‘legitimate president’" by Joshua Miller Globe Staff January 16, 2017
The 47th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast in Boston Monday was unlike all those that had come before. The reason? Donald Trump.
On a holiday that traditionally emphasizes unity, civil rights, and service, a procession of Massachusetts politicians, mostly Democrats, struggled to reconcile what they see as the jangling discord between King’s vision for the United States and Trump’s.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said the day celebrates the achievements of the civil rights movement and brings renewed pledges to fight until every child in the country has an opportunity to build a future and live King’s dream.
“This year,” the Democrat told a cheering crowd, “I am less focused on the celebration and more focused on the fight.”
With Trump’s inauguration just four days away, the morning’s speeches at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center were a call to action, at once mournful and determined. The audience, which included many prominent African-American leaders, cheered at liberal entreaties to ready for political battle.
Senator Edward J. Markey said Trump and his allies want to crush King’s dream. “I believe that Dr. King would want us to fight,” Markey said.
Attorney General Maura Healey, also a Democrat, in a voice tinged with dismay, called on the diverse crowd to stand up and speak out. She offered a Declaration of Independence-like list of grievances she has with the incoming president.
“This person,” she said, “who has sowed dissension and division, who has sought to exploit — either directly or through benign indifference and neglect — the most base and harmful instincts to divide us along religious and racial lines; who, at every turn, doubled down on bias and prejudice; whose currency was that of fear, prejudice, and the marginalization of those already vulnerable; who cares so little for basic humanity that he would promote as his signature aspirations building walls and cutting millions of Americans off health care.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh spoke about the “drastic and daunting change” in the country that Trump’s inauguration will bring. But, he said, in Boston, King’s spirit is alive and well, and the city will move forward with renewed urgency toward “healing, toward equity, toward justice.”
Even Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who broke with his party to oppose Trump, appeared to allude to the tension over the incoming president.
“We live in messy, loud, and difficult times. And the clash of policy and politics and rhetoric, that has always been with us, has been particularly edgy and, at times, disappointing,” Baker, who faces reelection in 2018, said in his characteristically understated way.
And Mel King, the Boston civil rights leader, former mayoral candidate, and one-time state legislator, put GOP attempts to repeal President Obama’s signature health care law in the starkest possible terms.
“The Affordable Care Act — I see any attempt to change or weaken it as a lynching,” King said after being saluted at the breakfast banquet, which included Walsh telling him the city is naming a street in his honor.
OMG!
The over-the-top hyperbole doesn't help!
One recurring theme from elected officials was dismay at Trump’s attacks on Representative John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat and civil rights hero.
See: Final Sessions
Speaking to reporters, Warren would not directly answer several questions about whether she, like Lewis, does not see Trump as a legitimate president.
“John Lewis has earned the right to raise questions about legitimacy,” Warren said. “Right now, our intelligence community tells us that Russia directly interfered in the election here in the United States.”
A reporter followed up by asking whether Warren agrees with Lewis that Trump is not a legitimate president.
“What I agree with is that John Lewis is a man who has earned the right to have his view of Donald Trump’s presidency and legitimacy,” she replied.
“And do you agree with that?” the reporter pressed.
“What I believe is that right now,” Warren said, “the intelligence community has raised significant questions about Russian interference in our electoral process. And that these questions must be tracked down, and that we both must determine exactly what Russia did, and take appropriate steps.”
“But if he’s not legitimate, who is running our country?” the reporter tried once again.
Warren, who is going to the inauguration, responded by stating the simple fact that hung over all the breakfast festivities: Trump will be sworn in Friday as president....
Warren dodged, so why try to trap?
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"Clark says she’s received ‘positive’ reaction to her boycott of inauguration" by Todd Wallack Globe Staff January 16, 2017
CAMBRIDGE -- US Representative Katherine Clark, speaking at an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Cambridge Monday, was one of the featured speakers at a Martin Luther King Jr. remembrance at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The event, which drew hundreds of area residents, was sponsored by the Cambridge Peace Commission and included readings from King about what he called the “giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism.”
Clark, referencing King’s controversial stance against the Vietnam War, said, “We know today that he was right about the role that silence plays in normalizing violence and division,” she said. “We are called today to follow in the tradition of Dr. King and be peace makers.”
Really? Controversial?
Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons also urged the audience to continue King’s work of fighting racism....
Yeah, move the conversation away from war again.
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Going to have to leave it to the people then:
"Invoking Dr. King, marchers voice plea for justice" by Jeremy C. Fox Globe Correspondent January 17, 2017
About 150 men, women, and children of many backgrounds marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day by marching through Dorchester on Monday afternoon.
Chanting messages such as, “Old Jim Crow, new Jim Crow, this racist system’s got to go,” the diverse group walked from Codman Square to Fields Corner, voicing opposition to racial and economic inequality, police brutality, and mass incarceration of black men.
The Martin Luther King Day March for Justice was organized by a coalition of community groups led by Mass Action Against Police Brutality, according to Brock Satter, a member of Mass Action.
Satter said the march was meant to send a message that the struggle for civil rights persists.
“We need to continue Dr. King’s example,” he said, “especially of taking to the streets and building a mass movement. . . . We need to go back to those methods, that course of action, to vote with our feet, and to stand up against racism and injustice, even if it comes from the police or the courts.”
Several speakers at the demonstration were mothers of men killed by police, including Hope Coleman, whose 31-year-old son, Terrence Coleman, was fatally shot by Boston officers on Oct. 30. Coleman and the other mothers disputed police accounts of their sons’ deaths.
On the day he was killed, Coleman had called for an ambulance to take her son, who suffered from schizophrenia, to the hospital. Instead, he was shot to death by police who said he’d turned on the EMTs with a knife.
Coleman insisted that her son did not have a knife and needed to go to a hospital only because he had stopped taking the medication prescribed for his condition.
“He wasn’t stupid,” she said through sobs, as tears rolled down her face. “He just had a problem. And I called for help, and now I have no son. I regret. . . calling,” she said. “I didn’t think they’ll kill him.”
Boston police Commissioner William B. Evans and James Hooley, chief of Boston Emergency Medical Services, have disputed Coleman’s account of the incident.
See: Halloween 2016
While some came to the demonstration grieving recent losses, others were continuing a long tradition. Some marchers held signs with messages such as, “Capitalism depends on oppression of the masses,” “Stop killing peaceful civilians,” and “Reform can’t stop the violence of the cops.”
Somerville resident Robert Brutus grasped a sign that read, “Am I next?” Brutus, 33, said he had not made the sign but had selected it from a pile brought by another demonstrator.
“I think that it means that if the police can get away with killing people — and I see it happening to other people, who are mostly black men — then it could happen to me,” he said.
Brutus, who is black, said he has not experienced police bias since moving to the Boston area, but when he previously lived in Washington, D.C., he said he was stopped by an officer after a neighbor reported him as a “suspicious person,” possibly because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
He said such experiences are common for black men, but they are not alone in facing bias.
“I think that we’re all a part of some group that is negatively stereotyped in some way, including white men,” he said. “There’s this stereotype that white men are racists, and so then, whenever we’re in a situation where we might be stereotyped, that creates anxiety.”
Stereotyped by who?
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I missed Gandhi's, too, as did the Globe.
NDU: Plan to honor ancient Indian king with huge statue draws fire
