What MLK, Jr. was Fighting for at the Time of his Death

And no, it wasn't every person's right to go Galt. 

One of the infuriating aspects of the King Holiday is the annual attempt by Republicans to try to lay some claim to his legacy.  It's as if they think none of us have ever paid attention to the things that have made the GOP what it is for these last forty plus years. 

This article in the American Prospect by Peter Dreier is a wonderful antidote to this kind of nonsense.  Dreier's piece focuses on the cause that drew King to Memphis at the time of his assassination and makes the always necessary case that King was a genuine man of the left.  I have tried to emphasize this each year, because it seems to me one vital aspect of the King legacy that is consistently (and deliberately) overlooked. 

I anxiously await the GOP platform devoted to the elimination of unemployment, the creation of a guaranteed minimum national income, and more low-income housing.

Comments

[minstrel hussain boy]

there was a time when dr. king was scheduled to visit the rezzes of northern arizona. since that would have involved traveling through some pretty wild (and pretty white) and hostile territory it was determined that the risk was far too great for dr. king.

he sent a very young jesse jackson. jesse visited the sham that was our "school" system. saw the crushing poverty, isolation, but also, he saw the incredible beauty of that unforgiving land. he saw how every evening at sundown there was a spectacular light show of brilliant colors. he saw the closeness of our culture, the tight bonds of family, clan, and tribe. jesse said that dr. king's work and message were for all of us.

he quoted langston hughes...

what happens to a dream deferred?

i remain proudly malajusted.

[minstrel hussain boy]

one of my favorite quotes from dr. king:

Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but he's a molder of consensus. And on some positions, cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expedience asks the question, "Is it politic?" Vanity asks the question, "Is it popular?"

But conscience asks the question, "Is it right?"

[litbrit]

mb, me too--part of that quote is featured in the post below. ;-)

[kathy a.]

wonderful article linked, SC. love the quote, too, MB.