Martin Luther King Jr.
Still just a dream: 60 years later, racial wealth disparities remain wide
It was 60 years ago this week that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream Speech” to a quarter-million arrayed in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The crowd must have been filled with hope. Lincoln’s war against slavery had been won almost a century earlier. But virtual slavery in […]
In more ways than one, Dr. King taught us to speak up for the oppressed
The speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be cited throughout this day meant to honor his memory and legacy – and for good reason. As one of the world’s most influential orators of the 20th century, he brought truth to power with his words, time and again. Equally deserving of praise is King’s […]
Right to protest important tenet in Ohio, America at large
By Randy Cunningham The rights to protest in Ohio have been under assault for the past three years as the state legislature has been on a major campaign to repeal those rights in bits and pieces. The campaign has been in reaction to high-profile national protests such as the pipeline protests at Standing Rock, and […]
Martin Luther King Jr. had a much more radical message than a dream of racial brotherhood
Martin Luther King Jr. has come to be revered as a hero who led a nonviolent struggle to reform and redeem the United States. His birthday is celebrated as a national holiday. Tributes are paid to him on his death anniversary each April, and his legacy is honored in multiple ways. But from my perspective […]
How the Vietnam War pushed MLK to embrace global justice, not only civil rights at home
By Anthony Siracusa, University of Colorado Boulder On July 2, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. stood behind President Lyndon Baines Johnson as the Texan signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although not the first civil rights bill passed by Congress, it was the most comprehensive. King called the law’s passage “a great […]
The time for change is now
As a young man, John Robert Lewis heard the words of a nearby Baptist preacher talking about the Beloved Community. For Mr. Lewis, Dr. King’s message was the clarion call he was searching for. Dr. King’s words inspired a 17-year-old Lewis to act. He acted by taking to the streets, much in the same way […]
‘You just have to act’: Thousands outraged by police brutality rally at March on Washington
WASHINGTON – On the 57th anniversary of the original March on Washington and in the throes of a pandemic, thousands of demonstrators on Friday joined Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand Congress act on police brutality and voter suppression. The event, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, […]
Get in ‘good trouble’: John Lewis’ words ring out in Capitol one more time
WASHINGTON — The immortal words of the late civil rights leader John Lewis rang out from the U.S. Capitol Monday during a private ceremony in celebration of his life. “You must find a way to get in the way,” he said in a recording of a 2014 commencement speech he gave at Emory University. “You must […]
Black religious leaders are central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years
When the Rev. Al Sharpton implored white America to “get your knee off our necks” at the memorial of George Floyd, his words were carried by news outlets across the globe. Meanwhile in the U.S., the Rev. William J. Barber II has been an ever-present voice in the protests, prompting some to place him as […]