Monday, January 17, 2005

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dragon Mood? -- remembering

Today is the national holiday where we, as a people, remember the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King advocated and agitated for civil rights for African-Americans. Most African-Americans' ancestors were brought to this country in bondage, existing and struggling their entire lives as slaves. While African-Americans were granted their freedom under Abraham's Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, they continued to be enslaved and oppressed by white Americans through segregation and racial discrimination for the next 100 years.

Dr. King came to the forefront nationally in the early 1960's, advocating civil rights through non-violent means. He was an eloquent speaker, who challenged peoples' acceptance of de facto segregation and encouraged all people to work for change through non-violent civil disobedience.

He was assassinated in the spring of 1968 by a white man from Tennessee, James Earl Jones.

What would Dr. King say if he were alive today? Have we, as a people, made any progress? What more can be done?

And, what would Dr. King say about the comedian/speaker Bill Cosby's recent comments in Detroit regarding parenting in the black community?

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