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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest
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The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate. If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly. |
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| JANUARY
18, 1999 11:00 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Pelphrey for Congress John A. La Pietra, Communications Director 770-424-4144 gary@pelphrey.org |
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| Pelphrey Honors Dr. King's Struggle For Justice; Joins SCLC, Labor Council, Thousands at Rally and March | ||||
| MARIETTA,
GA - January 18 - Sixth District Congressional candidate Gary Pelphrey joined the SCLC/WOMEN,
the Atlanta Labor Council, grand marshal Governor Roy Barnes, and thousands
of marchers in commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a rally in
Atlanta this afternoon.
This year’s King Week celebration marks what would have been Dr. King’s 70th birthday. Pelphrey suggested that now is a good time to recall that part of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech in which Dr. King declared that those who care about civil rights can never be satisfied as long as some people cannot vote – and others believe they have nothing for which to vote. “I was glad to see, among the vendors of food and ‘Dirty Birds’ T-shirts along the route of the march, that there was one booth registering people to vote,” Pelphrey noted. He hopes such public-spirited grassroots efforts can win the Sixth District Congressional seat for the people. Pelphrey recalled that Dr. King defined true peace as the presence of justice, not merely the absence of tension, and cited King’s words in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states . . . I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Pelphrey’s campaign Internet site (www.pelphrey.org) states his position on such issues of social justice as Affirmative Action: “When everyone can honestly say that the problems Americans recognized when they first created Affirmative Action have gone away, we should end Affirmative Action. Not before.” In running for Congress, first against Newt Gingrich and now in a February 23 special election to replace Gingrich, Pelphrey is mindful of Dr. King’s words: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. # # # |
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