We Mustn't Give Up Fight for King's Cause
April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination. Forty years later, his dream has been remembered and commemorated. But in many ways, his mission has not yet been realized.
Rev. King always saw the struggle for civil rights has having several movements, like a symphony. There was the movement to end legal apartheid, to gain the right to ride on the bus, eat at the lunch counter, use the public library, attend the public school. That was followed by the struggle to gain the right to vote, which was achieved after the nation recoiled from the scenes of the Selma march.
Rev. King was struck down as he raised the bar. He was working on a poor people's campaign. He was challenging the Vietnam War, and a nation spending far too much on violence and far too little on the poor. In Memphis, he was marching with striking sanitation workers, seeking decent wages.
Rev. King believed this nation should change its priorities, that it should not squander precious lives and resources in distant wars. He believed that every person in this country should be guaranteed what Franklin Roosevelt called his economic bill of rights -- the right to a job with a decent wage, health care, affordable education, a secure retirement, plus the right to organize at the workplace and to be free from discrimination or repression of basic human rights. We put these rights into the United Declaration on Human Rights, but we have not put them into practice in the United States.
Forty years later, Rev. King's mission is still unfulfilled. Today, poverty and unemployment are on the rise. Much of the safety net has been shredded. Welfare has been repealed; unemployment insurance covers fewer workers for less time; low-cost housing is scarce; the minimum wage has lost value; unions are on the defensive, representing less than 10 percent of the private work force. Not surprisingly, we have not witnessed such extremes of inequality since 1929, just prior to the Great Depression.
In his last speech, Rev. King talked about practical actions that could be taken to move the cause forward. So 40 years later, what practical things can be done to fulfill Rev. King's mission?
First, everyone -- particularly the young -- should register and vote. It is a disgrace that so many people sacrificed so much to win the right to vote that so many now do not bother to exercise.
Second, Rev. King urged everyone to be responsible. You can be born in the ghetto without letting the ghetto be born in you. This teaching is neither conservative nor liberal -- it is simply right.
Third, Rev. King today would be challenging the misbegotten war in Iraq that is squandering lives and $12 billion a month in the midst of a civil war far from our shores. He would be calling for reinvesting in America, lifting the minimum wage, empowering workers, making college affordable, investing in first-class education for the children of every class. He would be confronting the disgraceful discrimination that distorts our criminal justice system.
And he wouldn't see these problems as someone else's to solve. He would urge us to stand up, to make our voices heard, to organize. He was, he noted, a drum major for justice. He sought not money or elected office. He sought to empower people to stand on their own feet and exercise their rights, grasp their power. He was taken from us 40 years ago at the age of 39. We best honor his sacrifice by taking up his cause.
--Jesse Jackson
(c) Copyright 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination. Forty years later, his dream has been remembered and commemorated. But in many ways, his mission has not yet been realized.
Rev. King always saw the struggle for civil rights has having several movements, like a symphony. There was the movement to end legal apartheid, to gain the right to ride on the bus, eat at the lunch counter, use the public library, attend the public school. That was followed by the struggle to gain the right to vote, which was achieved after the nation recoiled from the scenes of the Selma march.
Rev. King was struck down as he raised the bar. He was working on a poor people's campaign. He was challenging the Vietnam War, and a nation spending far too much on violence and far too little on the poor. In Memphis, he was marching with striking sanitation workers, seeking decent wages.
Rev. King believed this nation should change its priorities, that it should not squander precious lives and resources in distant wars. He believed that every person in this country should be guaranteed what Franklin Roosevelt called his economic bill of rights -- the right to a job with a decent wage, health care, affordable education, a secure retirement, plus the right to organize at the workplace and to be free from discrimination or repression of basic human rights. We put these rights into the United Declaration on Human Rights, but we have not put them into practice in the United States.
Forty years later, Rev. King's mission is still unfulfilled. Today, poverty and unemployment are on the rise. Much of the safety net has been shredded. Welfare has been repealed; unemployment insurance covers fewer workers for less time; low-cost housing is scarce; the minimum wage has lost value; unions are on the defensive, representing less than 10 percent of the private work force. Not surprisingly, we have not witnessed such extremes of inequality since 1929, just prior to the Great Depression.
In his last speech, Rev. King talked about practical actions that could be taken to move the cause forward. So 40 years later, what practical things can be done to fulfill Rev. King's mission?
First, everyone -- particularly the young -- should register and vote. It is a disgrace that so many people sacrificed so much to win the right to vote that so many now do not bother to exercise.
Second, Rev. King urged everyone to be responsible. You can be born in the ghetto without letting the ghetto be born in you. This teaching is neither conservative nor liberal -- it is simply right.
Third, Rev. King today would be challenging the misbegotten war in Iraq that is squandering lives and $12 billion a month in the midst of a civil war far from our shores. He would be calling for reinvesting in America, lifting the minimum wage, empowering workers, making college affordable, investing in first-class education for the children of every class. He would be confronting the disgraceful discrimination that distorts our criminal justice system.
And he wouldn't see these problems as someone else's to solve. He would urge us to stand up, to make our voices heard, to organize. He was, he noted, a drum major for justice. He sought not money or elected office. He sought to empower people to stand on their own feet and exercise their rights, grasp their power. He was taken from us 40 years ago at the age of 39. We best honor his sacrifice by taking up his cause.
--Jesse Jackson
(c) Copyright 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc.
April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination. Forty years later, his dream has been remembered and commemorated. But in many ways, his mission has not yet been realized.
Rev. King always saw the struggle for civil rights has having several movements, like a symphony. There was the movement to end legal apartheid, to gain the right to ride on the bus, eat at the lunch counter, use the public library, attend the public school. That was followed by the struggle to gain the right to vote, which was achieved after the nation recoiled from the scenes of the Selma march.
Rev. King was struck down as he raised the bar. He was working on a poor people's campaign. He was challenging the Vietnam War, and a nation spending far too much on violence and far too little on the poor. In Memphis, he was marching with striking sanitation workers, seeking decent wages.
Rev. King believed this nation should change its priorities, that it should not squander precious lives and resources in distant wars. He believed that every person in this country should be guaranteed what Franklin Roosevelt called his economic bill of rights -- the right to a job with a decent wage, health care, affordable education, a secure retirement, plus the right to organize at the workplace and to be free from discrimination or repression of basic human rights. We put these rights into the United Declaration on Human Rights, but we have not put them into practice in the United States.
Forty years later, Rev. King's mission is still unfulfilled. Today, poverty and unemployment are on the rise. Much of the safety net has been shredded. Welfare has been repealed; unemployment insurance covers fewer workers for less time; low-cost housing is scarce; the minimum wage has lost value; unions are on the defensive, representing less than 10 percent of the private work force. Not surprisingly, we have not witnessed such extremes of inequality since 1929, just prior to the Great Depression.
In his last speech, Rev. King talked about practical actions that could be taken to move the cause forward. So 40 years later, what practical things can be done to fulfill Rev. King's mission?
First, everyone -- particularly the young -- should register and vote. It is a disgrace that so many people sacrificed so much to win the right to vote that so many now do not bother to exercise.
Second, Rev. King urged everyone to be responsible. You can be born in the ghetto without letting the ghetto be born in you. This teaching is neither conservative nor liberal -- it is simply right.
Third, Rev. King today would be challenging the misbegotten war in Iraq that is squandering lives and $12 billion a month in the midst of a civil war far from our shores. He would be calling for reinvesting in America, lifting the minimum wage, empowering workers, making college affordable, investing in first-class education for the children of every class. He would be confronting the disgraceful discrimination that distorts our criminal justice system.
And he wouldn't see these problems as someone else's to solve. He would urge us to stand up, to make our voices heard, to organize. He was, he noted, a drum major for justice. He sought not money or elected office. He sought to empower people to stand on their own feet and exercise their rights, grasp their power. He was taken from us 40 years ago at the age of 39. We best honor his sacrifice by taking up his cause.
--Jesse Jackson
(c) Copyright 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc.