Posts Tagged ‘Martin Luther King’

“Cesar’s Last Fast”: An Interview with Producer/Director Richard Ray Perez

Richard Ray Perez produced and directed the seminal political documentary Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, which The Los Angeles Times called “a riveting story about the undermining of democracy in America.” Also, Perez executive produced the multi-platform documentary series,...

October 21st, 2010 | Featured, Latinos, Politics | Read More

Detroit: The forgotten center of crisis and hope

By Austin C. McCoy, Many Americans tend to forget that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first articulated passages from his famed “I Have a Dream” speech in Detroit a few months earlier than the one he performed at the March on Washington. Dr. King addressed a crowd of 125,000 demonstrators after leading...

September 1st, 2010 | Featured, Racial Equity | Read More

God made me do it

Originally published on Center for American Progress blog Race and Beyond, So now we know what the Tea Party stands for and who stands behind it. Until this past weekend, the various factions of what’s collectively known as the Tea Party struggled to define who they are and what they represent....

August 31st, 2010 | Featured, Glenn Beck, Talk About Race | Read More

How the War on Drugs gave birth to a permanent American undercaste

Originally published on TomDispatch.com Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our nation’s “triumph over race.” Obama’s election...

March 10th, 2010 | Criminal Justice, Featured, Racial Equity | Read More

King and the Palestinian struggle for freedom

In two of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most memorable writings, his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and his 1967 speech, “Beyond Vietnam – A Time to Break Silence,” he bemoaned the failure of Americans to speak out, to break their silence when witnessing injustice and immoral acts against humankind. ...

March 4th, 2010 | Featured | Read More

The people or the pulpit

By Patricia Cunningham II, Graduate Associate, Office of Minority Affairs, The Ohio State University and William Sturkey, Gradute Teaching Assistant, Department of History, The Ohio State University “Strong people don’t need strong leaders.” -Ella Baker Historical Lens Many of the most common...

February 17th, 2010 | Featured, Transforming Race Conference | Read More

The New Jim Crow

It’s that time of year again, when we hear Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches in 10 second clips, the same clips that get recycled on an annual basis now — radical proclamations that have been reduced over the years to mere platitudes. His booming voice declares that he’s been...

February 10th, 2010 | African Americans, Featured | Read More

Maladjusted

Last week my wife and I had the grand opportunity to leave our two kids in the care of her parents and spend five days on vacation in California. Afterwards we both agreed that it was probably the most enjoyable vacation we’ve had. We walked the streets and hiked the hills of San Francisco and spent...

January 23rd, 2010 | Featured | Read More

Dr. King, Haiti, and extreme social activism

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. ~ Dr. Martin Luter King, Jr. A Letter from a Birmingham Jail I take time on Dr. King’s birthday, ever year, to re-familiarize myself with why he was such an exceptional leader,...

January 22nd, 2010 | Featured, Haiti | Read More

King’s Dream: What he believed we needed to do to achieve it

Every year, on the day we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we hear a lot about his dream of a colorblind society, one in which his children “would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Sadly, this sound bite from the 1963 March on Washington...

January 18th, 2010 | Racial Equity | Read More

More than words

I am particularly struck by the importance of language and terminology at this time of year. With the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talk of race is everywhere. “Have we achieved his dream,” is the constant question. Some would argue that Obama is King’s dream personified. However,...

January 18th, 2010 | Talk About Race | Read More

A dream deferred?

Co-authored by By Melissa Boteach the Half in Ten Manager at Center for American Progress. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. shifted his focus in the dwindling years of his life to an audacious, but achievable goal: ending poverty in the United States. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks...

January 15th, 2010 | Politics | Read More