Podcasts about Ralph Abernathy

If you enjoy these history lessons please follow, like, share, and subscribe for future videos. My YouTube channel is Sunny Sharma‪@IndiaInsightMovement‬ and my podcast is “India Insight with Sunny Sharma”This short era of immense change began with the critical case of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that established separate but not equal is unconstitutional. This marked a significant constitutional victory in favor of an integrationist approach which led to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement which was launched through the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama in 1955-1956. The revolutionary approach, depending upon who you ask, of active nonviolent Civil Disobedience led by such figures as Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Reverend James Lawson, and Bayard Rustin was the leading philosophical and practical approach to integrate public institutions in America including restaurants, schools, and public transportation. This period was characterized by immense grassroots movements led by coalitions of very diverse groups of people welcomed by a more inclusive approach. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded by Dr. King in 1957 revolved around nonviolent civil disobedience as a protest strategy and the goal of achieving full democratic participation through legal protections for the vote. The young John Lewis and Ella Baker, major leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), demanded not just more radical change and group centered leadership while also endorsing Dr. King's methods, but they also represented a cognitive and philosophical shift that many leaders such as Dr. King would take after 1966. These shifts occurred due to frustrations from the inability to change the fundamental political and economic conditions of African Americans despite legislative victories such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This tension resulted in the rise of black nationalism, cultural nationalism, and black power movements which influenced many young people to leave the integrationist fold. However, the two most influential black power groups the Black Panthers and partly Black Electoral Politics were not as comprehensive systems compared to the moral tactics and philosophy of Dr. King. Nonetheless, these black power movements, along with Malcolm X who will be discussed in part 2 of We Shall Overcome, have certainly captured the imagination of many young people while inspiring a black artistic and cultural movement to contribute to black expression and excellence even if their approach was somewhat limited when compared to integration. Still, integration was meant for the meaningful realization of full equality and equity with whites and it was clear that Western civilization not only has structural political and economic barriers to the advancement of colored people, it was also in a crisis. This is why, after 1966, Dr. King viewed that black people were in danger of “integrating into a burning house.” However, his Letter from a Birmingham Jail of 1963 stood the test of time as still relevant today to freedom fighters around the globe of the need to break unjust laws, force the moderates into action against perceived injustice, the reclamation of the social justice function of institutions or to see their degeneration, and so much more. In the next section, I will discuss some of the major movements to shift black consciousness later in the period from 1954-1975 such as Malcolm X, the black panthers, and the movement to elect black political figures many of whom were freedom fighters in the 1970s. The question is why did Malcolm X shift to a black nationalist international perspective and were these movement's goal to protect, enrich the black community, and form an independent black politics successful in hindsight?

Editor's note: This story includes a racial slur.I'm often asked about my favorite stories I've covered as a reporter. That's a hard question to answer after spending 35 years working in journalism, most of them as a local television reporter.Rarely does anyone ask about my hardest moments. That question brings to mind a very vivid memory. In December 2015, I stood in the middle of Plymouth Avenue in north Minneapolis facing the Minneapolis Police Department's 4th Precinct building, watching angry officers and defiant community members clash.Days earlier, police had shot and killed Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old Black man, during a confrontation. Community members wanted answers. Protesters blockaded the entrance to the 4th Precinct and the street outside.In front of me stood armed officers in riot helmets telling the crowd to disperse, and protesters screaming back and holding their ground. I saw the handcuffs come out and arrests happen. Police pulled down a “Black Lives Matter” banner from the building as they cleared out a spreading encampment. I could feel the distrust and rage between the mostly Black residents and mostly white officers.The shooting and its aftermath pushed Minnesota to the center of a painful national debate over police, people of color and deadly force. Months later, the Twin Cities would be torn again by another police shooting of a Black man, Philando Castile. In 2020 came George Floyd, killed by a Minneapolis police officer as he lay handcuffed and face down in the street, pleading that he couldn't breathe.‘You want me to go where? With who?'Nine years after witnessing the battle for the 4th Precinct, I got a message from a manager at MPR News, where I host a morning talk show. The bosses wanted me to travel to Montgomery, Ala., a city at the center of the slave trade and the Civil Rights Movement, with a contingent that included 4th Precinct officers. Reading the message, remembering what I witnessed in 2015 and the department's history of dysfunction and accusations of violence, I thought, “You want me to go where? With who? Why?” Turns out there was a good reason for the ask. Emerging from the killings of Clark and Castile, a small group, the Police and Black Men Project, had formed to talk about the roots of their distrust. They included Minneapolis police officers, Black and white, along with Black community members, leaders of nonprofits, government agencies and private businesses. Some were once incarcerated. All have strong opinions about law enforcement. Group members have met regularly the past eight years.They went to Montgomery in 2023 to tour museums and historical sites. They wanted to do something bigger in 2024, to go back to Alabama with a larger group and wider audience. They called MPR News.Nine years after Jamar Clark's killing, I was called again to witness police and Black men but in a very different way.We were invited to go along in December and record the group's private discussions as they processed what they had seen and heard at each of the tour stops. Our team included editor and producer Stephen Smith and freelance photographer Desmon Williams, who goes by “Dolo.”In their conversations, this group explored a significant part of American history, one many people still struggle to discuss and understand or even acknowledge.400 years of racial terror: Inside The Legacy MuseumWe arrived in Montgomery on a Tuesday afternoon after flying from Minneapolis to Atlanta and then renting SUVs for the two-hour drive. The weather was terrible. Torrential rain and dangerous driving conditions. I wondered if it was some sort of sign of what's to come. We gathered with the group — all men — for dinner, the first of many meals these men would share. I discovered some of them have known each other for years and others are still getting to know each other.  The next morning, the officers and community members filed out of a hotel in downtown Montgomery, all dressed the same — hooded sweatshirts with artwork on the back and the words “Black Men and Police Project” and “Peace” and “Alabama 2024.” On the back, there's an image of a handshake between a black and a white hand with the downtown Minneapolis skyline in the background.The design was created by teenagers in a life-skills mentoring program run by group member Jamil Jackson. It's called Change Equals Opportunity. Jackson is also head basketball coach at Minneapolis Camden High School and one of the founders of Freedom Fighters, which focuses on public safety.Throughout the next few days these sweatshirts would turn heads. Passersby would ask them questions about the Police and Black Men Project as the group walked down the street and waited in lines at restaurants and museums.On this day, our first stop is The Legacy Museum. This is a place to learn about 400 years of American history involving slavery, racial terrorism, legalized segregation and mass incarceration in a way that pulls you into the past. The museum sits on the site of a cotton warehouse where enslaved Black people were forced to work when the cotton economy drove American slavery. I can't bring my microphone in for what seems to me an excellent reason — to respect the solemnity of a museum dedicated to the memory of a national atrocity.Organized evilMoments after stepping into the first area of the exhibit space, you find yourself in darkness, standing in what looks, feels and sounds like the bottom of the ocean. You're introduced to the terrifying expanse of the Atlantic Ocean that more than 13 million Africans were forced to cross in slave ships. Nearly 2 million of them died in this Middle Passage.You're surrounded by underwater sculptures of human bodies, looking at what appears to be the heads, shoulders and arms of enslaved Africans who died after being chained together and then forced onto ships during the transatlantic slave trade. Many of them died from illnesses on the ships due to the horrific conditions. Their bodies were thrown in the ocean. The facial expressions portray horror and despair. As you look at them or try not to, you're hearing the sounds of waves.Later in the day in small group discussions, I listened to the officers and community members discuss what it was like to walk through this display. Several described the experience of feeling shook to the core as they took in this particular scene at the start of the tour. George Warzinik, a sergeant in the Minneapolis 4th Precinct, said later he was shocked by the organized evil of lynching.“My image was always this mob stormed the police station or something, the officers are overwhelmed or whatever, looked away. But there was a headline that said there's a lynching scheduled for tomorrow at 5 o'clock. This is cold calculated. This is, it's booked, it's scheduled, and the governor said he couldn't do anything about it. The governor!” said Warzinik.“We're not talking about the local police guy down there with two, two deputies who's overwhelmed. So, the kind of organizational part of it, you know, that's just really struck me.”As we continue to walk through the exhibit spaces, we move into a section about mass incarceration. You can sit down on a stool and pick up a phone and watch a video that depicts a prisoner welcoming your visit. Each person tells you about the conditions inside the prison and declares their innocence in a crime that landed them behind bars. These are stories told by real incarcerated people.It was after sitting through these video testimonials that I needed a break and went and sat in the women's restroom for a few minutes.‘Not a glimmer of hope'Later in the museum cafeteria filled with students, we met for lunch over delicious soul food to talk about what we've seen. Moving into small groups in a private room, I heard the men share their thoughts about what they'd seen.Like Warzinik, group leader Bill Doherty was struck by the banal efficiency of enslaving and terrorizing people. A retired University of Minnesota professor, his family foundation helped pay for the trip in 2024.“One of the things I got this time is that it takes organization and big systems to do this kind of evil. It's not just in the hearts of individuals,” he said. “I never knew how much the banking system was involved in, in slavery and the slave trade, but slaves were collateral for loans. So the banks were supporting the system by saying, ‘Yeah, you got 12 slaves. I'll lend you this money.' Oh my goodness,” he said.Sherman Patterson, vice president of a Minneapolis nonprofit called Lights On!, noted a quote on the wall about the loss of hope: “I was taught that there was hope after the grave. I lost all hope after I was sold to the South.”“Just think about that, what that's saying,” said Patterson. “That's just, not a glimmer of hope. That's just pure hell. And then the woman who was raped several times and had the kid by her master and she defended herself and killed him and then the justice system said you have no right to defend yourself,” said Patterson, one of the elders in this group.“I grew up in Savannah, Georgia,” he added. “I grew up in true segregation as a kid up until 1975 and saw those things. My grandmother was born in 1919 and sitting on a porch watching her be calling the nigger and all of this here. We could not go downtown in certain places because we were taught you can't, you better not, and this is what you do. So there is anger, but being with this group, this is why we're here. There's hope. There is hope and we're moving forward.”We stop next at the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. It's a 17-acre site overlooking the Alabama River and the city of Montgomery. On this river, tens of thousands of enslaved people were transported in chains to the slave market. Many, many thousands toiled in fields and factories up and down the Alabama River. And Montgomery was one of the largest slave-trading centers in the United States.‘One heart, and it bleeds the same color'On Day 2, we went to First Baptist Church on the edge of downtown Montgomery. It's a handsome red brick building with a bell tower and a large, round stained glass window. First Baptist was founded in 1867. It is one of the first Black churches in the Montgomery area and became one of the largest Black churches in the South. It played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement. The Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a close friend and associate of Martin Luther King Jr., was pastor.In the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and 1956, First Baptist was a community organizing center. During the Freedom Rides of 1961, this church was besieged for a time by a huge white mob threatening to burn it down.I'd been looking forward to this visit. I grew up in Black Baptist churches in rural communities in southern Virginia. My grandparents raised me, and my grandfather was the pastor of several churches when I was a child. We were greeted in the parking lot by an older Black man, Deacon Emeritus Howard Davis, who reminded me of my grandfather. Davis, 81, was baptized at the church and spent his entire life there as an active member and leader. He greeted each of the men in the group with a smile and a handshake. He shared a bit of the history of the church and the role the building and the people who sat inside it played during the Civil Rights Movement.He described how his family taught him to stay away from white people, particularly white women and girls, and how to this day white women make him nervous. He understands the flip side of that and how white children were told to stay away from Black people and fear them, and how that affects how many of them view Black people today.He also spoke of the modern day challenges that Black people face. He took questions from men in the group and didn't hesitate to shake his head at times and admit he didn't have the answer. At one point one of the group members asked him to pray for them, and he did.Our next stop was Montgomery's former Greyhound Bus Station, now the Freedom Rides Museum. In 1961, teams of volunteers from the North and South challenged the Jim Crow practice of racially-segregated travel on buses and trains in the South. The Freedom Riders were mostly young people, Black and white. They were arrested for violating state and local segregation laws by riding together and ignoring the segregated seating. Local police in many southern towns let the Ku Klux Klan and other mobs attack them.Here, I recorded audio of an interview with community member Brantley Johnson. He reflected on what he saw and how he felt about going on this trip. Johnson said he ran with a gang in Minneapolis and ended up in prison. “When I got out, I promised my kids that I would never leave them again.” He's been part of regular meetings around the 4th Precinct and has been trying to work on ways to build trust between police officers and residents.“We have to meet them at their hardest moments, just like they have to meet us at our hardest moments,” he said of the police. “Because at the end of the day, we all have one heart, and it bleeds the same color, no matter what.”Later, we head to the Rosa Parks Museum on the campus of Troy University. Parks played a pivotal role in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. She refused to give up her seat in the so-called “colored section” so that a white woman could have it. Parks was arrested for violating the local bus segregation law. In response, Montgomery's Black community boycotted the bus system for more than a year. The protest brought King, then a local pastor, to national prominence and led eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court declaring bus segregation unconstitutional.Our last two stops on this trip are a walking tour of downtown Montgomery and then the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. It's a profoundly moving 6-acre site in downtown Montgomery. Out of respect for the solemnity of this space, we've been asked not to record audio during the visit. The group splits into smaller groups and scatters in different directions. I follow a group up a hill to what's known as the lynching memorial. I've been there before. A year ago while attending a conference in Birmingham, my husband and I drove to Montgomery to visit The Legacy Museum and the memorial.  I found a monument with the name of a city very close to where I grew up, Danville, Va. The first name on the monument was of a man whose last name was Davis and I took a picture of it. Edward Davis, 11.03.1883. That's when he was lynched. I wonder if we're related.Courage to say ‘No'We return to Minneapolis, where the temperature is in single digits, a little colder than the 50s in Alabama.Not only is the weather different, the men appear different than they were when we gathered at the gate to board our flight days earlier.  That morning they were relaxed, even joking around with one another. Now the mood is more somber and the facial expressions appear to be more reflective. I sense a new confidence in them. To me they look like they are ready to approach future interactions with more knowledge and understanding, more empathy.At different points of the trip, many of the men said they were surprised by how much of the history of this country is not taught in schools. Some seemed troubled by how much they didn't know.The group disperses at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. I can tell everyone's eager to go home. I know I am. I want to be alone with my thoughts and there's a lot to think about.Like, how does one person change things? How does a small group bring change to a whole police department? How does a small group of community members bring change to a whole city?When I get home, I immediately start to unpack. Most of my souvenirs are clothes, including the navy blue T-shirt I bought at the Rosa Parks Museum. It has a small drawing of her face on the right sleeve and on the front there's one word followed by a period.It simply says “No.”Rosa Parks became famous for the moment in time when she'd had enough of racial segregation, injustice and violence. She said no. When I saw that shirt hanging on a wall in the museum gift shop I screamed “Yes!” I searched for my size and bought it.Back at home in St. Paul, I'm wondering why that shirt speaks to my heart in such a profound way? I think it's because it represents a response from a Black woman living at a time when America was at a breaking point. Much like I feel we are today. And the answer to the problem on that day on the bus for Rosa Parks, was a bold refusal to continue on the same path.It takes courage to say no when it's easier and safer to say yes.What I saw in each of the men I spent four days with in Montgomery was a bold refusal to continue on the same path.  Angela Davis' behind-the-scenes photos from Alabama Each brought curiosity to every site we visited. Each brought an understanding they have a lot to learn. Each sought a way to take something they learned in Montgomery back to Minneapolis and put it to work, taking law enforcement and community relations in a different direction.History has shown us where racial segregation and abuse of power lead. My question is this: What will you say when presented with circumstances that don't feel fair and equitable? What will you do when you are encouraged to go along to get along, even if those actions reinforce racism and division? Will you say “No”?Angela Davis hosts MPR News with Angela Davis, a weekday talk show that airs at 9 a.m. She's been a journalist for more than 30 years in the Twin Cities and across the country.

Today, we present an encore 'Full Bio' conversation with author and historian Johnathan Eig, whose book "King: A Life" is the first comprehensive, modern biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in decades. First, we'll hear about Eig's research and writing process, plus the early life of "Little Mike,"  King's time as a student at Morehouse and the professors who had an impact on him.Then, hear about a young King's romantic interests and his marriage to Coretta Scott, whose activist work predated his own. We also focus on 1955, the year in which the King family moved to Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to move from her bus seat, and King was drafted to lead a movement.Then, we'll hear about MLK's advisors, such as Bayard Rustin, Ralph Abernathy, and Stanley Levison, and discuss some of King's lesser known protests.And finally, we'll explore King's relationships, his disagreements with activist contemporaries, and how his work, including nearly 30 civil disobedience arrests, impacted his mental health. And finally, a look at King's civil rights efforts and priorities in the last months of his life.

Douglas Tappin creator of "I Dream" a groundbreaking musical talks with Hudson Mohawk Magazine's Andrea Cunliffe I Dream tells the story of the final 36 hours of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life as seen through the eyes of his closest friend, Ralph Abernathy, as the Civil Rights leaders grappled with justice, identity, and the burden of leadership. A concert version of the groundbreaking musical I Dream. The special performance will take place on November 1, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

Ken welcomes back historian and author Michael Jimenez, the History Department Chair at Vanguard University in Southern California. He has published several articles focussing on the iconic United Farm Workers Union organizer from the Civil Rights era in the 1960s and 70s. He believes that Cesar Chavez should be considered the Latinex Martin Luther King. Like King, Chavez's life and work are rooted in his deep and abiding Christian faith. Jimenez joins with his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Chao Romero (UCLA professor and former guest on the podcast) in advancing the story of Christians who have influenced social change - confronting injustice and opening the door for equal access, better working conditions, increased wages, and advancing human dignity. Ken and Mike discuss the influences on Chavez's life including MLK, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Ralph Abernathy, Coretta Scott King, and Robert F. Kennedy. When Chavez's fast almost ended his life, RFK made a personal visit as he campaigned for President in the 1968 election. They shared communion. It ended Cesar's fast, but just one month later, an assassin took Kennedy's life the very night he celebrated his California victory. Michael shares his take on the Black Panther Party and the more recent Black Lives Matter movement. Michael is a thoughtful scholar and committed Christian. SHOW NOTESBecome a Patron | Ken's Substack PageSupport the Show.

Join us for episode 16 in our eight-week series, Be Strong: The Armor of God. Lisa and Laura will be diving into Ephesians 6:10–18, awakening us to the invisible battle that rages, while encouraging us to reach for the weapons that keep us strong and steady in any circumstance. Today, Lisa and Laura continue to unpack the spiritual battle, focusing on the importance of being aware. If you're not sure what spiritual warfare looks like, today's episode was recorded for you! Open to Ephesians, stand strong, open your heart, open your Bible, and invite Him in. Open your Heart to our key Scripture. Ephesians 6:10–13: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode. John 5:6: Do you want to be healed? 2 Kings 6:8–12 2 Kings 6:15–17 Luke 18:41–42: “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me receive my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” Invite Him in with this episode's question for reflection. Which of my wounds is the enemy trying to exploit right now?  Show mentions. ACTS XXIX, The Rescue Project, https://www.actsxxix.org/ Fr. John Riccardo and Mary Guilfoyle, You Were Born for This Podcast Saint Joan of Arc, “I am not afraid…I was born to do this.” Ralph Abernathy, “I don't know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.”   Let's stay connected. Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.  Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community. Stay in the know. Connect with us today.  We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ. Learn more about WWP on our website. Our Shop. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Es gab Steve Jobs und Steve Wozniak, und natürlich gibt und gab es auch Paul McCartney und John Lennon. Sehr wichtig für die Zivilisation waren Martin Luther King Jr. und Ralph Abernathy, Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels, und natürlich auch Neil Armstrong und Buzz Aldrin. Doch keiner von ihnen hat so viel für die Berliner – nein, für die deutsche Weinwelt – getan wie ein gewisser Willi Schlögl und sein Freund und Partner Johannes Schellhorn. Mit ihrer Weinbar „Freundschaft“ definieren sie Weingastronomie neu. Durch ihre konträre Art bieten sie für jeden ihrer Gäste immer den richtigen Ansprechpartner. Sie sind Sommeliers, die auch mal richtig Wein trinken und nicht nur degustieren können, trinken leidenschaftlich gerne Spritzer und können im selben Atemzug über die edelsten Weine der Weinwelt kompetent philosophieren. Sie leben herrlich unverkrampften Weinservice und haben unsere oft eingestaubte deutsche Weinwelt mit alpenländischem Charme entstaubt und zeitgemäß aufpoliert. Diese österreichischen Zuwanderer sind absolute Weinultras. Sie leben und lieben Wein auf ihre eigene und einzigartige Weise und fesseln sowie begeistern ihre Fans und wurden für viele zu wunderbaren Vorbildern. Ein wunderbares Interview, bei dem ich diese beiden Koryphäen noch einmal ganz anders und sehr persönlich kennenlernen durfte. Freundschaft, Mittelstr. 1, 10117 Berlin, wein@istdeinbesterfreund.com, keine Reservierungen Mit herzlichen Grußworten von: Hans Martin Gesellmann, Weinlaubenhof Kracher Konrad Buddrus und Eva Maria Wehner, Weingut Buddrus oder besser bekannt als Konni und Evi Sebastian Höpfner, Sommelier im Sterne-Restaurant Français im Grandhotel Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof ------------------------------------- Diese Folge von SOMMELIER – Die interessantesten Mundschenke unserer Zeit wird begleitet von durch Silvio Nitzsche ausgewählte Weine aus dem Programm der Schlumberger Gruppe, zu der die Handelshäuser Schlumberger, Segnitz, Consigliovini und das Privatkundenportal Bremer Weinkolleg gehören. ------------------------------------- Sehr gerne empfehle ich die folgenden Weine: 2020 Luce, Tenuta Luce, Toskana, Italien Link für Geschäftskunden: https://bit.ly/3P0DHJL Link für Privatkunden: https://bit.ly/4bOWh1v _____ 2020 Welschriesling PRO, Weingut Gross, Südsteiermark, Österreich Link für Geschäftskunden: https://bit.ly/3UYx2Ud Link für Privatkunden: https://bit.ly/4bYzhwT _____ 2022 Terra Montosa, Weingut Georg Breuer, Rheingau, Deutschland Link für Geschäftskunden: https://bit.ly/49x5YjA Link für Privatkunden: https://bit.ly/4c6AUsG ------------------------------------- Bitte folgen Sie uns auf Webpage: sommelier.website Instagram: sommelier.der.podcast Facebook: sommelier.der.podcast Wir freuen uns über jede Bewertung, Anregung und Empfehlung. Das Format: SOMMELIER – Die interessantesten Mundschenke unserer Zeit. wird produziert und verantwortet von der: Weinklang GmbH, Silvio Nitzsche, Bergahornweg 10, 01328 Dresden, silvio@sommelier.website

[REBROADCAST FROM June 19, 2023] Our June Full Bio selection was King: A Life, the first comprehensive account of Martin Luther King Jr. in three decades, written by Jonathan Eig. In this installment, we discuss MLK's advisors, such as Bayard Rustin, Ralph Abernathy, and Stanley Levison. We also discuss some of MLK's lesser-known protests.

This Day in Legal History: Racially-Integrated Bus Service Begins in MontgomeryOn this day in legal history, December 21st, we spotlight a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement: the start of racially-integrated bus service in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 21, 1956, a significant change unfolded in the streets of Montgomery as buses began operating under a new, integrated system. This historic shift came after enduring federal court rulings that conclusively terminated the practice of on-board segregation.The genesis of this transformative moment can be traced back to the courageous efforts of the African American community in Montgomery. Their resilience was epitomized in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger. This boycott, lasting over a year, was a strategic and peaceful defiance against segregation and racial injustice.Two key figures in this historic change were Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. As prominent leaders of the bus boycott, they symbolized the relentless struggle for equality and justice. On that significant day, they were among the first to ride the buses under the newly implemented integrated service.The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the subsequent integration of the bus service marked a crucial victory in the civil rights movement. It not only challenged and changed segregation laws but also galvanized the fight for civil rights across the United States. This event is a testament to the power of collective action and the enduring pursuit of equality.The legacy of December 21, 1956, continues to resonate as a reminder of the long and ongoing journey towards racial equality. It stands as a beacon of hope and a symbol of the enduring spirit of resistance against injustice. Today, we remember and honor this monumental day in legal history, a day that forever changed the fabric of American society.The U.S. Supreme Court, reshaped by former President Donald Trump, is set to confront a series of cases that could significantly impact the 2024 presidential election. Central to these cases is Trump's role in the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, where his supporters attempted to obstruct the certification of Joe Biden's victory. These cases mark the Supreme Court's most politically charged involvement in elections since the decisive 2000 ruling in favor of George W. Bush.Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law School, highlights the unprecedented potential of the court to influence the upcoming election, particularly regarding Trump's ballot eligibility and the progression of his federal criminal prosecution. Amidst a conservative shift in American law, the court's approach to these cases is closely watched, especially after recent rulings on key issues like abortion and gun rights.A pivotal moment is Trump's vow to challenge a Colorado court ruling disqualifying him from the state's primary ballot. The outcome of this appeal could set a precedent for similar challenges in other states. Currently, Colorado is the only state among 32 to disqualify Trump based on the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those involved in insurrection from holding federal office. The Supreme Court's decision in the Colorado case could influence similar efforts nationwide, with Michigan, a politically critical state, also considering a related case.Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, underscores the high stakes of these disputes for democracy, particularly in their implications for upholding the peaceful transition of power.The court is also entangled in criminal cases against Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested the court to rule on Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution for actions related to his 2020 election defeat. Additionally, the court will decide if obstruction charges related to the January 6 assault are applicable, which could affect Trump, who faces similar charges.Trump, facing four criminal prosecutions, has pleaded not guilty in all cases. His legal team may soon seek Supreme Court intervention in a defamation lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll. Despite the court's conservative leaning, experts like Stanford Law's Michael McConnell do not anticipate bias in favor of Trump, even though the legal issues are more nuanced than in post-election litigation.Trump legal clashes reach US Supreme Court as 2024 election nears | ReutersA U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked a California law set to ban the carrying of guns in most public places from January 1. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, of the Central District of California, issued a preliminary injunction stating that the law would unconstitutionally deprive concealed carry permit holders of their Second Amendment right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. He described the law as "sweeping" and "repugnant to the Second Amendment."California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed intentions to appeal the decision, arguing that if the ruling stands, it would put communities at risk by allowing guns in areas frequented by families and children. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the decision, voicing concerns about the proliferation of guns in sensitive areas like hospitals, libraries, and playgrounds.The law, signed in September, aimed to prohibit concealed firearms in 26 types of "sensitive places," including hospitals, playgrounds, and places of worship. Judge Carney's ruling pointed out that the law would turn almost every public place in California into a 'sensitive place,' effectively negating the Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in public.The Second Amendment's interpretation has long been debated in the U.S., especially with gun violence being a leading cause of death among children since 2020. Judge Carney referenced recent Supreme Court rulings that have expanded gun rights, stating that individuals must be able to exercise their right to self-defense, including bearing arms responsibly.Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which filed the lawsuit, argued that the state's politicians are refusing to accept Supreme Court rulings that uphold gun carrying rights. Michel hailed the court's decision as a recognition of the state's overreach in gun control measures.US federal judge blocks California law barring guns in public | ReutersIn 2023, global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity dropped to its lowest point in a decade, influenced by high interest rates and economic slowdowns. The total M&A volume fell 18% to around $3 trillion, the lowest since 2013. Dealmakers attribute this decline to increased financing costs for acquisitions and economic uncertainties making price agreements challenging.Despite the downturn, experts foresee a rebound in M&A activity. In the United States, M&A volumes decreased by 8% to $1.42 trillion, while Europe and the Asia Pacific regions saw sharper declines. Private equity-led buyout volumes globally also fell by 38%. However, the fourth quarter of the year showed a 19% increase in deal volumes, mainly driven by significant transactions in the oil and gas industry, including Exxon Mobil's $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron Corp's $53 billion purchase of Hess Corp.The report highlights the challenges in deal-making due to a tough antitrust environment and lengthy regulatory reviews, especially for cross-border deals. The uncertainty of regulatory regimes due to upcoming elections in the U.S. and India may also affect M&A activities. However, corporate buyers are expected to continue their strategic M&A planning.Shareholder activism is rising, potentially driving more M&A activity. M&A advisers are optimistic, noting a more robust pipeline of deals for 2024 compared to the previous year. This optimism is echoed by Jim Langston of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, who notes an acceleration in market confidence and active transaction dialogues.Dealmakers see rebound after global M&A volumes hit decade-low | ReutersNasdaq Inc.'s rules requiring listed companies to have diverse boards or explain their absence will take effect by December 31, following the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval in 2021. These regulations, surviving a legal challenge from two conservative groups in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, are based on the premise that board diversity information is significant to investors.Companies must now include at least one board member who is a woman, belongs to an underrepresented minority, or identifies as LGBTQ+, or publicly explain non-compliance. Nasdaq's definition of underrepresented minorities includes various racial and ethnic groups. Exceptions are provided for newly listed companies and those with small boards.By the end of 2025, companies on Nasdaq's Global or Global Select market tiers must have at least two diverse directors—one being a woman and the other from an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+ community. Smaller firms have until 2026 to meet this requirement. Companies with small public floats or revenues can satisfy this with two female directors, regardless of minority or LGBTQ+ status. Foreign companies and smaller boards have more lenient requirements.Since 2022, companies have disclosed board demographics using Nasdaq's diversity matrix. However, a Bloomberg Law analysis observed a decrease in boards with women and minority or LGBTQ+ directors from 2022 to 2023.The Fifth Circuit could still overturn these rules if the full court decides to review the decision by the three-judge panel, which was composed of judges appointed by Democratic presidents. The majority of judges on the full court are appointed by Republicans.Non-compliant companies will receive a grace period from Nasdaq's Listing Qualifications Department. Persistent non-compliance could lead to delisting, subject to an appeal to a Nasdaq hearings panel.Contested Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules Take Effect: Explained Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

In this final episode of the summer series TRUTH QUEST, our travelers make their way to Selma and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In March of 1965, civil rights protesters were met by a lineup of armed police (many on horseback) with attack dogs and billy clubs who ordered them to turn back. When the marchers refused, they were brutally attacked on a day that became known as Bloody Sunday. SNCC Director John Lewis (later Congressman) was viciously beaten and nearly died that day. We take a ceremonial walk across that bridge. We proceed to Birmingham, known in the 50s and 60s as "Bombingham," where Martin Luther King  (along with Ralph Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth) were imprisoned in 1963 for their civil disobedience. We hear a reading of King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail (Osahon Obazuaye). Several months after King wrote his letter, a bomb exploded on a Sunday morning as the congregation gathered for worship in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls. A fifth, Sarah Collins, lost her sister and best friends but survived the blast. All these years later, she met with our group in the memorial park across from the church and shared her story. Ken wraps the series with some reflections, from several fellow travelers and then some concluding reflections of his own. SHOW NOTESMeet our contributors.Listen to the entire series - TRUTH QUEST: Exploring the History of Race in America - in their own words.Support the show

The tour bus delivers our travelers for two days in historic Memphis, Tennessee. The National Civil Rights Museum rests on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King lost his life to an assassin's bullet while standing on the balcony with his trusted friends, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy, and Andrew Young. The Museum is housed in a comprehensive series of buildings that outlines the history of Slavery from 1619 to the present day. Exhibits feature the story of resistance and the champions of the Civil Rights Movement. Our tour explores the I AM A MAN Memorial Park and the Sanitation Worker's Strike of 1968 that brought Dr. King to Memphis. Then, we move on to the Burkle House, commonly known as the Slave Haven, a stop on the Underground Railroad. STAX RECORDS in Memphis launched American soul music, celebrated in the STAX Museum where careers were launched including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and many others. Spoken word artist Rev. Jesse Jackson and comedians Moms Mabley and Richard Pryor got their start in the STAX studios. We end this edition of TRUTH QUEST on Beale Street, the home of B.B. King, Ida B. Wells, and The Memphis Blues. The grand boulevard became the inspiration for James Baldwin's fifth novel If Beale Street Could Talk. SHOW NOTESIn this episode, we happily introduce Sasha Lunginbuhl.Meet our contributors.Listen to the entire series - TRUTH QUEST: Exploring the History of Race in America - in their own words.Support the show

The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.29.2 featuring Cynthia McDonald, Aaron Jensen and Teo el AteoHow The End Of Affirmative Action Reroutes The Talent PipelineForbes, By Corinne Lestch, July 9, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/corinnelestch/2023/07/09/how-the-end-of-affirmative-action-reroutes-the-talent-pipeline/?sh=518ad1495886 Clarence Thomas Wins Long Game Against Affirmative Action Bloomberg Law, By Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, June 29, 2023,https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4073736-thomas-in-rare-occurrence-reads-affirmative-action-opinion-from-bench/ Supreme Court Decision https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf “In the decades since, I have repeatedly stated that Grutter was wrongly decided and should be overruled. Today, and despite a lengthy interregnum, the Constitution prevails,” - Justice Clarence Thomas.Recently the Supreme Court decided that affirmative action is no longer constitutional because it ruled that it violates the 14th Amendment which states that there should be no laws that restrict people based on color or their race.What had made the 14th amendment relevant was it's attempt to even the playing field among all constituents in the United States when it came to them being able to get employment and for them to be able to go to school but that is not what happened.Even though black people were citizens and paying taxes they did not have access to the same facilities as their white counterparts. Plessy vs Ferguson (a decision made in the 1800's) allowed schools to be funded separately.In most black neighborhoods, especially in the south, there were substandard school buildings, and children in the sixth and seventh grade that were provided books from second and third grade. Plessy was used to uphold Jim Crow and specifically segregation laws saying that separate but equal was okay.The modern Civil Rights Movement really started to take a new form after the death of Emmett Till. Black rights activists like Dr. King, Malcolm X, Philip Randolph, Ralph Abernathy, and James Baldwin were all a part of this movement.The Movement wasn't necessarily pushing for integration they were just pushing for equal facilities. One of the reasons being is when they started to integrate the schools black students faced violence from white mobs, white students, and parents who were vehemently trying to keep black students out.Ultimately, Thurgood Marshall argued before the US Supreme Court in the Brown vs the Board of Education case. The court overturned Plessy vs Ferguson by ruling against the Board of Education and Marshall later became the first black Justice on the court.This helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which allowed Affirmative action. Which required organizations to select people with more diverse backgrounds. It was not limited to black people, it helped any person that was considered a minority. The data has shown that white women have been one of the groups that happened to benefit greatly from affirmative action.Affirmative action has caused schools to make more of an attempt to recruit students who actually had the grades and merit but may not have gotten into a particular school like a Harvard because of their minority status. When the Court's decision was released, Justice Thomas took the unusual step of actually reading from his own concurring opinion. Something not typically done, but this has been a goal of his for decades. For a Justice who is known for saying nothing for years, it is not unlike him to take a victory lap.It's interesting to specifically question how Justices like Clarence Thomas really would want to go back to a colorblind Constitution when in actuality the Constitution was never colorblind.

Original Air Date: Jan 16, 1989Martin Luther King Day 1989, Oprah, Lerone Bennett, Jr., Dr. Dorothy Cotton, Rev. C.T. Vivian, and Rev. Ralph Abernathy remember and honor the short life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who saw suffering and injustice and refused to look the other way. 

David Hartsough began his amazing life of determined activism as a teenager joining the civil rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama alongside Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy, and kept up the struggle through more than 50 years of protest, organized resistance and nights in jail. The author of "Waging Peace" was also the co-founder of World BEYOND War in January 2014, and he joins us for a wide-ranging interview in January 2023.

In this final episode of the summer series TRUTH QUEST, our travelers make their way to Selma and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In March of 1965, civil rights protesters were met by a lineup of armed police (many on horseback) with attack dogs and billy clubs who ordered them to turn back. When the marchers refused, they were brutally attacked on a day that became known as Bloody Sunday. SNCC Director John Lewis (later Congressman) was viciously beaten and nearly died that day. We take a ceremonial walk across that bridge. We proceed to Birmingham, known in the 50s and 60s as "Bombingham," where Martin Luther King  (along with Ralph Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth) were imprisoned in 1963 for their civil disobedience. We hear a reading of King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail (Osahon Obazuaye). Several months after King wrote his letter, a bomb exploded on a Sunday morning as the congregation gathered for worship in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls. A fifth, Sarah Collins, lost her sister and best friends but survived the blast. All these years later, she met with our group in the memorial park across from the church and shared her story. Ken wraps the series with some reflections, from several fellow travelers and then some concluding reflections of his own. SHOW NOTESListen to the entire series - TRUTH QUEST: Exploring the History of Race in America - in their own words.New Orleans and Slavery Part A: The Civil Rights Tour of the South - Meet our contributorsPart B: The French Quarter and the Whitney PlantationDr. John Perkins, Living Legends (Freedom Riders) and Emmett Till (Jackson, MS)Lorraine Hotel, Underground Railroad and Beal Street (Memphis, TN)Equal Justice Initiative, Legacy Museum and the Peace and Justice Memorial (Montgomery, AL)Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma) and the 16th Street Baptist Church (Birmingham, AL) BONUS: A Conversation with Center for Racial Reconciliation, John WilliamsSupport the show

The tour bus delivers our travelers for two days in historic Memphis, Tennessee. The National Civil Rights Museum rests on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King lost his life to an assassin's bullet while standing on the balcony with his trusted friends, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy, and Andrew Young. The Museum is housed in a comprehensive series of buildings that outlines the history of Slavery from 1619 to the present day. Exhibits feature the story of resistance and the champions of the Civil Rights Movement. Our tour explores the I AM A MAN Memorial Park and the Sanitation Worker's Strike of 1968 that brought Dr. King to Memphis. Then, we move on to the Burkle House, commonly known as the Slave Haven, a stop on the Underground Railroad. STAX RECORDS in Memphis launched American soul music, celebrated in the STAX Museum where careers were launched including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and many others. Spoken word artist Rev. Jesse Jackson and comedians Moms Mabley and Richard Pryor got their start in the STAX studios. We end this edition of TRUTH QUEST on Beale Street, the home of B.B. King, Ida B. Wells, and The Memphis Blues. The grand boulevard became the inspiration for James Baldwin's fifth novel If Beale Street Could Talk. SHOW NOTESIn this episode, we happily introduce Sasha Lunginbuhl.Support the show

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for June 19. Solidarity Day March In November 1967 civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and the staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) met and decided to launch a Poor People's Campaign to highlight and find solutions to many of the problems facing the country's poor.  The Poor People's Campaign was still in the planning stages when King was assassinated in April 1968. The plan for the march was that protestors would come together in Washington, D.C., and demonstrate daily from May 14 to June 24, 1968.  June 19th was declared Solidarity Day, and a rally was held, attracting between 50–100,000 people. Addresses were made by Ralph Abernathy, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Reuther as well as Coretta Scott-King. In 1969, a Poor People's Campaign delegation, including Abernathy, met with President Nixon and asked him to address hunger and malnutrition. The 2nd Solidarity March came near the 10 year anniversary of the first and drew between 250,000 and 325,000 people.  Learn black history, teach black history at blackfacts.com

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for April 17.Ralph Abernathy passed away.He was a pastor and civil rights leader who was Martin Luther King's chief aide and closest associate during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s.He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1948 and preached his first sermon on Mother's Day. In 1950 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.After the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, Abernathy collaborated with King to create the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA),which organized the Montgomery bus boycott.The King/Abernathy partnership spearheaded successful nonviolent movements in many cities. They journeyed together, often sharing the same hotel rooms, and leisure times with their wives, children, family, and friends.  They were both jailed 17 times together, for their involvement in the movement.After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was  transferred to Ralph Abernathy, who presided until 1977.Learn black history, teach black history at blackfacts.com 

Martin Luther King Jr. - Letter From Birmingham Jail - Episode 2 - There Are Just And There Are Unjust Laws   Hi, I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  This is our second week discussing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the letter that some consider today to be one of the most significant political documents to emerge from the American continent in the last 300 years, ranking with the founding documents, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation.  Last week, we spoke a little, although very briefly, about Dr. King's growing up years.  We focused on his rise to political prominence through his political activism in Montgomery with the MIA and Rosa Parks as they led a community to boycott public bussing system for 381 days protesting the unfair bussing practices in Montgomery.   These efforts resulted in legislation that would begin the process of unraveling a 100 years of Jim Crow laws across, not just Birmingham, but the entire South.      We also discussed Project C, C, btw, stands for Confrontation.  Project C was the name given to the program that was designed to combine economic pressure with large scale direct action protest in order to undermine the very rigid system of segregation in place in the Southern city of Birmingham, Alabama.  The project was multi-faceted and by that I mean, it had various moving parts.  It consisted of strategic sit-ins, mass meetings, economic boycotts, and of course “parading” primarily without a permit because no permits would be given.      Yes, and one significant component of this project was planned for Good Friday, April 12 1963.  It would be on this auspicious day that two political and spiritual leaders, Reverend Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., would step out in faith in front of the Sixth Avenue Zion Hill Church to march down those prohibited streets.  And, leading by example, proving that they would never ask anyone to do something they would not do themselves, they walked into what they knew would be a guaranteed confrontation with Bull Connor's tightly controlled police force.  As they marched, they were met by a police barricade, so they changed directions and marched a different way; however, it wasn't long until they got to a second barricade.  At this one, Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Conner's clear orders could be heard and I quote, “Stop them…Don't let them go any further!”   They were arrested, and let me add, this was not the first time these two were arrested, nor would it be the last.     Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy, according to Abernathy's own words were closer than blood brothers.   There was a deep trust between these two men.  If you remember, they had been leaning on each other since those early days in Montgomery, Alabama where Abernathy was pastor of Montgomery's First Baptist Church.  This support would continue even after Dr. King's assassination where Abernathy would follow through with the support of Memphis' sanitation workers that had brought Dr. King to Memphis on the day he was murdered.  Abernathy and King eventually would be jailed together a total of 17 times. Both they and their families would be targets of multiple assassination attempts.      As we think about these two men leading this march on April 12, it's also important to highlight the many different people- both men and women- who were also involved in this campaign that changed the world.  One man who would make history in ways he did not anticipate quite the way it happened was Dr. Clarence Jones.    Oh yes, Dr. Jones.  Dr. Jones is not a native Southerner.  His parents were domestic workers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and although they worked for some of the most affluent people in the United States, the community was an anomaly and had been integrating voluntarily even during Jones early years. Jones attended Catholic boarding school and then became a notable graduate of two prestigious universities: Columbia University and Boston University where he received his law degree.  Dr. King asked him to come to Alabama to be a member of his legal team in 1960, from there they not only worked together but also became personal friends.  After Dr. King was arrested on Good Friday, Jones, as his lawyer, was permitted to see him on that next day.    What is interesting to me, is that for Jones, in that initial meeting in that solitary confinement cell, helping Dr. King get out was not first and foremost on his mind.  He felt they had a even greater problem.  Very controversially, Dr. King had encouraged children to join the movement and there had been many children who had followed Dr. King, most of them were from lower-income families.  Those children were not behind bars, and their parents were yelling at him demanding that Jones get the money to bail out their children.  In later interviews, Jones would say that the parents of those kids were waiting outside the jail asking, “What are you doing to get our kids out?”  When Jones went to visit King, this was his concern.  He wanted a list of names and telephones of people to call who had money to get this bail thing figured out.  But King had something else on his mind.  When Jones entered the cell, King said, “Have you seen this?”  He was livid.  A full page ad had been taking out in the Birmingham Herald calling him an outsider, lecturing him, demanding that he be patient.  Jones remembers that Dr. King pulled out his copy of the newspaper and there was writing all over it, on every scrap of blank space between the ads.  He had continued writing on any scrap piece of paper in that jail cell, paper towels, napkinds, anything.  King gave these scraps of paper to Jones and Jones smuggled them out in his pocket, under his shirt, anywhere.      Yes, and over the next five days twice a day, Jones would bring more paper to Dr. King.  King would write and Jones would smuggle them out under his shirt.  Remember, this is before 9/11 when everyone was patted down.  Dr. Jones was not patted down. He would take the scraps of paper to Wyatt Teel Walker, King's chief of Staff, and a woman by the name of Willie Pearl Mackey was given the talk to put it all together.       What about the children, what did King and Jones decide to do about that?     It's actually an interesting part of the story and would likely be more famous if it hadn't been overshadowed by the letter itself, but Jones was able to raise money to get those children out of jail.  The famous actor Harry Belafonte got involved.  He called Nelson Rockefeller's speechwriter, a man by the name of Hugh Morrow, who was a supporter when he found out about what was happening in Birmingham.  That Saturday, Jones flew to New York City, and even though it was Saturday, he met Morrow and Rockefeller at Chase Manhattan Bank, and walked out with $100,000, enough to bail out every one of those children.     Wow- well Jones wasn't the only one who had no idea how important the letter King was composing would become.  Neither Mackey nor Walker did either even as they stumbled through the very challenging task of putting the pieces of handwritten paper together, apparently reading Dr. King's handwriting, in the best of circumstances, wasn't that easy to do.  But in this he had been writing furiously, basically in the dark, relying on his encyclopedic memory, quoting Shakespeare, the Bible, Dr. Augustine, Voltaire and many other philosophers and theologians. Some of it was on newspaper, plain paper, paper towels all kinds of different scraps that had to be pieced together.  And Mackey, who claimed all her life to not being a “fantastic typist” typed it up and prepared the manuscript for public circulation.  If you look at the original version which today resides in the library of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama you will see that the typed copy concludes with the initials MLK:WM noting the letter's author and woman who typed it, the amazing Willie Pearl Mackey- her personal story  is amazing in its own right as she had been fighting segregation herself from her early days in Atlanta, Georgia where, and this is just one example, she quit her job at a hospital in protest because they refused to treat an African-American gentleman who had suffered a heart attack because it was a whites only hospital.    And again- I think highlighting all the people who contributed- like Jones, and Mackey and Walker is important to understand.  When events happen in history, the perception is often they were accidental or caused by the stars or something, but that is never the case.  And in this case, thousands of children, men and women took great personal risks, and they did it honorably for a long time before things changed.  So, as we get into the letter, last episode we finished by reading the first three paragraphs.  I did want to point out that the version I read, the one most commonly found in textbooks today, has been abridged from the original, not necessarily to revise the content, but just to make it more manageable for students.  Today we will read from the original, as preserved in the papers of Dr. George Bagley, Dr. Bagley as a white pastor was the Executive Secretary of the Alabama Baptist Convention and a likely recipient of this original version, although it's not totally certain how he received his copy. This original version is 21 pages long as typed by Mrs. Mackey.  It was released originally to the media in May following King's arrest on that good Friday in April.  It wasn't officially published until June in the large-scale publication Christian Century, a magazine out of Chicago.      So, let's jump back into the letter.  If you are a student, I would encourage you to pause the podcast for just and second and number the paragraphs so you can follow along and reference the exact text we are quoting from.  There are fifty paragraphs in this unabridged version and we will reference the specific quotes by paragraph.  Last episode we read paragraphs 1-3; I hope you can recognize the anger, and the sarcasm embedded in the language.     Read paragraph 1-4    Of course, Dr. King did not see  these men as being of “genuine good will” or if they were, they were  some of  the most mis-informed or willingly blind ministers in the great state of Alabama.  Either way, as professed religious leaders in their communities- bold enough to take a public stand against racial integration- they were about to get a lesson in history as well as Judeo-Christian theology.  Starting with Dr. King assuming the role of apostle, subtly or not so subtly comparing himself to the greatest of all Christian apostles, the apostle Paul who penned the majority of the New Testament, the Sacred Text of all Christian faiths.  In the introduction of his response, he  compares his response in Birmingham to the apostle Paul's famous response to the call for help in the Bible from the people of Macedonia.  In this famous Biblical text, the Apostle Paul had a vision from God, and in this God-given vision, he receives the commission from God, and I quote Acts 16:9 here,  “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us'”.       No, and this wouldn't be the last allusion to the Bible, Dr. King would make, but it informs the reader that Dr. King's authority will not be coming just from himself, but his arguments would be founded upon the words and principles of the Sacred Text they shared in common.      True, and another great strategy Dr King uses, is not only does he use words and principles form the Holy Bible, Dr. King, very successfully and quickly, starting here at the beginning of the letter, uses the ministers own hypocritical words against them.  These men were quick to demand that Dr. King and his followers live by a set of rules that they themselves very conveniently did not apply to themselves.  This will be called out over and over and over again.     Starting in the very next paragraph he quotes these ministers before challenging their words.  They have accused him of meddling in the affairs of others- somewhere where he was not invited to come- which is ironic considering most Christian denominations see evangelism or proselytizing as part of their mandate.  He confronts the hypocrisy of calling him an outsider directly.  He boldly states that whatever happens in Birmingham affects everyone.  He famously claims, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and that “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” he says anyone living inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.    Well, the “outsider” accusation is addressed pretty quickly and decidedly in the first four paragraphs, and he is ready to move on to the second complaint, the one claiming that HE is the one in Birmingham stirring things up.  Let's read, paragraphs 5-8.    Paragraphs 5-8    He confronts the power structures here directly and highlights the intentionality of what is being done in the face of ongoing violence.  Well before he arrived there was a long history of injustice and the turning of the blind eye by the “city fathers”. I love that he uses that term to refer to the men running the city- it highlights the role they should have played in protecting their citizens.  A good father would never turn a blind eye to his child being abused.  The inference is that  negligence occurring on a broad scale in this city is no different than dead-beat dad who abandons his children and allows other men to hurt them.     He is then ready to open the movement's playbook and describe the thinking and process behind what these men are belittling.  He again quotes the letter from the ministers.  In their letter they asked for negotiation, to which he responds, the purpose of direct action IS negotiation.  He explains the paradox that the only way to have negotiation is to create a tension so great that the power structures are ready to negotiate instead of just ignore.      He compares the tension they are creating in Birmingham to the positive tensions of the mind referenced by Socrates.  When we pick up the reading again in paragraph 11- paragraph 14 as Dr. King describes the purpose of the direct action campaign as well as paint a picture of the degrading experiences of  Jim Crow laws experienced by millions of African-American citizens of the South. Christy, read those paragraphs for us.    Paragraphs 11-15    He starts by comparing the election of Mayor Albert Boutwell to the return of Jesus Christ.  It totally highlights the ridiculousness of those who have hope that a segregationist mayor will bring justice to African-American citizens.    For those who don't understand the Biblical allusion, let's break it down.    So the New Testament of the Christian Bible ends with the book of Revelation, and in this book, there is a vivid description of the end of the world.  Even if you aren't a Christian, you are likely familiar with a lot of the imagery because it shows up in lots of dystopian movies- this is where we see things like the famous number 666, or the reference to the anti-Christ or the mark of the Beast.  The book describes a planet earth that has gone out of control through totalitarian controllers leveraging every available technology to control human behavior.  It's a very dark book, but at the end of it, according to Revelation, Jesus  returns to earth as a ruler, he destroys the totalitarian dominance and leads humanity to a period of divine peace.  What Dr. King sarcastically says here, is do you honestly think Albert Boutwell is Jesus and ushering in Christ's reign on earth- the man is a segregationist, exactly like Bull Conner.  He is not coming to bring divine peace.  Instead Boutwell is a part of the existing power structure that is reigning in terror.  He then begins to vividly describe the realities of a segregated world for African Americans, highlighting the psychological trauma it creates specifically in children.  How it builds, by its very essence, resentment, fear, under confidence, and ultimately rage.      It's very hard to read these paragraphs without feeling sadness and anger.  After describing the experiences of being denied admission into white only locations, or being made to sleep in a car,  he juxtaposes two kinds of laws and the differences in breaking an unjust law versus enforcing an unjust law.     Read paragraph 15     In paragraph 15  he says, “You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws.  …..”  Of course this is something they were all familiar with, but he goes on to school them on the difference between a just law and an unjust law citing St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, and Lutheran philosopher Paul Tillich.  Let me remind us that he is citing all these men and their works from memory.   He reminds us of something all of these men know, if you are a person who accepts the idea of a higher law given by God to man, and that God's law is above man's civil law is subject to the laws of God and when these two things class, it is not only man's right to stand up to an unjust law, but as a leader and teacher of God's law, these men have a divine responsibility to not only know the difference between these two things, but always be on the side of higher law.  He says, “I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.”    And of course, in case you don't understand the reference, the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court that he is referring to is Brown versus Board of Education where the Federal Government determined that segregated schools were illegal.  A law, which of course, George Wallace defied with his “segregation forever” line.  But I want to go back to his theological argument because this something every government student needs to be aware of, in the judeo-Christian tradition, laws must uplift the human condition.  The terms Martin Buber employs are difficult for us to understand like an I-thou relationship versus an I-it relationship, but the idea is something most of us feel intuitively.  Laws must apply equally to everyone; what applies to me should apply to you- because under God were are the same- created worthy of respect, and if there is a law that applies itself differently to different groups of people for whatever stated reason, this is an unholy or an unjust law.  Under this theological premise, every Jim Crow law by definition is ungodly and unjust.       Well, it is difficult to follow the deductive reasoning, he is tracing and applying thousands of years of theological thinking to modern day situations.  He explains the nuances of the moral complexities in paragraphs 19-22 by giving examples, examples his minister colleagues would be very familiar with.  Let's read those paragraphs together.    Read paragraphs 19-22    Shadrach, Meshach and Abedego are references to some of the earliest examples in the Jewish and Christian sacred text when in the book of Daniel in the Bible, they were put in fiery furnace for not praying to King Nebuchadnezzar, and for which God himself appeared in the fire with them and kept them from getting burned.  Of course, he references the early Christian martyrs who were thrown into the Roman Colosseum but closer to their present moment, he references that everything Adolph Hitler did was absolutely legal as was all the persecution of Christians that was going on at that very moment in Communist Russia.  For those who aren't familiar with what happened, Stalin rounded of Christians in the middle of the night and they were never seen again.  He took their children, put them in orphanages and subsequently raised by the state to have all the proper views and beliefs.     We have to keep in mind that for us reading this letter in 21st  century, Stalin's communist regime and Hitler's Nazi one are a long time ago and part of history.  But when Dr. King was writing, he was referring to things that had happened during the lifetimes of the people who were reading the letters.  Things, that they not only knew about, but had participated in.  It was they themselves, their brothers and fathers, many of whom had died, who had gone to Europe to fight Hitler's injustices.  It was their Jewish friends and literal family members who had fled here from across the ocean who had been victims to the gravest expression of man's inhumanity to man- the legal racism of the Nazi regime.   It was their Christian brothers and sisters with the same exact beliefs that they had, who were being thrown into prison and slaughtered under the heavy authoritarianism of Soviet communism and legally enforced atheism.  There is NO way any of these Christian or Jewish ministers could defend the idea they had just proposed- the idea that a Christian should ALWAYS obey the law because government by its definition is Godly and infallible.  There is no way they could defend the idea that according to Judeo-Christian values treating people differently and claiming that certain laws or rules apply to some but not to others  is a defensible position by Christian and Jewish ethical and moral standards and their lives and actions in other places on earth was proof they knew better.        We will end today by reading and discussion paragraphs 23-26.  In these paragraphs King references the use of the sanctimonious term “moderate”.  Of course, King was accused of being a radical extremist, and as such, by definition everything he does it wrong.   He'll revisit the accusation of being an extremist  in paragraph 31, but he is first going to address the term “moderate” because that term sounds like something we should all strive for.  After all, that word is positive if you are a “moderate drinker” or “moderate eater” or “moderate exerciser”.      And on the other end of the spectrum, of course, in most things, being extreme is not that great.  You don't want to be an extreme drinker, or eater or sometimes even extreme exercise is too much.  In most political discourse, for example, most of us shy away from being labeled extreme right or extreme left.  But, Dr. King is going to hone in on how these terms, moderate and extreme are labels that people use for other things.  And as such, it is not good  to be a “moderate” if that word is not really being used to mean “moderate” but could be replaced with the word “apathetic”.  Truth be told, by most objective standards, Dr. King, very much, was a moderate.  His methodologies were controversial for that very reason.  There were many civil rights activists that were promoting violence and other extreme courses of action, and he will speak to all of that.   But this term “white moderate” as King explains was often  a cop out term used to disguise apathy to the plight of the African-American in the face of obvious and brutal oppression.  Let's read paragraphs 23-25.    Paragraphs 23-25    On an aside, for those of us who appreciate beautiful rhetoric for the sake of the artful craftmanship of the words and sentences in and of themselves, there is a lot to appreciate in this entire speech.  In fact, if you cross-reference Dr. King's letter with the glossary  from my old AP Language and Composition textbook, you will see that King uses every single rhetorical device and strategy in the glossary.  His craftmanship is diverse and colorful both in his word choice as well as his sentence structure.   But just here, look how he builds his rhetorical climax through the repetition of the phrase I had hoped, I had hoped, notice how he creates beautiful paragraphs by explaining the difference between a positive peace and a negative peace, notice how he creates a vivid simile comparing segregation to a boil that cannot be healed unless it is exposed to light- and even light itself is an archetypal symbol of truth that dates over 6000 years to the beginning pieces of human discourse- and those examples are the ones from paragraph 24.    I like to see you get excited about things like parallelism and similes.    It does come across as nerdy, but it's really brilliant and I think it's worth pointing out that this piece is remarkable not just for WHAT King says, but by HOW he expresses himself..it's done with extreme craftmanship.    True,  I wanted to highlight where we see both the craftmanship of the language intersects with the depth of the ideas- here he compares  the idea of negative peace and the idea of positive peace- because we don't think like that.  What the heck is negative peace- that is an oxymoron.   But he will correctly make the argument that all peace isn't the same and peace in and of itself isn't the goal and in fact, has never been the goal.  What we want is positive peace where everyone is treated with dignity and respect by the authorities, for sure, but also by each other.  Violence will occur inevitably when there is a transgression of this dignity and respect.  It doesn't matter if it is between two people,  or one people against another people, but also by an outside force oppressing everyone.  That is what Bull Connor was enforcing in Birmingham, even among the white population.  Bull Connor was so committed to segregation that if a white citizen resisted Jim Crow by taking down the “Whites Only” sign on his own private property, he would be cited and fined by the city.  If you are a white person and complied, you wouldn't have a problem but you also wouldn't have peace.  King does not encourage negative peace- negative peace may look like peace but it is when everyone is being subjugated, oppressed, and silenced.  For King that is not the goal.  He will also claim that when you have negative peace, the power structures can enforce this negative peace for a while, but eventually tension will build below the surface and violence will emerge.      And positive change without violence is King's goal.    Yes, furthermore, he also going to reference this terrible practice that people in power tend to do and that is to blame the victim when they do things that violate their own stated rules or principles.  These series of rhetorical questions highlight what today we often call gas-lighting.  It is this idea that as a person in power, I do something to create  a no win scenario for you, so that no matter what your reaction is in the face of my obvious unfairness or cruelty, I will blame you for the result of whatever happens.  Everything will always be YOUR fault.      And he again uses example after example of this happening, ultimately landing on the example of Jesus Christ.  Because as every Christian knows, Jesus was falsely blamed and ultimately crucified for making statements that were not acceptable by the political structures of his day.  He was accused of inciting violence.  The authorities claimed it was his fault that he was crucified because his devotion to God made people jealous.  It was his fault that he made people want to crucify him.  It's this twisted way people have of blaming victims for the violence on themselves.    Well, it is, and of course, in paragraph 26 he quotes a letter he received from a white gentleman in Texas, claiming that African-Americans just needed to wait, that change takes time.  King's response to this man is succinct but not without controversy. King claims that time does not heal wounds.  Time is neutral, it is what we do with that time that will heal or not heal.  Let's finish today by reading this paragraph.     Paragraph 26    The beautiful imagery of describing racial injustice as quicksand, and building a picture of we as people pulling people out of it unto the solid rock of human dignity, of course, draws from the Biblical parables of Jesus Christ as he commands his followers to build their lives on the rock.  And although, the exigence of the moment, requires Dr. King to rely heavily on the Sacred Text of Christianity and Judaism, his logical explanations appeal to men and women of all faith traditions as well as the many with no faith tradition.      Next week, we will finish the letter as well as discuss what happened in Birmingham when Dr. King was bailed out by local millionaire, the African-American businessman AG Gaston for $5000.      We will also revisit, the controversial practice, Dr. King had of encouraging children to protest along side their older brothers and sisters.      Yes, and we will see, that it was this controversial decision to put the lives of children on the line, and allow Bull Connor to publicly unleash violence on these little ones, that led to complete outrage and dissembling of the apathetic or “moderate whites” from around the United States, around the globe and even in Soviet Russia.    So, as always, thank you for listening to our discussion today on paragraphs 1-26 of the Dr. King's Letter from Bham Jail.”  Next week we will finish the letter.  If you enjoyed the discussion, please give us a five star rating on your podcast app, also, please reach out to us on any of our social media platforms- fb, insta, twitter, linked in or our website www.howtolovelitpodcast.com.  Don't forget, on the website, you will also find teaching supports if you are an instructor.    Peace out.     

Host Bryant Monteilh takes listeners for A Rewind In Time with this candid 2004 interview of Southern Christian Leadership co-founder Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. In the 1950s and 60s in Birmingham, Alabama, an endorsement from Shuttlesworth's would earn the public's trust when activists came to town to fight for desegregation and voting rights. Shuttlesworth was on the front lines against the Klan and rogue authority figures. He survived two bombings and an incident where he was  fire hosed and hospitalized. In Shuttlesworth's own words he gives behind-the-scenes details of some tense moments when he had to cut his hospital stay short in order to challenge Dr. Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy who at one point leaned toward standing down in their demands for change. As Shuttlesworth pointed out quite fervently, thousands of children in Birmingham had already filled the jails in this fight during the historic Children's Crusade of 1963. And the youth along with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) had been putting their lives on the line for more than a decade. There would be no backing down--even at the request of President Kennedy.During a march in Selma just two years later, Shuttlesworth, Dr. King and Abernathy had to make an important decision again while facing down state troopers. The men made a choice while kneeling in prayer. That day went down in history as Turnaround Tuesday.  Throughout his life, Shuttlesworth stood his ground and prevailed.  The citizens of Birmingham moved the needle toward justice.This interview first aired on KBLA Talk 1580, Los Angeles, CA

Martin Luther King Jr. - Letter From Birmingham Jail - Episode 1 - Dr. King Reaches Out Of His Jail Cell To Touch The Heart Of A Nation!   I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  Today we are going to start a three part series on a man who changed the landscape of political protesting- demonstrating that positive change can occur without massive loss of life.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize when he was 35 years old, at the time he was the youngest to ever receive the award.  His life became synonymous with civil disobedience- taking it farther than Thoreau ever dreamed possible. He radically and controversially claimed the role of a Christian political resister was not only the role to resist injustice.  This was not enough, to be successful one must accompany resistance with love- loving the persecutor- a claim that would be put to the test over and over and for which he would be martyred.  On Jan 20, 1986, the US Federal Government proclaimed a national holiday commemorating his life and message. Today over 955 (that number is likely small), but there are at least 955 major street, boulevards and thoroughfares that carry his name not only across the United States but across the world.  If you haven't figured it out yet, we are talking about the life, literature and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Specifically, the iconic letter that moved a nation from apathy to change, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It was written on April 16, 1963 and famously addressed to “My Dear Fellow Clergyman.”      Indeed, and yet, so many students or really people, who hear that name know so little about the movement itself.  Growing up first in our nation's capital, Washington DC and then Brazil, I'd heard of Dr. King.  I knew he stood for non-violence, but I ignorantly thought he literally just walked around preaching and protesting, carrying signs, singing and marching.  I had NO idea how calculated the entire Civil Rights moment was.  I had no idea the amount of strategy and genius that went into the planning and execution of one of the most effective non-violent movements in the world- or even how many years it was in the making.  I just thought, Dr. King got up one day and just started protesting.      Well, I think most people don't, even people of good faith who try to mimic some of his basic strategies.  It's really difficult to wrap our minds around the complexity involved, not to mention the sheer power of King's personal rhetorical charisma that carried the movement from a few thousand African-American Christian protesters in Montgomery, Alabama to 250,000 people of all ethnicities and faith and the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The changes in legislation and the implementation of laws that had been allowed to be ignored for a century were a direct result of this movement we are discussing over the next few episodes.     So, let's get started beginning with some terminology that we hear  when it comes to Civil Rights, words that many of us who aren't originally from the South may not be familiar with- for example what are Jim Crow laws.  Who was Jim Crow and what are his laws?    Sure.  Jim Crow was not a real person.   He was a character created by a famous white comedian in the 1850s.    This white comedian painted his face black with charcoal and called himself Jim Crow and did comedy- it's what today we call black face and, of course, is derogatory and highly offensive.  That term later was adopted to refer to the laws that went into effect starting in the 1880s-these laws, of course, are also derogatory and highly offensive- so the term remains appropriate.  They refer to legislation that specifically targeted African-Americans to keep them from upward social mobility and fully participating in American life with the rest of the mostly white population.  Let me remind you that all of this occurred AFTER the end of the Civil War and after the Union troops left the South where they had been forcing Southern cities to integrate against their will under the direction of President Ulysses Grant- this period has been called Reconstruction.  After 1877 Reconstruction ended partly because the North was exhausted from trying to enforce the rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments. The north abandoned the South and the south will remain a third world part of the country for decades to come.  Jim Crow laws stayed in effect literally all the way until success of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.     Let me give you an example, in 1891, 25 years after the Civil War,Georgia became the first Southern state to pass a Jim Crow law.  The Georgia legislature passed a law that railroads had to provide equal but separate accommodations for black and white passengers.  In other words, the African Americans would not be allowed to sit with the white Americans.  After this first attempt at dividing the races was allowed- there soon were others- there began to be black and white bathrooms, black and white water fountains, hospitals, schools, swimming pools, prisons, barber shops, parks, movie theaters, sports arenas, telephone booths, lunch counters, libraries even graveyards.  In his letter Dr. King refers to these signs as “nagging”- that of course is an understatement.  They were degrading and psychologically damaging.  Racism in the United States during the Jim Crow period was worse than in any other period of history, including today.  There was a famous case, Plessy versus Ferguson in 1896- five years after that first sign in Georgia- that created a legal precedent saying that these laws were okay- The courts said that if the facilities were equal then it was not illegal for people to be separated by race.  This was a blow to African-Americans as well as the railroad industry actually, which didn't want to segregate their railcars.  It was an enormous financial burden- beyond being offensive and unnecessary- they now had to provide two of everything.  But Jim Crow laws went on for years, and of course the facilities were never equal, but even if they had been, the message was still derogatory, and the entire system obviously unjust which caused many advocates of social equality both African-American as well as white to continue to mobilize and advocate for change.  During WW2, President Harry Truman desegregated the US military in 1947,  which was a huge advance in Civil Rights.  Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional sports in 1947, but it wasn't until 1954 that there would be another landmark ruling of the Supreme Court that would address this issue.  In 1954, in a case known as Brown versus Topeka Board of Education,  lawyers Richard Ellis and Michael Birzer successfully argued that things were separate but not equal, and in fact, the facilities for black children in schools were always inferior.  In a unanimous decision, the court agreed saying that separate learning facilities were by their very definition unequal and this had a detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority.  This was a big deal.  The legal precedent had been set.  This was the finally justice in the courts, but now, how does that play out in classrooms across the country.  Who is going to force almost half the schools in the United States to integrate students of both races?  And when would they be required to make this happen?  In every state in the South, Segregation was actually the law- a school couldn't have been integrated even if they had wanted to.  Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas was the first southern school to even attempt integration in 1957. So, The short answer is -not immediately.    Well, and as Dr. King pointed out in his letter, entire African nations were being decolonized faster than American students were being allowed to integrate in local schools.      And it is here that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rise to national recognition emerges.  At the young age of 26, he is newly married and has recently moved  to accept a job as the pastor of the Dexter Street Baptist Church in the southern town of Montgomery, Alabama.  It would be here that he would meet another seemingly inconspicuous woman but powerful woman by the name of Rosa Parks.  Together, they were about to change their world.     So as we set this up, let's introduce Dr. King's life before entering the political scene in 1956- and let's try to keep the dates straight- that's kind of hard for those of us for whom numbers don't come naturally.  So, Dr. King was born in 1929 in an upper-middle class African-American family in Atlanta, Georgia.  One interesting detail was that his birth name was Michael.     That's right, his father later changed his name to Martin Luther, perhaps because of a trip he made to Germany to study the great theologian who also changed the political landscape of his day during the ProtestantReformation, but that is still slightly speculative.       His father was a very popular Baptist pastor, the pastor of the successful and well-established Ebenezer Baptist Church.  King was privileged to have received a high level of education- likely one of the most educated Southern African-Americans at this time period.  He attended the very elite Morehouse College there in Atl,  and then Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and finally Boston University.  So, you can see, he had the opportunity to ignore the plight of the majority of African-Americans.  He had job offers at various universities in prestigious locations.  Another important point to notice is that while in Boston he met a rising star vocalist by the name of Coretta Scott, and he fell in love with her.  They got married in 1955.  It wasn't long after that, he took the pastorate in the much smaller town of Montgomery, Alabama and moved their with Coretta and their baby, _______.  Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, btw, is located just a stone's throw from the state capitol building in Montgomery- the heart of state government.  Then, on December 1, 1955, something happened that changed Dr. King's life forever as well as the entire world.  A woman by the name of Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white gentleman on a bus.  She had entered the bus through the front door instead of the back door, as required by those Jim Crow laws.      This hadn't been an accident, the practice of forcing women to give up their seats had been going on for years, and several women protested to no avail, but for the highly and morally reputable Rosa Parks, it would be different.  The national spot light was heading her way- but it wasn't accidental.  This was a highly intentional and strategic play.      Let me go back and say, Dr. King had personal experience with being forced to stand against his will on a bus. When he was in high school, he won a speaking contest in a town 90 miles outside of Atlanta.  He and the teacher who went with him to the contest were riding on a bus back to Atlanta, super excited when white passenger got on.  The white bus driver ordered King and his teacher to give up their seats, and cursed them. King wanted to stay seated, but his teacher urged him to obey the law. They had to stand in the aisle for the 90 miles back home.  King stated later that that was the angriest he had ever felt in his life. If you can imagine.  So, of course he could understand emotionally as well as cognitively what was happening every day in buses in Montgomery, Alabama as well as across the South.   But what do you do?  That's the question.  Later on in Dr. King's life, someone asked him that very question- how do you manage your anger.   I want to quote King here, "A destructive passion is harnessed by directing that same passion into constructive channels."  And that's what he did in this case.   Yes- next very next day, after Park's arrest, on December 2 ministers, including a man by the name of Rev. Ralph Abernathy who would be the one to go to jail with Dr. King, met at King's church to organize and publicize a bus boycott.  Relying in part on Dr. King's eloquence, they mobilized the African-American community almost in full.  On December 5, 90 percent of Montgomery's African-American citizens stayed off the buses.  Dr. King was also elected as the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association or the MIA- the organization spearheading the boycott.  According to Rosa Parks, the reason they chose King to be the president of the MIA was because he was so new to Montgomery, no one knew him.  He had no friends but also no enemies.      The evening that Dr. King spoke at Holt Street Baptist Church,  this is what he said. “I want it to be known that we're going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city. And we are not wrong.… If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong”.    And what is striking is that when you see what they were demanding, these demands are not crazy, they are not even unrealistic or difficult to implement.  They wanted courteous treatment by bus operators, first come first serve seating on public buses, and they wanted African-American bus drivers to be hired to work the routes that were in areas where mostly African-Americans were living.  The demands were not met, and the boycott went on for 13 months- now think about that, even in the South, that is a lot of walking in a lot of bad weather for a long time.  And this came at a huge personal cost to the thousands of African-Americans who were working or studying all over Birmingham but living across town in the segregated section for African Americans.  Large complex carpool systems were created of over 300 cars to support the boycotters.  People with cars offered rides to the walkers.  The city government resisting, going so far as to punish African-American taxi drivers for offering rides at reduced rates.  80 leaders of the boycott were jailed under an old law from the twenties for  “conspiracy that interfered with lawful business.”  King himself was tried, convicted and ordered to pay $500 or serve 386 days in jail.  King's house was bombed while he was at church.  On the day of the bombing, King rushed home to see that Coretta and his baby were okay.  This would not be the last big test on his ability to remain non-violent, but it was an important moment in his public career.  Many people were outraged that someone had cowardly tried to murder the family of their leader, and they showed up on his porch with weapons ready to defend King and go after the assailant.  King, although still personally affected, famously and calmly stood on his front porch and told everyone to go home.  The mandate of Jesus was to love their enemies.    So, when he talks about loving your enemies in his letter, he's. not just saying these things.  He lived this idea and practiced it risking his own life, the life of his wife and the lives of his children.  He  believed  so deeply in the life of Jesus Christ in the power of redemptive love through Jesus Christ that he put his life on the line.  A point I want to make because it is something that I have thought about and he speaks to is what to do with the anger.  How do you avoid the inevitable hate that has to emerge in your heart?  I don't care who you are or what your religious faith is- the hate and rage and anger are justifiable and unavoidable.  Of course, I'm not the first person to have this question and Dr. King spoke about that many many times later on during his life.  I'm not sure he had a working theory at the age of 26.  But by the time he was writing books, he did have an articulate vision on how this could work.  For Dr. King, anger was a part of a process.   It IS part of the process.  He said you  have anger then forgiveness then redemption then love.  That was the order.  It is what he believed and that is what he practiced to the best of his ability- although, and he speaks to this honestly in his biographical work, he struggled with anger his whole life.    Well, the Montgomery Boycott as well as King's trial got national new coverage.  A man by the name of Glenn Smiley visited Montgomery and offered King advice and training on Gandhian techniques of nonviolence.  These two men discussed how to apply Ghandian techniques to American race relations.      King later said, ““Christ showed us the way, and Gandhi in India showed it could work”.  King and his team would combine Ghandhi's methods with Christian ethics to create a model for challenging segregation all over the South.    So, follow the chronology- On June 5th, 1956, remember, Parks was arrested on Dec 1st, but by the beginning of June, the federal district court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional.  That's HUGE but not the last word- in the United States, people have a right to go up the chain to the next court to see if a different court will overrule the first one.  Since this was a possibility, The boycott could not nor did not end until December 20, 1956 when the case made its all through the appeal process all the way to the final court- the Supreme Court- when the decision was NOT overturn- then the boycott ended.   The boycott lasted for a total of 381 days, if you can imagine.     And here's a fun side- note- The day after it ended- Ralph Abernathy, Ed Nixon and Glenn Smiley- now let me add that Glenn Smiley is white- but these three men  got on an integrated bus together- for the very first time- how satisfying would that have been.      King famously had this to say about the boycott: “We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation. So … we decided to substitute tired feet for tired souls, and walk the streets of Montgomery”.      You can already see that metaphorical language that he's so famous for in both his speaking and writing.      True and speaking of writing, he wrote up his experiences from Montgomery in a book called Stride to Freedom and in 1958, set out on a book tour across the United States.  He wasn't as famous obviously as he would eventually become, but he was a well-known figure.  On September 20, 1958, a 42 year old apparently deranged African-American woman plunged a letter-opener into his chest.      So, Dr. King's methods were not always well-received by either side.     No- Non-violence is controversial because it's obviously unfair.  Why do I have to practice non-violence when the opposing side is not?  It's a fair question and one which King spent his lifetime discussing.  Non-violence is paradoxical – it doesn't seem like it would work.  Its power lies in its ability to contrast so sharply with violence that you strip away any pretense that the violence is justified. It's also very slow.  You have to have a tremendous amount of patience, trust, and stubbornness.       And King was moving forward- but he was absolutely fed up with the pace of the federal court system.   Remember, the courts mandated that schools be integrated in 1954, but still, here they were in 1963, nine years after Brown vs. Board of Education, and only 9% of African-American students were attending integrated schools.      1963 was going to be the year.  1963 was the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation- the day Lincoln pronounced that slaves were no longer slaves- for Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Fred Abernathy and the thousands of others willing to put their lives on the line- 100 years was enough time- and the chosen place for this confrontation of forces and will would be Birmingham, Alabama.  Garry, why Birmingham?  This was not a coincidence.  This movement was not spontaneous; it did not just blow up.  It was planned and as Julius Caesar would tell you - selecting the location for the confrontation is key to success. is     Well, Dr. King tells us in his writings.  The whole thing was highly orchestrated.  Birmingham was the largest industrial city of the South.  It had been a symbol of bloodshed in the past when African-American trade unions tried to form there.  Because it was an industrial city, the financial interests and the political interests were intertwined.  Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States- the entire city was an expression of Jim Crow- from hospitals to schools to parks to jobs to everything.  Brutality towards African-Americans was an undisputed reality headed up by a man who prided on keeping African Americans, to use his words, “in their place.”  His name was Eugene, but this man, the Commissioner of Public Safety went by the nick Name, Bull- Mr. Bull Connor.  Under his reign or leadership depending on how you view his leadership, between 1957-1963 there had been 17 unsolved bombings of African-American churches and homes of Civil Rights leaders.  Bull Connor was so radical that one time a white United States Senator visited Birmingham to give a give a speech and was arrested because he walked through the door marked, “Colored.”  This guy was ruthless, and he ruled both African-Americans and whites alike with fear.  He was accompanied and supported by a segregationist governor- Governor George Wallace who is famous for saying at his inauguration, “Segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!”     Goodness, history likely does not shine favorably on these remarks.      No, nor on any of these defenders of segregation, of which Bull Connor was one of the most publicly vicious, but I will say, Bull Connor played a very important role in disrupting segregation because he played the part of the villain so well and so predictably.  He was the perfect foil.  After it was all over, JFK famously told MLK at the White House following the signing of the Birmingham agreement, “Our judgement of Bull Connor should not be too harsh, after all, in his way, he has done a good deal for civil-rights legislation this year.” Connor was the absolute perfect foil for nonviolent protest.     Meaning, he was so terrible, it became morally obvious to any fool who was right and who was wrong.      Exactly, and after it was all said and done, President Kennedy could say that, but in April of 1963, that was not so obvious.  Bull was on a rampage; he was in control; and he was winning. On the third of April in 1963, segregationist Albert Boutwell became the new mayor of Birmingham.  Mr. Boutwell was a likeable person; he was not like Bull Connor so some people thought he was the better choice.  They were even glad he had won, but in the words of Fred Shuttlesworth, he was nothing but a “dignified Bull Connor.”      Now, you're starting to throw out some names that will show up in the letter.      Yes, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was one of the local leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama.  Remember, he had been involved in Montgomery.  He had organized an organization called the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, otherwise known as the ACHR.  Now, this becomes important because as we're going to read in a minute, Dr. King is accused of being an outsider and meddling into somebody else's business and starting trouble.  To which he is going to respond that he was invited to come, and Reverend Shuttlesworth is one of the local leaders who had invited him.  All of this becomes very important in understanding the context of the letter.  So, at this time, the ACHR was holding weekly meeting in churches all over Birmingham.  At these meetings they were mobilizing African-Americans to boycott business that displayed jim crow signs, or refused to hire African American workers except as janitorial staff.  As a result, many stores and businessess around town were losing as much as 40% of their business.  Shuttlesworth, became a problem for the status quo, and as a result, he had been jailed, his home AND his church both had been bombed.    In the now famous room 30 of the Gaston hotel, Abernathy and King among others launched what they called “Project C”. The goal was to pressure Birmingham businesses to integrate and remove those horrible Jim Crow signs that said “White Only” or “Colored”.  The intense boycotts and demonstrations were to start on the first week of March and would continue all until April 14, which was Easter and the Easter season is a big season for shopping, especially for clothes.       What is interesting to me, and something I think is lost on a lot of students, is that they didn't just go around and drum up angry people to hold up signs and such, they required them to participate in workshops and daily evening meetings.    Everything that happened in these weekly and later nightly meetings was intentional.   Everything had a purpose.  They would start the mass meetings by singing old negro spirituals they called freedom songs.  These songs were adaptations from the same negro spirituals slaves had sung 100 years previously.  These songs were old and inspirational, they had been transformed from songs of sorrow song by one's great-grandparents to becoming battle hymns.      Singing together is psychologically bonding under any circumstances, but the power of the history of the music as well as the spirituality of the songs is difficult to explain in words.      Every single volunteer was required to sign a commitment card where they would pledge their body and soul to nonviolence in the face of violence.  This was explained in full.  They developed ten commandments.  The first commandment was to daily meditate on the teachings of Jesus Christ.  The 8th was to refrain from violence of fist, tongue or heart.       Yes, the idea was the prepare every person psychologically to expect and withstand abuse.  When they started to march, when they entered a restaurant labled whites only in a to sit-in, when they were arrested, they needed to be prepared to do what they had been trained to do- resist peacefully.  It is counter-intuitive to human nature.  On April 6th, they marched orderly two by two without banners or singing.  Bull Connor, right on cue, emerged and arrested 42 marchers for “parading without a permit”.    And this became the pattern.  After ten days, between 400-500 people were sitting in jail.  Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy decided that on Good Friday, they would lead the demonstration and submit to being arrested, as they most assuredly would be.  They left their church and walked with around 50 others – they had been denied a permit to march, so they were guilty of parading without a permit.  Of course, that day when Dr. King and Rev. Abernathy began walking down the street in Birmingham, Alabama, many bystanders lined the streets.  The marchers began to sing. The bystanders joined in the singing and sometimes burst into applause.  As if on cue, Bull Connor emerged, his officers grabbed Dr. King and Rev. Abernathy by the back of their shirts and hauled them off to jail.  Dr. King was held in solitary confinement for over 24 hours.  Not even a lawyer was allowed to visit with him.  He was not allowed to telephone his wife.  Several violations of civil liberties all at once.    Coretta, by Monday, stressed out of her mind, placed a call to President Kennendy.  It wasn't but a few minutes from her trying to contact the president that his brother Robert Kennedy, who was at that time the Attorney General of the United States,  called her back promising to intervene.  The president called himself a few hours later.  He called the officials in Birmingham, and amazingly the conditions of Dr. King's imprisonment changed significantly.      He was in jail for eight days, and it was during that time, that a public letter was written to him and signed by 8 leading clergyman in Alabama.     Again, these men have their names signed on the wrong side of history and this has to be embarrassing at this point.  But, oh well, they wrote a public letter- and on the surface this letter sounds so reasonable.  It is another example of someone saying something cruel in the nicest way possible.  It is accusatory- in a polite way- and it enrages Dr. King.   We started the podcast today talking about what do you do when you are enraged- really righteously enraged- this is what Dr. King did- he channeled this energy to become this laser-sharp rhetorical monster and it became uncontainable.  Let's read the public letter written by these fellow clergymen, and then let's begin Dr. King's response that changed the world.        What are some of the things we need to highlight- first of all- what are their main points  King is an outsider= he's come from the outside to agitate    They acknowledge that they understand why he might feel impatience, but they are encouraging him to let the system work and not incite unrest.  They should trust the courts.      They go so far as to commend the police- remember that is Bull Connor.    Yes- and this is to a man who's family has been targeted to be murdered and arrested unfairly.      Exactly, before we read his response- let's look at who signed it.      Read the names and where they are from    When Dr. King responds to these ministers- he makes it a point to cite a theologian from each of these specific religious traditions, and may I point out that he does it from memory since he is in a jail cell.    Next week, we will analyze and discuss how he systematically demolishes the specious arguments and challenges on principles of Judeo-Christian faith the inconsistencies in the words and lives of “My Dear fellow clergyman”.    Okay, we have a lot to look forward to.  I hope you have enjoyed this discussion on the background of this important piece of American literature and history.  As always, thank you flr listening, if you feel so inspired, please give us a five star rating on your podcast app.  Connect with us on social media be it fb, insta, twitter or linked in.  Also, if you are an educator, check out our instructional materails on our website. Howtolovelitpodcast.com    Peace Out         

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Derrick Alexander Pope of Hidden Legal Figures (https://www.hiddenlegalfigures.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Hidden Legal Figures Podcast host Derrick Alexander Pope returns to discuss what proved to be Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last legal stand and how its historical significance continues to impact protests to this day. In February 1968, more than 1,000 African-American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, went on strike after two black sanitation workers were killed on the job. A local pastor invited King to help the protestors nonviolently strike for job safety, better wages, benefits and union recognition. On March 28, 1968, King and other protestors peacefully marched through Memphis until violence broke out and looting took place, resulting in numerous injuries, arrests and the calling of the National Guard. Unhappy with the unwanted attention his presence and participation brought, the City of Memphis sued King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference associates, including Hosea Williams, James Bevel, James Orange, Ralph Abernathy and Bernard Lee. On April 3, 1968, U.S. District Court Judge Bailey Brown issued a temporary restraining order against King as part of the city's attempts to thwart the next planned march. On today's special collaborative episode with the Hidden Legal Figures Podcast, Derrick Alexander Pope shares how King's lawyers Mike Cody and Lucius Burch sought and secured a compromise with the City of Memphis, which resulted in lifting the restraining order and allowing the march to go on with safety restrictions in place. The night before the compromise was formalized, King was tragically assassinated.  Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Derrick Alexander Pope: Derrick Alexander Pope, who describes himself as a composer and conductor of ideas, is President and founding Director of The Arc of Justice Institute. In this role, he has responsibility for all aspects of its standing initiatives and programs and host of its podcast, Hidden Legal Figures. Before The Arc, Mr. Pope enjoyed a distinguished career in the public, private, and academic sectors. He has provided counsel to the legislative and executive branches of government at the federal, state, and county level, having most recently served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. He is a former Assistant Legislative Counsel to the Georgia General Assembly and former Legislative and General Counsel to the Medical Association of Georgia. During the Obama administration, Mr. Pope was a member of the White House Data Driven Justice Initiative and the My Brother's Keeper Taskforce in 2015 and 2016. In private practice, he has helped protect the inheritance rights of more than 500 families throughout Georgia. Mr. Pope is a former adjunct professor of law at the Georgia State University College of Law where he taught Probate Practice and Procedure. Mr. Pope has several published works to his credit. He is the author of By the Content of Our Character: A Declaration of  Independence for Colored Folks, Negroes, Black People, and African Americans and Thy Will Be Done: An African American Guide to Estate Planning and the Howard Law Journal article A Constitutional Window to Interpretive Reason: Or in Other Words...The Ninth Amendment. In 2012 teaming with this daughter he released a spoken word CD - The Race Track. An Atlanta native, Mr. Pope is a graduate of Morris Brown College and the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, earning top honors in the Loyola Law Clinic. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia where serves on three standing committees (Vice-Chair, Communications/Cornerstones of Freedom Program; Advisory Committee on Legislation, and the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal, and Past Co-Chair of the Committee on Inclusion in the Profession), the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, the United States Supreme Court Historical Society, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

We were snowed in on Martin Luther King Jr Day and decided to reshare a great conversation we had with Professor Buzzkill in episode 228. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. We talk about the extent of discrimination in the 1960's, background on King and his rise to popularity, how much actual effort went into Rosa Parks and the lunch counter sit ins, relationship with Ralph Abernathy, contending with radicals in the movement, and boycotts. Listen to Martin Luthor King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill's first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

We were snowed in on Martin Luther King Jr Day and decided to reshare a great conversation we had with Professor Buzzkill in episode 228. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. We talk about the extent of discrimination in the 1960's, background on King and his rise to popularity, how much actual effort went into Rosa Parks and the lunch counter sit ins, relationship with Ralph Abernathy, contending with radicals in the movement, and boycotts. Listen to Martin Luthor King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill's first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

John Reynolds hardly remembers a time in his life when he was not a civil rights activist. He started his lifelong career of activism at the encouragement of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He would later work alongside Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy and the late actor Sidney Poitier. Rev. Reynolds says these iconic leaders in the civil rights movement taught him a fundamental principle.

In this episode, Marta Valier talks to Brandon Lien, a Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) student that has been working for the last year at the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center on The Black Power Archive Oral History Project, a collection of oral histories documenting the African American experience in Los Angeles. We wanted to hear from a student's perspective what it's like for younger generations to work with oral histories archived at the Bradley Center. Lien, a film student in his third year at CSUN, shared with us three of his favorite audio clips he discovered working at the archive. One clip is from Kumasi, a member of the Slauson street organization The Slausons and author of the 1970 "Folsom Prison Strike and Bill of Rights Manifesto." A second clip is from an oral history with Watani Stiner, a member of the Black nationalist group US Organization. And the last clip is from Donzaleigh Abernathy, daughter of Juanita and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, leaders in the civil rights movement and close friends to Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Visit the Bradley Center website. Also, visit our digital collections and our Black Power Oral History Project. Episode hosted and produced by Marta Valier.

Sam sits down with Marcia Chatelain, professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University, to discuss her recent book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, on McDonald's, fast food franchises, and their ties to the success and failures of Black capitalism. Professor Chatelain discusses how McDonald's came to occupy a state-like role in Black communities following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., becoming the face of economic stability and occupation, and even acting as a community center. Starting in the 1960s, she and Sam trace McDonald's rise from an up and budding suburban fast-food chain, to a central element in civil rights organizations' shifting strategies following a period that centered nonviolent action and socialist vision, looking also at this tactic of jumping into communities in discord as a form of disaster capitalism. Next, they jump into the role of the Nixon administration in really solidifying this revolution, as he centered his small business loans to franchise owners as a revolution for the Black community (despite his other policies regarding these communities) and take on the passing of the torch from MLK to Ralph Abernathy as the head of the SCLC and what it meant for their tactics. Entering the ‘70s, Marcia explores how McDonald's found rampant success in Black communities, yet questions began to arise about how much that actually affected the community members, as well as the remaining discrepancies in the treatment of Black versus white franchise owners, before she and Sam discuss the '80s and Reagan's role in solidifying these elements. They wrap up the interview by moving back to the present, as Professor Chatelain discusses her disappointment in the resurgence of this “Black-owned business” based tactic, reflects on the continued discrimination against McDonald's franchises owned by Black people or in predominantly Black areas, and explores the three faceted strategy of free college, Medicare for All, and free child care that she sees as the best accessible solution. Emma also dives into the reconciliation bill that is definitely just down the road this time we promise, and Biden's commitment to his “nothing will fundamentally change” proclamation. And in the Fun Half: Alex from NY talks MAGA infiltration and gives his fight club matchups, Teak from Salt Lake promotes DSA stamps, and Emma and the MR crew discuss Glenn Youngkin's recycling of decade-old culture war attack ads for CRT fear-mongering, before looking at the “Free Kyrie” protest outside the Barclays Center this weekend. Little Mack calls in about limited libertarianism and repercussions for Manchin, a Fox interviewee's “Epstein didn't kill himself” inspires a discussion on the importance of looking into conspiracy, and a CSPAN white-collar caller asks the bold question “what if workers didn't deserve fair pay in the first place?” Plus, your calls and IMs! Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on January 16th HERE! Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here. Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ (Merch issues and concerns can be addressed here: majorityreportstore@mirrorimage.com) You can now watch the livestream on Twitch Check out today's sponsor: Tushy: Hello Tushy cleans your butt with a precise stream of fresh water for just $79. It attaches to your existing toilet – requires NO electricity or additional plumbing – and cuts toilet paper use by 80% – so the Hello Tushy bidet pays for itself in a few months. Go to hellotushy.com/majority to get 10% off today! Joybird: Your home should show off what makes you, well you. Joybird offers modern, customizable furniture for every space, available in a variety of vibrant, durable fabric options. AND JOYBIRD's FALL SALE IS HERE! Choose from over 18,000 customization options, or browse curated collections to find the perfect piece for your style. With Joybird's Protection Plan, your upholstery and leather pieces will always look as good as new. Joybird is committed to creating quality furniture and a more sustainable future. Visit joybird.com/MAJORITY and get 30% off your purchase. That's thirty percent off at joybird.com/MAJORITY. Support the St. Vincent Nurses today as they continue to strike for a fair contract! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/ Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein's podcast News from Nowhere, at https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! Subscribe to Matt's other show Literary Hangover on Patreon! Check out The Letterhack's upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel! Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! Check out The Nomiki Show live at 3 pm ET on YouTube at patreon.com/thenomikishow Check out Jamie's podcast, The Antifada, at patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!) Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop

The Grove Museum inside the historic Call/Collins House is one of Tallahassee’s newest museums, and it’s changing how the city interprets its own history. Instead of focusing on the mansion house’s famous owners, including Florida Governor LeRoy Collins, Executive Director John Grandage oriented the museum around civil rights. Cleverly tracing how Collins’s thinking on race relations evolved, the museum uses the house and the land it sits on to tell the story of the forced removal of indigenous people from the area, the enslaved craftspeople who built the house, and the Tallahassee Bus Boycott. Grandage says the museum’s interpretive plan and focus on civil rights wouldn't have been possible without the work of Black Tallahassee institutions like John G. Riley House Museum created by Althemese Barnes or the Southeastern Regional Black Archives built from FAMU Professor James Eaton’s collection. In this episode recorded at the museum, Grandage describes how historic preservation has always been about what the dominant culture finds worth persevering, the museum’s genealogical role, and the white backlash to Collins’s moderate positions on civil rights. Topics and Notes 00:00 Intro 00:15 Ian at the 1992 Springtime Tallahassee Parade 00:55 White Supremacy in Tallahassee (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tallahassee,_Florida#Black_history) 01:20 Smokey Hollow (https://www.museumarchipelago.com/85) 01:40 John Grandage 02:35 The Grove Museum (https://thegrovemuseum.com) 03:05 Developing the Interpretive Plan with a Focus on Slavery and Civil Rights 03:30 Governorship of LeRoy Collins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeRoy_Collins) 04:36 Tallahassee Bus Boycott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallahassee_bus_boycott) 06:08 Presenting the Narrative through Collins 06:50 White Backlash to Collins’s Moderate Position on Civil Rights 08:15 The Construction of the House by Enslaved Craftspeople (https://thegrovemuseum.com/learn/history/) 09:45 The Genealogical Role of the Museum 10:50 Forced Removal of Indigenous People in Tallahassee 12:25 How Tallahassee Interprets Its History 13:00 The John G. Riley House (https://www.museumarchipelago.com/85) 13:10 The Meek-Eaton Black Archives (https://www.museumarchipelago.com/86) 14:08 Outro | Join Club Archipelago

Sonya and I talk about a quote from Ralph Abernathy's memoir: How the problems he and MLK faced in Birmingham were, he believed, God guiding them to the solution they needed. I read that passage at just the right time in my own book research. We talk about what happens when you hit insurmountable obstacles, and how they can guide you to the solution you need. If you like this episode, sign up for the newsletter: paulkixnewsletter.com. There I talk even more about what it takes to live the life of a storyteller. 

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Monday at 12 Noon, we'll be airing a pair of one-hour specials about Dr. King in lieu of our normally scheduled reading of USA Today. At Noon we'll be airing "King Stories," a one-hour documentary of captivating stories told by close friends and associates of Dr. King. Host Julian Bond, along with insiders Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane and Larry Williams, share rarely documented stories about the personal and private sides of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "The Promised Land: Different Takes on the Legacy of Martin Luther King" follows at 1:00pm. The Launch Minneapolis, special was a winner of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Talent Quest. Activist Majora Carter takes a fresh look at the reach of King's influence. What does King's legacy mean to children today? How has his dream expanded beyond the black community? How far have we come?

Black Journal conducts a live 90-minute special framed around the crucial question of whether the physical and cultural survival of Black people in America is possible. The episode brings together foremost Black spokesmen representing a variety of perspectives and organizations, from black nationalists to Black moderates, who answer queries from the national Black community via a system of regional phone-in centers at PBS affiliates. Asking the question "Is It Too Late?", Black Journal surveys the attitudes of Black Americans towards politics, integration, segregation, self-determination, economics, education, movements, leaders, and leadership. The participants, who, in addition to answering queries, each make statements, are: Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Dr. James Cheek, Rev. Albert Cleage, Rep. Ronald Dellums (D-California), The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Dick Gregory, Dorothy Height, Vernon Jordan, and Dr. John Morsell.

The Context of White Supremacy hosts the 6th study session on Romain Gary's White Dog. A White man born in eastern Europe, Gary piloted jets in World War II and authored a number of top selling french novels before committing suicide in 1980. We'll discuss his 1970 global bestseller, White Dog - which is reportedly based on actual events. The book centers on a white German shepherd Gary finds while visiting the United States. The vagrant canine is beloved by Gary's entire family and treated as part of the clan. But Gary quickly notices the hound becomes hostile and immediately attacks when black people appear. During last week's session, Gary continues to castigate Stokely Carmichael. This critique is literally hours and days following the assassination of Dr. King. Gary recounts attending a Hollywood fundraiser where those in attendance included: the late Coretta Scott King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson Sr., Harry Belafonte and other prominent members of the so-called Civil Rights Movement as well as entertainment titans like Marlon Brando. Gary uses this moment to mock the proposed Poor People's Campaign - which was Dr. King's final project. He later recounts his time spent with former President John F. Kennedy and his brother and former Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Gary confesses to predicting the latter's assassination - at a time when assassinations were routine. #TheMansBestFriend INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 605.313.5164 CODE 564943#

We're delighted to have Pastor Parker with us once again. His father was a classmate and friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., then a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, when the Montgomery Boycott occurred and then in Birmingham, Alabama, when Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote Letter from a Birmingham Jail. We’ll be discussing Pastor Parker’s memories of those times and the Christian faith which was the basis for the actions and courage of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement including Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, and others. Pastor Parker earned his doctorate in Urban Ministry at Gordon Cornwall Seminary. His studies focused on a complex systems approach to community ministry developed in partnership with MIT. We will be discussing our call in Genesis to create culture, and the impact on racial relations of fallen people creating and sustaining fallen systems. We’ll consider the question: What is the role of the church in showing the love of Jesus Christ to overcome barriers which divide?

Following King's assassination it was left to Ralph Abernathy and the rest of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to carry out his Poor People's Campaign. That would be easier said than done. Between his loss of leadership and the FBI, the federal government, and even the news media arrayed against them their fight would be an up hill battle. Please Rate and Review the podcast To contact me: Email: distortedhistorypod@gmail.com Twitter @DistortedHistor https://twitter.com/DistortedHistor If you would like to support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/distortedhistory Also if you are able to and want to you can donate to one of these organizations Black Lives Matters https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019 NAACP Legal Defense and Education fund https://www.naacpldf.org/ National Police Accountability Project https://www.nlg-npap.org/ Colin Kaepernick;s Know Your Rights Camp Legal Initiative https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/legal National Bail Fund Network https://bailfunds.github.io/

Rod Reuven Dovid Bryen and Jerry Gordon bring back Dan Diker, Senior Fellow and Director of the Program to Counter Political Warfare at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). Diker authored a recent JCPA brief, “The Alignment of BDS and Black Lives Matter: Implications for Israel and Diaspora Jewry”. Diker also appeared on a recent Jewish Broadcasting Service discussion program moderated by Rabbi Marc Golub with Joshua Washington, the young American Assistant Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity for Israel that promotes the pro-Zionist legacy of the late revered American civil rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. American Jews, as Diker notes, had fought for Black civil rights as abolitionists in the 19th Century and the 1960’s culminating in the historic passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act under President Johnson. American Jews have actively and publicly opposed racism and police brutality. Diker’s JCPA brief exposed the disturbing trends converging between BLM and BDS that he suggests had its origins in the 2014 Iranian regime backed Hamas rocket and terror tunnel war against Israel. The rise of BLM was triggered by the killings of Black young men Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012 and Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson. Missouri. Recently, the BLM campaign was “turbo-charged” by the murder on May 25, 2020 of George Floyd while in the custody of a Minneapolis Police Officer sparking daily protests and violence that quickly spread across the US. The Movement for Black Lives (MBL) A BLM Network member organization, has openly accused Israel of being a racist Apartheid state. It connected Israel’s “occupation” in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority meme that the Jewish nation was “born in sin” with US state racism, imperialism, and fascism. Minister Louis Farrakhan, a spiritual guide and role model for BLM activists and sympathizers, has labeled Jews “Satan”. MBL’s radical solution is to “take down” the US government, while defunding and dismantling police departments across the United States. Diker noted the launch of a petition by University of California Students accusing Israel of “complicity’ in the murder of George Floyd due to US law enforcement agencies’ participation in a 2012 program in Israel on counterterrorism intelligence sharing. Diker suggests that these accusations are completely unfounded. Moreover, BDS and Palestinian activist rhetoric accusing Israel of imperialism and colonialism is straight out of the Marxist-Leninist playbook. In fact, Israel is a result of Zionist de-colonialization, resettling the Jewish homeland after the fall of the 400-year Ottoman empire. He pointed to a recent article in the Cambridge Journal of Race Ethnicity of Politics, “What Kind of Movement is Black Lives Matter? The view from twitter”. Diker commented: This superb research on BLM reveals that the movement rejects the “politics of respectability” of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement”. This is dangerous for the Palestinian issue as it rejects inclusion, and instead advocates a political replacement theology. Diker endorsed the work of Joshua Washington of the Institute for Black Solidarity for Israel, the son of Pastor Dumasani Washington, a California pastor, and a leading figure in the organization Christians United for Israel. Washington is also a next generation acolyte of Dr. King, a proud supporter of Israel and Zionism until his tragic assassination in 1968. Beyond the Matrix 05AUG2020 - PODCAST

This is part two of a two part series.On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions. In September 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations nationwide.Our GuestDr. David Fankhauser, 73, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, the Clermont Branch, was part of the second wave of mostly college students who traveled south as a Freedom Rider. He was a student at Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio, an historically black college. He and another white Central State student flew on May 24, 1961, answering the call from revered student organizer Diane Nash for fresh troops, to Montgomery Alabama, and stayed at Rev. Ralph Abernathy's home where they and other Riders strategized for several days with him, MLK and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. They decided that now the Riders must be willing to fill up southern jails for the maximum stay of 40 days before bailing out. David was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for sitting in a “colored” waiting room while riding a Trailways bus bound for New Orleans. He spent the next 42 days first in the Jackson City Jail and later the notorious Mississippi Parchman Penitentiary, 140 miles from Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.The Freedom Riders in his cell block, including now Congressman John Lewis, hunger struck for nearly two weeks and sung freedom songs incessantly to hold their spirits, and the guards retaliated by leaving them only their underwear and taking their toothbrushes, mattresses, even the screens from the windows. When released on July 9, David rode a train back to Cincinnati's Union Terminal where he was hoisted on the shoulders of local civil rights activists and carried through the building in a hero's welcome. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

the Freedom Riders - Part One of TwoOn May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions. In September 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations nationwide.Our GuestDr. David Fankhauser, 73, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, the Clermont Branch, was part of the second wave of mostly college students who traveled south as a Freedom Rider. He was a student at Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio, an historically black college. He and another white Central State student flew on May 24, 1961, answering the call from revered student organizer Diane Nash for fresh troops, to Montgomery Alabama, and stayed at Rev. Ralph Abernathy's home where they and other Riders strategized for several days with him, MLK and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. They decided that now the Riders must be willing to fill up southern jails for the maximum stay of 40 days before bailing out. David was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for sitting in a “colored” waiting room while riding a Trailways bus bound for New Orleans. He spent the next 42 days first in the Jackson City Jail and later the notorious Mississippi Parchman Penitentiary, 140 miles from Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.The Freedom Riders in his cell block, including just deceased Congressman John Lewis, hunger struck for nearly two weeks and sang freedom songs incessantly to hold their spirits, and the guards retaliated by leaving them only their underwear and taking their toothbrushes, mattresses, even the screens from the windows. When released on July 9, David rode a train back to Cincinnati's Union Terminal where he was hoisted on the shoulders of local civil rights activists and carried through the building in a hero's welcome. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1980, candidate Ronald Reagan had the advisors and discipline to be subtle enough about racist messages. Southern white fundamentalists and the NAACP’s Ralph Abernathy all endorsed him for president. As our guest author Rick Perlstein says, Trump turned a The post Reagan’s Dog Whistles Worked; Trump Missed That Lesson appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

On this day, we remember Ralph Abernathy, b. 1926, and James Reeb, d. 1965. The reading is "Prayer" by Christian Wiman. We’re a part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. They discuss the “synonyms for blackness”, the power of the dollar African Americans had in that age, having the effort to make change, supporting causes, Devine dissatisfaction, Listen to Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill’s first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. They discuss the “synonyms for blackness”, the power of the dollar African Americans had in that age, having the effort to make change, supporting causes, Devine dissatisfaction, Listen to Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill’s first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. We talk about the extent of discrimination in the 1960’s, background on King and his rise to popularity, how much actual effort went into Rosa Parks and the lunch counter sit ins, relationship with Ralph Abernathy, contending with radicals in the movement, and boycotts. Listen to Martin Luthor King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill’s first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

Jim Ellermeyer welcomes back one of our favorite guests, Professor Buzzkill, to chat about the famous Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech. We talk about the extent of discrimination in the 1960’s, background on King and his rise to popularity, how much actual effort went into Rosa Parks and the lunch counter sit ins, relationship with Ralph Abernathy, contending with radicals in the movement, and boycotts. Listen to Martin Luthor King, Jr “Where Do We go From Here?” Speech here. Check out Professor Buzzkill’s first visit to the studio discussing Complete Angler here. Check out Professor Buzzkill busting history myths and subscribe to his Podcast at www.professorbuzzkill.com Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, TuneIn or look for it on your favorite Podcatcher!

This is part two of a two part series.On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions. In September 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations nationwide.Our GuestDr. David Fankhauser, 73, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, the Clermont Branch, was part of the second wave of mostly college students who traveled south as a Freedom Rider. He was a student at Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio, an historically black college. He and another white Central State student flew on May 24, 1961, answering the call from revered student organizer Diane Nash for fresh troops, to Montgomery Alabama, and stayed at Rev. Ralph Abernathy's home where they and other Riders strategized for several days with him, MLK and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. They decided that now the Riders must be willing to fill up southern jails for the maximum stay of 40 days before bailing out. David was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for sitting in a “colored” waiting room while riding a Trailways bus bound for New Orleans. He spent the next 42 days first in the Jackson City Jail and later the notorious Mississippi Parchman Penitentiary, 140 miles from Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.The Freedom Riders in his cell block, including now Congressman John Lewis, hunger struck for nearly two weeks and sung freedom songs incessantly to hold their spirits, and the guards retaliated by leaving them only their underwear and taking their toothbrushes, mattresses, even the screens from the windows. When released on July 9, David rode a train back to Cincinnati's Union Terminal where he was hoisted on the shoulders of local civil rights activists and carried through the building in a hero's welcome. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions. In September 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations nationwide.Our GuestDr. David Fankhauser, 73, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, the Clermont Branch, was part of the second wave of mostly college students who traveled south as a Freedom Rider. He was a student at Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio, an historically black college. He and another white Central State student flew on May 24, 1961, answering the call from revered student organizer Diane Nash for fresh troops, to Montgomery Alabama, and stayed at Rev. Ralph Abernathy's home where they and other Riders strategized for several days with him, MLK and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. They decided that now the Riders must be willing to fill up southern jails for the maximum stay of 40 days before bailing out. David was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for sitting in a “colored” waiting room while riding a Trailways bus bound for New Orleans. He spent the next 42 days first in the Jackson City Jail and later the notorious Mississippi Parchman Penitentiary, 140 miles from Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.The Freedom Riders in his cell block, including now Congressman John Lewis, hunger struck for nearly two weeks and sung freedom songs incessantly to hold their spirits, and the guards retaliated by leaving them only their underwear and taking their toothbrushes, mattresses, even the screens from the windows. When released on July 9, David rode a train back to Cincinnati's Union Terminal where he was hoisted on the shoulders of local civil rights activists and carried through the building in a hero's welcome. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A profile of Dr. Ralph Abernathy, a WWII veteran, minister, and civil rights activist who worked closely with Dr. King on many campaigns. Show notes and video are available at http://noirehistoir.com/blog/dr-ralph-abernathy.

Topics: Pac-Man & the start of the "Gaming" culture, Zapp, Fame (1980 Film), Eddie Murphy. (Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound)   1980   1.    Jimmy Carter President   2.    Jan – The comic strips The Far Side debuts in newspapers   3.    Feb – The XIII Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.[1]   4.    Feb – The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the medal round of the Winter Olympics, in the Miracle on Ice.   5.    Feb - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.   6.    Apr – Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.   7.    Apr – Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award   8.    May – A Miami, Florida court acquits four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, provoking three days of race riots.   9.    May – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage.   10.    May – The Empire Strikes Back is released.   11.    May – Pac-Man, the best-selling arcade game of all time, is released.   12.    May – Vernon Jordan is shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt in Fort Wayne, Indiana by Joseph Paul Franklin (the first major news story for CNN).   13.    Jun – The Cable News Network (CNN) is officially launched.   14.    Jun – In Los Angeles, comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.   15.    Jun – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs Proclamation 4771, requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.   16.    Jul – The Unemployment Rate peaks at 7.8%, the highest in four years.   17.    Nov – United States presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter, exactly one year after the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis.   18.    Nov - Millions of viewers tune into the U.S. soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J. R. Ewing. The "Who shot J. R.?" event is a national obsession.   19.    Dec - John Lennon is shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.   20.    Open Comments:   21.    Popular Music Scene   22.    Top 3 Singles   23.    1 - "Call Me", Blondie   24.    2 - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II", Pink Floyd   25.    3 - "Magic", Olivia Newton-John   26.    Record of the Year: Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for "Sailing"   27.    Album of the Year: Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for Christopher Cross   28.    Song of the Year: Christopher Cross for "Sailing"   29.    Best New Artist: Christopher Cross   30.    Open Comments:   31.    Popular Movies   32.    Top 3 Grossing Movies   33.    1 - The Empire Strikes Back   34.    2 - 9 to 5   35.    3 - Stir Crazy   36.    Open Comments:   37.    Notables:   38.    Airplane!, starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar   39.    American Gigolo, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Héctor Elizondo   40.    The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins   41.    The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Henry Gibson   42.    Caddyshack, directed by Harold Ramis, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, Bill Murray   43.    Coal Miner's Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones   44.    Flash Gordon, directed by Mike Hodges, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol   45.    Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Harry Crosby   46.    Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty   47.    The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers   48.    Open Comments:   49.    Popular TV   50.    Top 3 Rated Shows   51.    1 - Dallas   52.    2 - The Dukes of Hazzard   53.    3- 60 Minutes   54.    Open Comments:   55.    Black Snapshots   56.    Ralph Abernathy, president of the SCLC following the assassination of King in 1968, endorses Ronald Reagan   57.    Nikki Giovanni publishes Vacation Time: Poems for Children   58.    Bernard Shaw stars at CNN:  Shaw is widely known for the question he posed to Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis at his second Presidential debate with George H. W. Bush during the 1988 election, which Shaw was moderating. Knowing that Dukakis opposed the death penalty, Shaw asked him if he would support an irrevocable death penalty for a man who hypothetically raped and murdered Dukakis's wife. Dukakis responded that he would not.   59.    Nov - Eddie Murphy made his first Saturday Night Live appearance, appearing in a non-speaking role in the sketch "In Search Of The Negro Republican".   60.    Jan - Black Entertainment Television launches in the United States as a block of programming on the USA Network; it won't be until 1983 that BET becomes a full-fledged channel.   61.    Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Stephanie Mills for "Never Knew Love Like This Before"   62.    Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - George Benson for Give Me the Night   63.    Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - The Manhattans for "Shining Star"   64.    Open Comments:   65.    Economic   66.    New House: 69K   67.    Avg. income: 19K   68.    New car: 7K   69.    Avg rent: 300   70.    Postage Stamp: 15c   71.    Movie ticket: 2.25   72.    Open Comments:   73.    Social Scene:  Pac-Man, Arcade, and the birth of the Gaming Culture.   74.    Taken from: For Amusement Only: the life and death of the American arcade [https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only]   75.    "If you’ve never been inside a “real” arcade, it could be hard to distinguish one from say, oh, a Dave & Buster’s. Authenticity is a hard nut to crack, but there are a few hallmarks of the video game arcade of days gone by: first, they have video games. Lots and lots of video games, and (usually) pinball machines. They’re dark (so that you can see the screens better), and they don’t sell food or booze. You can make an exception for a lonely vending machine, sure, but full meals? No thanks. There’s no sign outside that says you “must be 21 to enter.” These are rarely family-friendly institutions, either. Your mom wouldn’t want to be there, and nobody would want her there, anyway. This is a place for kids to be with other kids, teens to be with other teens, and early-stage adults to serve as the ambassador badasses in residence for the younger generation. It’s noisy, with all the kids yelling and the video games on permanent demo mode, beckoning you to waste just one more quarter. In earlier days (though well into the ‘90s), it’s sometimes smoky inside, and the cabinets bear the scars of many a forgotten cig left hanging off the edge while its owner tries one last time for a high score, inevitably ending in his or her death. The defining feature of a “real” arcade, however, is that there aren’t really any left."   76.    Open Comments:   77.    The years between 1978 and 1982 saw unprecedented growth across the entire video game industry. A January 1982 cover story in Time magazine noted that the most popular machines were pulling in $400 a week in quarters and the number of dedicated arcades in the United States reached its peak with around 13,000. Video game cabinets also appeared in grocery stores, drug stores, doctor’s offices, and even in school recreation centers. The arcade chain Tilt began opening locations in the growing number of shopping malls across America. Beginning with Space Invaders in 1978, a string of now legendary games were released in rapid succession: Galaxian ('79), Asteroids ('79), Berzerk ('80), Centipede ('80), Rally-X ('80), Defender ('81), Donkey Kong ('81), Frogger ('81), Galaga ('81), Ms. Pac-Man ('81), Dig Dug ('82), Donkey Kong Jr. (('82), Joust ('82), Pole Position ('82), Q*bert ('82), and Tron ('82).    78.    Simultaneously, the home console business blossomed: from the primitive Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, the concept of home gaming erupted with the Atari 2600 and the Apple II in 1977, the Intellivision in 1980, the Commodore 64 and ColecoVision in 1982, and the NES and Sega Master System in 1985.But it was 1980’s Pac-Man, the most successful video arcade game of all time, released by Midway in the United States, which had the most lasting effects on the industry and the American psyche.   79.    Audio Clip:   80.    Question: What do you say about the following criticisms: Ingrains scripts of violence and aggression into the psyche. / Too much sex, nudity, and mistreatment of women. / Poor portrayal of race / Addiction leading to health problems and obesity.   81.    Music Scene   82.    Black Songs from the Top 40    83.    4    "Rock with You"    Michael Jackson   84.    8    "Funkytown"    Lipps Inc   85.    13    "Cruisin"    Smokey Robinson   86.    14    "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl"    The Spinners   87.    18    "Upside Down"    Diana Ross   88.    19    "Please Don't Go"    KC and the Sunshine Band   89.    21    "With You I'm Born Again"    Billy Preston and Syreeta   90.    22    "Shining Star"    The Manhattans   91.    23    "Still"    Commodores   92.    29    "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time"    The Spinners   93.    30    "Let's Get Serious"    Jermaine Jackson   94.    35    "Ladies' Night"    Kool & the Gang   95.    36    "Too Hot"    Kool & the Gang   96.    37    "Take Your Time (Do It Right)"    The SOS Band   97.    38    "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"    Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer   98.    42    "Special Lady"    Ray, Goodman & Brown   99.    43    "Send One Your Love"    Stevie Wonder   100.    44    "The Second Time Around"    Shalamar   101.    Vote:   102.    Top R&B Albums   103.    Jan - Off the Wall    Michael Jackson   104.    Feb - The Whispers    The Whispers   105.    Apr - Light Up the Night    The Brothers Johnson   106.    May - Go All the Way    The Isley Brothers   107.    Jun - Let’s Get Serious    Jermaine Jackson   108.    Jul - Cameosis    Cameo   109.    Jul - diana    Diana Ross   110.    Sep - Give Me the Night    George Benson   111.    Oct - Love Approach    Tom Browne   112.    Oct - Zapp    Zapp   113.    Nov - Triumph    The Jacksons   114.    Nov - Hotter Than July    Stevie Wonder   115.    Vote:   116.    Key Artists: Roger Troutman and Zapp   117.    Roger Troutman (@ 29 yrs. old) singer, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.   118.    Born and raised in Hamilton, OH, the fourth child of nine, he gravitated toward music at an extremely early age; he was only five years old when he received his first guitar.   119.    By 11, he was playing in local bands with one of his brothers.    120.    Influenced by old-schoolers B.B. King, Jimmy Reed, Chuck Jackson, and Junior Walker, and then-current chart-toppers The Temptations, Wilson Pickett, and the Beatles, by the late '60s, Roger had added Hammond organ to his resumé of instruments, and 2 more brothers.   121.    Like many of his generation, Roger and his brothers became enraptured by such funk/rock artists as Jimi Hendrix, the Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, and Funkadelic.   122.    By age 26, the band was playing shows all over the U.S. and Canada. The group added another Troutman brother to their ranks ((4 in total), Terry, who went by the nickname of "Zapp," and that soon became the group's new name.   123.    Shortly thereafter, Bootsy Collins' brother, Phelps "Catfish" Collins, happened to catch a gig by Zapp, who put them in touch with Bootsy, who then brought them to the attention of George Clinton. Clinton promptly signing the group to his own custom label, Uncle Jam.   124.    Clinton got Roger (Not Zapp) a performance spot at a 1979 Awards show and declared “Roger Troutman as the most talented musician” he'd ever seen in his life. Roger’s performance created a buzz for Zapp's self-titled debut release, issued in 1980.   125.    Audio clips   126.    After the 1980 release of Zapp's debut album, tensions rose between Roger Troutman and George Clinton. Troutman's solo album “The Many Facets of Roger” was primarily funded by Clinton and Clinton was experiencing financial troubles due to his poor management skills and shifting tastes in music.   127.    Troutman could see the disarray surrounding Clinton and severed their partnership by accepting a higher offer for the album from Warner Bros. and cut Clinton out of the picture.   128.    Clinton's view was, "…I paid for it. I don't like to go into it on the negative side, but it cost about 5 million [dollars], and a lot of people's jobs and what we consider as the empire falling". - The financial loss from the rupture with Troutman is credited as one of the factors that derailed Clinton's musical career and sent Funkadelic into hiatus.   129.    On Sunday morning, April 25, 1999, Roger Troutman was fatally wounded as a result of an apparent murder-suicide that was orchestrated by his older brother, Larry. Roger was shot several times in the torso by Larry as he exited a recording studio. Larry's body was found in a car a short distance away from the murder scene. There were no witnesses at the time, and Larry's motive for the murder of Roger remains unclear. Larry had been experiencing increasingly severe financial problems managing the family-run business. Larry might also have been bitter after Roger fired him as manager of his music career, a position Larry had held for several years.   130.    After Troutman's death, Ice Cube said that "More Bounce To The Ounce" introduced him to hip-hop. "I was in the sixth grade, we'd stayed after school. We had this dude named Mr. Lock, and he used to bring in his radio with these pop-lockers. He used to teach [the dance group] the L.A. Lockers, and he would do community service in after-school programs. He knew a lot of kids and introduced them to all the new dances, he put on that song 'More Bounce', and they started pop-locking. And I think from that visual, from seeing that, it was my first introduction into hip-hop. Period. I didn't know nothing about nothing. I hadn't heard 'Rapper's Delight' yet. It was the first thing that was really fly to me. They started dancing, and since 'More Bounce' goes on forever, they just got down. I just think that was a rush of adrenaline for me, like a chemical reaction in my brain.”   131.    Open Comments   132.    Black Movies: Fame   133.    Blending elements of straight drama, music, and dance, FAME shadows a group of gifted students (including singer Irene Cara, dancer Gene Anthony Ray, and composer Lee Currieri) during their time at New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts, where they're learning the skills they need to succeed. The film -- which won two Oscars for its music (including a Best Original Song statuette for the title track "Fame" -- spawned a 1980s TV series of the same name that allowed several of its young stars to reprise their roles and gave Debbie Allen a much more prominent role as a no-nonsense dance teacher.   134.    Critical response: Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, "When the kids perform, the movie sings, but their fictionalized personal stories are melodramatic drivel." -  Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, "Fame is a genuine treasure, moving and entertaining, a movie that understands being a teen-ager as well as Breaking Away did, but studies its characters in a completely different milieu."   135.    Audio Clips   136.    Open Comments   137.    Black Television: Eddie Murphy – The Young Prince   138.    Edward Regan Murphy, (@ 19 yrs. old), Comedian, actor, screen writer, film producer, and singer? He was the dominant comedic voice during the 1980s.    139.    Born and raised in NYC, parents split when he was 3, father died when he was eight, lived in foster care for a year, and began doing stand-up comedy after listening to "That Nigger's Crazy", by Richard Pryor, when he was 15.   140.    Doing impersonations of Al Green at talents shows helped him land gigs at late night clubs.   141.    After the 79-80 season of SNL wrapped for summer break, the show had a major shakeup. OG Producer, Lorene Michaels and the OG cast left. After the new producer was hired, she had 2 months to re-cast the show.   142.    In September 19-year-old Eddie contacted the show and repeatedly pleaded for an audition. 2 months later he made his national television debut.   143.    Audio Clips   144.    Major criticism:” Welcome Back, Eddie Murphy! The rise and fall and rise of America's most dangerous comic” - Chris Nashawaty November 06, 2011 - [https://ew.com/article/2011/11/06/welcome-back-eddie-murphy-the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-of-americas-most-dangerous-comic/]   145.    “If you grew up watching Eddie Murphy chomping on a cigar as Gumby or getting gunned down in a hail of bullets as Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live, or better yet, dropping F-bombs as the cool-cat star of 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that there’s a whole generation out there that has no clue just how funny and dirty he once was. When they think of Eddie Murphy — if they even think of him at all — it’s as the donkey from the kiddie franchise Shrek, or the once-dangerous comedian desperately searching for laughs in fart gags and fat suits in The Klumps.”   146.    Audio Clips   147.    Open Comments   148.    Question: Is Eddie funny or formula?   149.    Vote: Favorite Pop Culture thing for the year?

Indigenous Spaces + Decolonizing Prison Abolition (Sean Swain starts at 05min, 12 sec) Ni Frontieres Ni Prisons on No New Migrant Prison in Laval, Canada (starts 12min, 08sec) Today we have a two part show! In the first part we are presenting a conversation with someone from Ni Frontiers Ni Prison, which is a group in so called Canada that is resisting the proposed construction of a new migrant prison in Laval, a town just outside of Montreal. This is a transcript of the original audio, read for the show by Grier, shout out to him! In this interview we talk about the prison and what it would mean for people who'd be most affected by it, the general rise of far right sentiment in so called Canada, and many more topics. The interviewee names the place they are based as occupied Tio'tia:ke (jo-jahg'-eh), which is the original indigenous name for so called Montreal, the colonizer name. The naming of indigenous land will continue throughout the interview with various locations in the name of decolonization, though Tio'tia:ke is the one which will be the most prominent. As an audio note to all those paying attention, a fridge turns on midway through the interview then turns back off nearing the end, we've tried to minimize the background noise but it's still somewhat noticeable. Music for the intro and outro by A Tribe Called Red with Stadium Pow Wow. Contact To get in touch with this group you can email them at nifrontieresniprisons@riseup.net and for updates and further ways to get involved you can find them at facebook.com/nifrontiersniprison, or follow the link to visit the clearing house of information and pieces about this resistance. If you would like a zine copy of the transcript to this show, you can email us at thefinalstrawradio@riseup.net or thefinalstrawradio@protonmail.com. Some links to historical events mentioned by our guest relating to Canada's' treatment of immigrants and refugees: "Chinese Head Tax", a policy which "meant to discourage Chinese people from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway", a government project which I conjecture used a bunch of precarious and immigrant labor in order to complete. Komagata Maru Incident, the historic entry denial of a group of Indian refugees seeking entry into Canada on the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru in 1914, resulting in the death of 20 Sikh people at the hands of the then occupying British government. "None Is Too Many" policy for Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, an anti Semitic stance that put people who were fleeing Nazi terror in further danger and possible death. Robert Free on the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center (starts at 38min, 04sec) Next we'll hear an interview with Robert Free, a long-term Seattle, WA resident and Tewa (pronounced tay-oh-wa) Native American. We discuss the history of the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, a cultural and resource center for urban Native Americans in Seattle and the surrounding communities. The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center was established after a series of protests and occupations in 1970 of Fort Lawton, an army base that had previously occupied the park. Robert Free discusses the influencing factors of that time, some of the finer points of the occupations, as well as the implications of protesting and occupation on stolen native land. More info on the Daybreak center can be found at https://unitedindians.org/daybreak-star-center/ Some of the names and events mentioned in this chat you may recognize from our February 17th, 2019, episode of The Final Straw when we had the pleasure to speak with Paulette D'auteuil, about the case of long-term American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier. More info on Peltier's case can be found at whoisleonardpeltier.info   Coming Up... Next week we hope to bring you a conversation with support crew for incarcerated former military whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who is now imprisoned for refusing to testify before a Grand Jury. More on her case can be found at https://xychelsea.is including links for donating towards her fundraising goal for legal costs aiming at 150 thousand smackeroos.   Announcements Free Masonique Saunders! From her support website: On December 7, 2018, Columbus police murdered 16 year old Julius Ervin Tate Jr.. On December 13, they arrested his 16 year old girlfriend, Masonique Saunders, charging her with the murder they committed. Masonique is being charged with aggravated robbery and felony murder, and is currently being held in juvenile detention. The police have alleged that Julius attempted to rob, and pulled a gun on a police officer, and that Masonique was involved in said robbery. Felony murder means that if you commit a felony and someone dies as a result of that crime you can be charged with their murder. We believe that these charges are unjust, and demand the freedom of this 16 year old Black girl and justice for the family of Julius Tate! To help Masonique and her family, donate to her GoFundMe. Donate to the Tate family here.   BRABC events A quick reminder, if you're in the Asheville area this coming week, Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross is hosting two events. On Friday, April 4th from 6:30 to 8pm at Firestorm, (as we do every first Friday of the month) BRABC will show the latest episode of Trouble, by sub.Media. Episode 19 focuses on Technology and Social Control. After the ½ hour video we'll turn chairs around and have a discussion of the film for those who'd like. Then, on Sunday, April 6th from 5-7pm as BRABC does every first Sunday of the month, we'll be hosting a monthly letter writing event. We'll provide names, addresses, backstories, postage and stationary. Prisoners we'll focus on are longterm political prisoners from Black liberation, to Earth and Animal Liberation, to anti-police violence activists caught up in prison whose birthdays are coming up or who are facing severe repression. Or, just come and write a letter you've been meaning to write to someone else. It's a nice environ for that sort of thing.   Extinction Rebellion week of action The movement to halt and roll back human driven climate change called Extinction Rebellion is planning some upcoming events in the so-called U.S. in line with a worldwide call for action over the week of April 15-22nd. Check out https://extinctionrebellion.us/rebellion-week for info and ways to plug in. If you're in the L.A. area, see our shownotes for a fedbook link to some of their upcoming events. And remember, practice good security culture by not giving up as little info as possible. Keeping your info more secure today ensures your ability to fight with less hindrance tomorrow!   Marius Mason Moved Anarchist political prisoner Marius Mason has been moved to a prison in Connecticut, a change viewed as a success by his supporters as he's closer to family by hundreds of miles. If you'd like to write him a letter to welcome him to his new place, consider writing him at the following site, but make sure to address it as follows: Marie (Marius) Mason 04672-061 FCI DANBURY Route 37 Danbury, CT 06811   Fire at the Highlander Now, here's a statement by the Highlander Research and Education Center outside of New Market, TN, about the fire early on March 29, 2019: “Early this morning, officials responded to a serious fire on the grounds of the Highlander Research and Education Center, one of the nation's oldest social justice institutions that provides training and education for emerging and existing movements throughout the South, Appalachia, and the world. As of 6am, the main office building was completely engulfed and destroyed. One of ten structures on approximately 200 acres, the building housed the offices of the organization's leadership and staff. Highlander's staff released the following statement: “Highlander has been a movement home for nearly 87 years and has weathered many storms. This is no different. Several people were on the grounds at the time of the fire, but thankfully no one was inside the structure and no one was injured. “While we are physically unhurt, we are saddened about the loss of our main office. The fire destroyed decades of historic documents, speeches, artifacts and memorabilia from movements of all kinds, including the Civil Rights Movement. A fuller assessment of the damage will be forthcoming once we are cleared to enter the remains of the building. “We are grateful for the support of the many movements who are now showing up for us in this critical time. This has been a space for training, strategy and respite for decades and it will continue to be for decades to come. Fire officials are working to determine the cause as quickly as possible and we are monitoring the investigation closely.” --Ash-Lee Woodward Henderson and Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele, Co-Executive Directors, Highlander Research and Education Center. Highlander has played a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement, training and supporting the work of a number of movement activists: Rosa Parks prior to her historic role in the Montgomery Bus Boycot, members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Septima Clark, Anne Braden, Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel, Hollis Watkins, Bernard Lafayette, Ralph Abernathy and John Lewis.” Highlander will provide ongoing updates via their fedbook page and questions can be directed to Chelsea Fuller, chelsea@teamblackbird.org. Police Killing of Danquirs Franklin On March 25, 2019, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Wende Kerl shot and killed Danquirs Franklin in the parking lot of the Burger King on Beatties Ford Rd in Charlotte. Police narratives posit that Mr Franklin was armed and posing a threat, while eye witnesses say that Danquirs Franklin interceded against an armed man bothering an employee and that the armed man ran away before the police arrived, who then shot the first black man they encountered. Friends at Charlotte Uprising have been holding vigil and fundraising for Danquirs Franklin's family as the police's actions leave his child fatherless. More can be found at the Charlotte Uprising twitter and fedbook pages. Rise In Power, Danquirs. . ... . .. Show playlist.

On this episode of the Yay, Norman and I welcome Terrance Smith – a young actor who is now in Brooklyn Bridge, playing at the Town Hall Theatre. Terrance and I acted in Civil War Christmas two years ago and he'll be playing Rev. Ralph Abernathy in All The Way (at the Contra County Civic Theatre). You can hit up Terrance Smith on Facebook or on Instagram (@youngtsmith23) SHOUTOUTS: Brooklyn Bridge (Town Hall Theatre) Feb 28 – Mar 23nd www.townhalltheatre.com Tom Reilly (Episode 40) and Terrance Smith is in the show Olivia's Kitchen (Or What The Cook Saw At the Twelfth Night) (Southside Theatre) Last shows – March 16 & 17 Deborah Murphy (Episode 98) is in the play www.generationtheatre.com La Ronde (Cutting Ball Theatre) Mar 14 – Apr 14 www.cuttingball.com Jeunee Simon – good friend of mine – is in the play The Mystery of Irma Vep (Role Players Ensemble) Apr 12 – Apr 28 https://www.roleplayersensemble.com Alicia Von Kugelgen (Episode 48 & 101) and Dana Lewenthal is in the play

The events in Birmingham brought national attention as the news media sent journalists and photographers to document them. Among the photographers present, Charles Moore of Life magazine and Bill Hudson of The New York Times famously photographed the events of May 3 and 4 and published the photos in their respective publications. These images of young black people brutalized by white police caused international embarrassment for the United States and its government. In the midst of the Cold War, the federal government wanted to be seen as promoting freedom and not sanctioning The negative media attention prompted Pres. Kennedy to take action. On May 3, 1963, he sent Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall to negotiate with the ACMHR-SCLC to end the demonstrations. Over the next few days, Marshall convinced King and Ralph Abernathy to compromise with Birmingham city leaders and businessmen over the alacrity with which city accommodations and businesses would be forced to desegregate. Although the Birmingham Manifesto had called for the immediate desegregation of public spaces and private businesses, King and Abernathy agreed to allow Birmingham a short time delay to fulfill their demands. Shuttlesworth, who had been injured during the Crusade, was unable to attend the negotiation and give his input. King and Abernathy's compromise would cause a rift between King and Shuttlesworth, who believed that King had used his "local" civil rights effort to gain national recognition. The Children's Crusade stands as one of the civil rights movement's more brutal events. The violence, however, achieved the goal of raising national attention and pushing the Kennedy Administration to minimize its international embarrassment by sending agents to work towards desegregating Birmingham. On June 11, 1963, Pres. Kennedy called for a civil rights bill to prohibit racial discrimination and eliminate segregation in schools, employment, and public areas. This call would eventually culminate in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2 of that year. Information Link: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3944 Public Access America PublicAccessPod Productions #America #History #Podcast #Education #Not4Profit Footage downloaded and edited by PublicAccessPod Podcast Link Podible: https://play.podible.co/series/54364 Stitcher: http://goo.gl/XpKHWB ApplePodcast: https://goo.gl/soc7KG GooglePlay: https://goo.gl/gPEDbf

In his last speech, known to history as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Martin Luther King Jr. began by remarking on the introduction he’d been given by his friend, Ralph Abernathy. “As I listened to ... his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself,” King said modestly, “I wondered who he was talking about.” The facsimile of King that America would fashion after his assassination—saintly pacifist, stranger to controversy, beloved by all—might have provoked something well beyond wonder. To create a version of King that America could love, the nation sanded down the reality of the man, his ministry, and his activism. In this episode of Radio Atlantic, Vann Newkirk and Adrienne Green join our hosts, Jeffrey Goldberg and Matt Thompson, to discuss the truth of King in the last year of his life and after. Links - KING: Full coverage from The Atlantic of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy - “The Whitewashing of King’s Assassination” (Vann R. Newkirk, MLK Issue) - “The Chasm Between Racial Optimism and Reality” (Jeffrey Goldberg, MLK Issue) - King’s Three Evils (Martin Luther King Jr., May 10, 1967) - “The Civil-Rights Movement’s Generation Gap” (Bree Newsome, MLK Issue) - “Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'” (Martin Luther King Jr., August 1, 1963) - “How Much Had Schools Really Been Desegregated by 1964?” (Martin Luther King Jr., MLK Issue) - “Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War” (Martin Luther King Jr., MLK Issue) - “Generational Differences in Black Activism” (Conor Friedersdorf, June 30, 2016) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Today, I want us to take some time to reflect on what Dr. King really stood for. The American education system and the media only focus on the I Have a Dream speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but that message was not the entirety of Dr. King's message. The speech we will hear today and which is transcribed below was actually the last that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered in his life. It was given in Tennessee, supporting the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike the day before his assassination. The audience is much different from the millions who were listening to I Have a Dream in 1963, and the message is much more specific and directed to the Black Community as well. I hope this touches, motivates, and invigorates your spirit as deeply as it did mine. Thank you for sharing this moment with me. God bless. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Memphis, TN - April 3, 1968 [Text transcribed directly from audio] Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you. And Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world. I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon. And I would watch them around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there. I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and aesthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I am named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his Ninety-five Theses on the door at the Church of Wittenberg. But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating President by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that We Have Nothing to Fear but "Fear Itself." But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee -- the cry is always the same: "We want to be free." And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today. And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis. I can remember -- I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world. And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying -- We are saying that we are God's children. And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live. Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity. Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers are on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that. Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be -- and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: We know how it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory. We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth, and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denominations, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water. That couldn't stop us. And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them; and we'd go on before the water hoses and we would look at it, and we'd just go on singing "Over my head I see freedom in the air." And then we would be thrown in the paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a can. And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, "Take 'em off," and they did; and we would just go in the paddy wagon singing, "We Shall Overcome." And every now and then we'd get in jail, and we'd see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers, and being moved by our words and our songs. And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn't adjust to; and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we won our struggle in Birmingham. Now we've got to go on in Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us when we go out Monday. Now about injunctions: We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on. We need all of you. And you know what's beautiful to me is to see all of these Ministers of the Gospel. It's a marvelous picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones. And whenever injustice is around he tell it. Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and saith, "When God speaks who can but prophesy?" Again with Amos, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Somehow the preacher must say with Jesus, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me," and he's anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor." And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years; he's been to jail for struggling; he's been kicked out of Vanderbilt University for this struggle, but he's still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. Reverend Ralph Jackson, Billy Kiles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank all of them. And I want you to thank them, because so often, preachers aren't concerned about anything but themselves. And I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry. It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here! It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do. Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people. Individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively -- that means all of us together -- collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it. We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles. We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you." And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy -- what is the other bread? -- Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on town -- downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right. But not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank. We want a "bank-in" movement in Memphis. Go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something that we don't do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We are telling you to follow what we are doing. Put your money there. You have six or seven black insurance companies here in the city of Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an "insurance-in." Now these are some practical things that we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here. Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school -- be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together. Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base.... Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother. Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem -- or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect. But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles -- or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked -- the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question. Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you. You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?" And I was looking down writing, and I said, "Yes." And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, your drowned in your own blood -- that's the end of you. It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what that letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King, I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." And she said, "While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I'm a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze." And I want to say tonight -- I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom and ended segregation in inter-state travel. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed -- If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze. And they were telling me --. Now, it doesn't matter, now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night." And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement along with Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy.  But he was in many ways unsung.  Middle Georgia State University Professor Andrew Manis talks about the legacy of Fred Shuttlesworth.   In 1999, he wrote A Fire You Can’t Put Out: The Civil Rights Life of Birmingham’s Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.  This book is in the process of being made into a film. I also speak with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.    He is a Georgetown University sociology professor, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, and a contributing editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN's The Undefeated website.  In January he released Tears We Cannot Stop:  A Sermon to White America. Powerful spokespersons for truth about race past and present.  Fire and tears.

There are very few people who intimidate me. Situations have intimidated me. Speaking engagements, without a doubt, have provided a healthy dose of intimidation. And definitely, career opportunities have knocked some fear in my nary hips. But people? nahhh. But oh contrar! During this show, that all changed. I've learned that people are people with a common need of love and God (one in the same). But when I met Dr. Sephira Shuttlesworth, my spirit was quieted, almost silenced, and I simply had no words. She had both and so much more- most overtly extraordinary black love. Dr. Shuttlesworth is spent the earlier part of her life creating history without even knowing it by desegregating her local elementary school in 1965 in Jackson, MS. She's also the wife to described in a 1961 CBS documentary as "the man most feared by Southern racists," Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. The history books titled Rev. Shuttlesworth along with Dr. Martin Luther King, and Ralph Abernathy as the Big Three. In part I of this insightful, humbling, eye-opening conversation, Dr. Sephira Shuttlesworth says "God prepares us for what he has for us." She shares the realities and some intimate moments of her life with the civil rights icon Fred Shuttlesworth in what she described as an explosion and an extraordinary love.

Being married to a man in the public's eye has its fair share of challenges. Challenges that some couples handle gracefully and others struggle until they find a sweet spot. But just as difficult and unique as those challenges may be, they can also produce a relationship so deep and so connected extraordinary love that only the heavens could separate the couple. In Part I of Extraordinary Love Dr. Sephira Shuttlesworth shares some of those very details of her self-described extraordinary love to the late civil rights icon Fred Shuttlesworth known as one the Big Three civil rights leaders that included Dr. Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, and and Fred Shuttlesworth. In this intimate conversation, she dishes not only how she "caught the big fish" but also how she prepared herself for the man who was described as most feared man by southern racist by a 1961 documentary. She says, "God knows what you need when you need it." Even though graciously shared some of her newest revelations, even up until this morning, about her marriage ...I was still without a doubt nervous. I got sweaty, heart skipped a few beats, and voice quivered (you may hear it ...lol) but I must say it was worth it! Listen as she describes her extraordinary love with Fred Shuttlesworth. A man, 36 years her senior, who she says wanted her to prove her love.

TESTO DELL'ARTICOLO ➜ https://www.bastabugie.it/it/articoli.php?id=3154MARTIN LUTHER KING: IL ''LATO OSCURO'' DEL LEADER NERO CHE ''AVEVA UN SOGNO'' di Giuseppe BrienzaMartin Luther King, nato "Michael King", ad Atlanta il 15 gennaio 1929, è morto a soli 39 anni a Memphis, il 4 aprile 1968. Politico, attivista e pastore protestante (battista) statunitense, è stato nel 1964 il più giovane Premio Nobel per la pace del mondo.IL "MITO SVELATO": GARROW ED IL GRUPPO DELLA STANFORD UNIVERSITYPochi sanno che, negli anni 1980, i lavori di un gruppo di ricerca istituito alla Stanford University per la pubblicazione dell'Opera omnia di King, sono stati bruscamente interrotti perché l'editore, già pronto da tempo, ha improvvisamente rinunciato alla stampa delle opere annunciate. Dopo i primi giorni di lavoro, infatti, i membri, discepoli e ammiratori fedelissimi del leader nero, si sono detti, testualmente, «increduli, sconvolti, avviliti» da quanto andava profilandosi sotto i loro occhi. Ma cosa era successo?Ha scritto Vittorio Messori che, i componenti del gruppo di lavoro della Stanford University, hanno «scoperto che buona parte di ciò che King ha lasciato — dai discorsi ai libri era stato copiato da altri autori: spesso, senza citare affatto la fonte; talvolta, limitandosi a una piccola nota che non faceva però sospettare l'imponenza del plagio. David Garrow, vincitore di un Premio Pulitzer per una biografia del pastore dall'impegnativo titolo di Portando la croce, ha dichiarato: "La scoperta è stata per me un forte trauma. Perché l'ha fatto? La cosa è ancor più sconvolgente perché non rientra nell'immagine dell'uomo che ho conosciuto e amato"» (V. Messori, M.L. King, in La sfida della Fede, SugarCo, Milano 2008, p. 488).IL «MOVIMENTO PER I DIRITTI CIVILI»Com'è nata la leadership di M. L. King a capo del «Movimento per i diritti civili»? Tutto è partito dal "caso dell'Arkansas", del 1957, che vide l'esclusione, da parte del governatore "sudista", di nove studenti negri dall'High School di Little Rock per evitare incidenti coi circa 2000 studenti bianchi iscritti. Il politico a capo della comunità fra le più conservatrici degli Stati Uniti ricorse alla Guardia nazionale, da lui dipendente, per impedire l'accesso alla scuola da parte dei negri.Il Presidente Eisenhower non poteva certo permettere che gli ordini del governo federale fossero disattesi da un governo "locale" e, pertanto, inviò un reparto dell'Esercito americano per scortare da casa a scuola gli studenti neri con soldati in pieno assetto di combattimento. Tale imposizione provocò incidenti che portarono appunto Martin Luther King a mettersi a capo di un "Movimento per i diritti civili" che, in primo luogo, avrebbe dovuto tutelare gli "American Negroes".King, alla maniera di Gandhi, scelse fin da subito di ricorrere a metodi di lotta non violenti come il boicottaggio di autobus, la convocazione di "marce per la pace" di soli negri, sit-in davanti ai ristoranti e ai locali riservati ai bianchi etc. Alla fine del 1957 il Congresso americano si vide quindi costretto ad approvare una legge sui diritti civili che dichiarava illegale la discriminazione dei negri nelle liste elettorali.MLK fu ucciso da un colpo di fucile di precisione sparatogli alla testa il 4 aprile 1968 mentre stava sul balcone di un Motel a Memphis, Tennessee. Anche nella morte violenta il pensiero politicamente corretto lo accomuna a Malcolm Little (1925-1965), detto Malcolm X, assassinato a New York durante una conferenza.Quest'ultimo, lungi dall'essere l'eroe che spesso ci si presenta, fu dapprima un delinquente, poi un fondamentalista islamico. In prigione dal 1946 al 1952 per furto, Little studiando da autodidatta fu attratto dai Black Muslims, movimento fondato da Elijha Muhammad, di cui divenne leader per 12 anni, cioè fino all'espulsione, che avvenne nel dicembre 1963. L'anno successivo, divenuto Malcolm X per rivendicare le sue ascendenze non-americane, fondò la Islam Nation, la "nazione dell'Islam", andando in pellegrinaggio alla Mecca.In The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) egli parla espressamente del suo passaggio da rapinatore e trafficante di droga del ghetto di Harlem a rivoluzionario islamista in servizio permanente effettivo. Eppure, da ultimo il regista americano Bryan Singer, nello scrivere il soggetto del noto film X-men (Usa 2011), ha esplicitamente modellato i suoi eroi sulle due figure a suo avviso fondamentali della storia americana, Martin Luther King appunto, e Malcolm X, «in sostanza mossi da ideali comuni, ma lontani nei metodi e nella Weltanschauung più profonda» (Armando Fumagalli-Luisa Cotta Ramosino, Scegliere un film 2011, Edizioni Ares, Milano 2011, p. 385).IL LIBRO PIÙ NOTO DI KING, «THE STRENGTH TO LOVE»Il libro più noto di King è The Strength to Love (Harper & Row, New York 1963), La forza di amare una raccolta di sermoni e preghiere che, anche in Italia, si rivelò negli anni 1960 un best seller straordinario, apprezzato soprattutto negli ambienti cattolici e, persino, ecclesiastici. Eppure, come ha rivelato il gruppo di ricerca americano, «anche quel libro è in gran parte la cucitura di sermoni e libri di altri autori, il cui contributo è però taciuto da King» (V. Messori, M.L. King, in La sfida della Fede, op. cit., p. 488).Recentemente abbiamo poi visto l'ennesima edizione cattolica di questo libro che, dal 1 settembre 2011, è stato addirittura venduto "in abbinata" con il settimanale Famiglia Cristiana a soli 6,90 € in più (cfr. Martin Luther King, La forza di amare, Edizioni San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo 2011). Dalla "quarta di copertina" di questa popolare ed economica edizione troviamo "dichiarazioni d'amore" per il leader nero del seguente tenore: «Dalle pagine dei discorsi di M. L. King emerge un completo sistema di vita morale: un pensiero illuminato dalla dottrina cristiana dell'amore operante attraverso la non-violenza… King non era ostinatamente fedele a una astratta ideologia: con incrollabile fermezza seguiva la voce della coscienza nel diritto cammino verso l'abolizione della segregazione dei neri».E ancora: «Rosa Parks, nera dell'Alabama che non poteva sedere nell'autobus dei bianchi, cantava: "Se non posso sedere fra gli altri / secondo la legge della mia terra/ camminerò per strada/camminerò con la pioggia e con il sole finché la legge/non sarà cambiata /nella mia terra". Con la forza della non violenza King e il suo popolo ottennero uno storico pronunciamento della Corte suprema che apriva la strada ai diritti civili ai neri».Eppure la sua figura, oltre a quanto finora detto, non è stata "rosa e fiori" anche per altri gravi motivi morali. Quello di scabroso che molti non sanno di Martin Luther King... La sua abitudine di avere avventure extra-coniugali era ben nota nella società americana "che conta" degli anni Sessanta. Uno dei suoi ammiratori, Michael Eric Dyson, ha dichiarato ad esempio che King raccontava spesso «barzellette oscene», «condivideva donne con amici», ed era uno «sessualmente sconsiderato», «sexually reckless» secondo l'espressione diretta di Dyson (cfr. The Unknown Martin Luther King, Jr., a cura di Benjamin J. Ryan, American Renaissance, Gennaio 2009).Secondo Taylor Branch, uno dei biografi di King, durante il giorno il leader nero parlava a grandi folle, citando la Sacra Scrittura e invocando la volontà di Dio ma, di notte, aveva frequentemente rapporti sessuali con donne del suo uditorio. Sempre secondo Branch, durante una lunga festa nella notte fra il 6 ed il 7 gennaio 1964, una microspia dell'FBI registrò la distinta voce di King che aveva rapporti con una donna e, la notte prima della sua morte, tradì la moglie Coretta Scott (1927-2006), che aveva sposato giovanissima, nel 1953, andando a letto con alcune donne.L'informazione che King sia stato fedifrago in articulo mortis è tratta dalla mastodontica biografia scritta da un testimone diretto di molte delle sue avventure, Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), intitolata And The Walls Came Tumbling Down (Harper & Row, New York 1989, pp. 638). Abernathy è stato il suo miglior amico ed era presente con King nella notte precedente al suo assassinio.King giustificava le sue infedeltà coniugali in una maniera che, oggi, a dir poco potrebbe essere definita maschilista e sessista. «Io sto lontano da casa dai 25 ai 27 giorni ogni mese. Avere rapporti è una forma di riduzione dell'ansietà», avrebbe dichiarato stando al libro sopra citato The Unknown Martin Luther King, Jr.Ma oltre che "scabroso", il pensiero di King, risulta anche eretico dal punti di vista cattolico. Nel suo scritto "What Experiences of Christians Living in the Early Christian Century Led to the Christian Doctrines of the Divine Son ship of Jesus, the Virgin Birth, and the Bodily Resurrection" ("Quali Esperienze dei Cristiani che vissero nel Primo Secolo Cristiano portarono alle Dottrine Cristiane della Divina Condizione di Figlio di Gesù, della Nascita Verginale, e della Resurrezione Corporale") il pastore nero nega infatti che Gesù Cristo è il divino Figli

As much as the Civil Rights Movement was driven by the men and women who boldly took steps toward change, it was clear that not much could be done without well-run organizations taking the lead. Americus, Ga., native Dr. William Anderson founded the Albany Movement in Georgia in 1961 in an effort to forge a broad-based coalition for change. In the process, he not only brought together thousands of local citizens, but caught the attention of national leaders, including Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr.