Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

  • Shop
  • Subscribe to BMG
  • Contact
  • Log In
  • Front Page
  • All Posts
  • About
  • Rules
  • Events
  • Register on BMG

A Tribute to MLK and Today’s Nameless Advocates for Equality

January 15, 2007 By Laurel 15 Comments

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 78 today. Below is the complete I Have a Dream  speech, given August 28, 1963 at The March on Washington (You can read it here.).

</object

h/t Pam

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0
0

Filed Under: User Tagged With: birmingham, equality, martin-luther-king, mlk

Please login to comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

15 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
david
david
2021 years ago

Jon Keller’s interesting post on a way to keep Martin Luther King Day from becoming just another Monday holiday.

0
0
laurel
laurel
Reply to  david
2021 years ago

Depending on the community, the aim of such projects as Keller suggests could be much broader.  The Southern Poverty Law Center has some wonderful resources for this.

0
0
tblade
tblade
Reply to  laurel
2021 years ago

…but I remember being a grade/middle/high school student.  Service projects may be too ambitious for students who, like my former self, already push the limits on turning in half-ass homework assignments and projects.  Might adding this requirement prompt kids to dread the yearly King Day curriculum and have a reverse effect that Keller is shooting for?

<

p>
That being said, Keller is on to something, and I do feel professional educators could design a “King Day” curriculum where an entire school day, perhaps April 4, is devoted to race/ethnic/gender equality studies and in-school projects, programs and workshops.

0
0
laurel
laurel
Reply to  tblade
2021 years ago

I don’t have any kids in school, so am not so up on the details.  I wonder if curriculum is flexible enough these days to allow room for something like this?  I hear a lot about ‘teaching to the test’.  Do MCAS requirements/oressures reduce the possibility of creative things like this?

0
0
tblade
tblade
Reply to  laurel
2021 years ago

I don’t know, and I am far from an educator, but I wonder if the question is less about could it be done and more about do people want to do it? Think of the energy and logistics of designing and facilitating a dynamic daylong program that is interesting, valuable, and pedagogically sound.  Would the educators designing and implementing such a program need new training for handling such sensitive materials?

<

p>
I’m only basing my questions on my experiences in middle/high school versus my experiences in college.  In my mostly White school system, we were totally ignorant to gender issues, and our racial studies centered on watching selections from “Roots”. In college, discussions are often lead by Ph.Ds and students are exposed to a variety of scholarly works on the topic. 

<

p>
I’m not saying that there are no teachers currently qualified to do such work, I’m just wondering if, given the amount of effort it may take to produce a quality “King Day” program in every school, educators and school districts would have the energy for such an ambitious project?

0
0
laurel
laurel
Reply to  tblade
2021 years ago

That’s why I linked to Tolerance.org above.  They provide tons of ideas on how to introduce students to virtually any angle on the equality/bigotry issue.  SOme of the exercises are quite simple, and many were developed by interested teachers.  I think even I, a non-teacher, could lead a class through one sucessfully.  So I don’t think special training is necessary for teachers who understand the point of the exercise (although always nice, huh, teachers?!).  I bet it really comes down to, as you suggested, the will of the school or teacher to approach the topic, and also the time to do it during the semester.

0
0
tblade
tblade
Reply to  laurel
2021 years ago

And I did like that link.

<

p>
I’d love to see an MLK day in school that explored anything from something as general as watching the “I Have a Dream” speech to thoughtful and spirited discussions on the use of the word “nigger” to the Oakland School Board’s decision on ebonics and thousands of other mini-topics that just don’t fit into typical school curriculum.

<

p> 

0
0
laurel
laurel
Reply to  tblade
2021 years ago

I think getting even more basic than what you’re suggesting would be really useful.  for example, doing exercises that let majority kids feel what it’s like to be a minority, even if it’s only for 20 min. when your classmates start to too gleefully come up with derrogatory terms for you because you randomly chose the “wrong” color paper from the hat, the baselessness of bigotry becomes much more apparent.  it is a memorable and meaningful experience.  i said kids.  really, this should be done with groups all the way up through college and beyond.  churches would be a great place to do this with older folks.

0
0
tblade
tblade
2021 years ago

First, great post.

<

p>
Second, for those who may not know, MLK studied for his doctorate at BU and lived at 387 Massachusetts Ave (marked with a small comemorative plaque).  While in Boston, King met a New England Conservatory student named Coretta Scott. 

0
0
john-howard
john-howard
2021 years ago

a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.

<

p>
So, a law banning genetic engineering would be a just law, because people against genetic engineering are a majority and they are willing to follow the law themselves.  They would compel a minority (transhumanists and postgenderists and eugencists) to follow it also.  We should all be made the same way, by the natural union of a man and a woman.  We should not allow any of us to be genetically engineered or cloned.  This is sameness made legal.

0
0
raweel
raweel
Reply to  john-howard
2021 years ago

The weakness of any majoritarian argument is that majorities change.

<

p>
1.  Cloning technology if it becomes available in the near term will most likely be banned for everyone, with majority support — a just law by this definition.

<

p>
2. However it is probable that GE would be used to primarily ‘correct’ birth defects, not for full-scale cloning.

<

p>
3.  Therefore as GE becomes more widely used, a majority will become more familiar with GE & fears will relax against wider application.

<

p>
4.  As the technology matures, both the majoritarian argument against GE/cloning AND the technical ‘safety’ argument falls apart.  Therefore all that is left is a teleological/moralist argument, that does not follow this definition of just law.

0
0
john-howard
john-howard
Reply to  raweel
2021 years ago

Yeah, you’ve outlined the plan nicely.  Introduce GE as an option for people to use to allow them to ‘correct’ their genes, or to allow them to mate with someone of their same sex.  Then it will gradually become more widely used, and applications will increase.  What will happen though is people will begin to feel pressured to use GE to improve their child’s genes, they won’t feel they have much choice about it.  It is even possible that we will not allow people with “bad” genes to use their own genes (though if they are somehow still fertile enough they might be able to do it through sex anyway, like Ethan Hawke’s parents in Gattaca).  Some of us will be “gene rich” and some of us will be “gene poor”, and it will be the “rich rich” who are “gene rich” and the “poor poor” who are “gene poor”.  Third world countries will fall even further behind, because they will have to care for people born with diseases that perhaps rich countries will no longer have to care for.  And we will start to value people based on their genes, instead of accepting people and their disabilities.

<

p>
Yes, this is a moralist argument, not a safety argument, nor a simple majority argument.  Clearly, both the safety and the public opposition will change if we them to.  That is not a reason to allow them to.  We should all be the same – the child of our mother and father.  Sameness made law.

<

p>
And currently, right now, GE is unsafe and unpopular, so why is it still legal?  Why don’t we enact the egg and sperm law now, along with the other half of the compromise that grants federal recognition to civil unions, and then – if it becomes safe or if a majority demands that it be legal – THEN we make it legal?!?  And then, we’d convert civil unions to marriages, since they would then have the right to attempt to conceive.

0
0
johnk
johnk
2021 years ago

Link to post

<

p>

I have come to realize that conservatism’s single most identifiable characteristic is its fear (of progress, the other — everything.) And nothing scared conservatives more than the great progressive Martin Luther King, who faced them down peacefully with grim determination and awesome courage. Why, if African Americans could overcome, then what was to stop anybody from believing that “liberty and justice for all” applied to them too. Thanks, Reverend King for making it so.

0
0
tblade
tblade
2021 years ago

My favorite band, U2, have two songs in which Martin Luther King is featured prominantly. Here are the YouTube Clips for Pride (In The Name of Love) and MLK, both from “The Unforgettable Fire”.

0
0
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

Recommended Posts

  • President Biden Needs to Kill the Kill Switch (2)
  • Republicans Concerned that "Free Money" leads to Lazy People, but only if they are Poor. (2)
  • Tuxedos, Childcare, and the OCPF (2)
  • CPAC an Orwellian Nightmare (1)
  • Hey Legislators, It's Time Randolph to Have a District! (1)

Recent User Posts

George Washington and the Taliban

March 4, 2021 By Steve Consilvio Leave a Comment

The Dr. Seuss Excuse?

March 4, 2021 By johntmay 4 Comments

Results of the Suffolk 19th

March 3, 2021 By jconway 40 Comments

Hey Legislators, It’s Time Randolph to Have a District!

March 2, 2021 By bob-gardner 1 Comment

Tuxedos, Childcare, and the OCPF

March 1, 2021 By mathelman 2 Comments

CPAC an Orwellian Nightmare

March 1, 2021 By jconway 7 Comments

Recent Comments

  • bob-gardner on Results of the Suffolk 19thYou are right to emphasize turnout but I would go furthe…
  • bob-gardner on Results of the Suffolk 19thI think that strategy is very unlikely to succeed. A muc…
  • Trickle up on Results of the Suffolk 19thIt is pretty to think that "soul searching" will allow "…
  • bob-gardner on Results of the Suffolk 19thNot every endorsement has to mean something, but an orga…
  • Christopher on Results of the Suffolk 19thIf I were Juan Jaramillo I would keep very close tabs on…
  • SomervilleTom on Results of the Suffolk 19thThere is a middle ground between "favor every single nom…
  • SomervilleTom on Results of the Suffolk 19th"Actual control" isn't the point. The point is for the p…

Archive

@bluemassgroup on Twitter

Blue Mass. GroupFollow

Blue Mass. Group
Retweet on TwitterBlue Mass. Group Retweeted
cdempcChris Dempsey@cdempc·
11h

Ride home tonight via an inland route, with a stop @sweetgreen. The improvements to cycling infrastructure on Tremont and around the Boston Common and Public Garden vs. what was there a year ago are incredible. Bravo to @BostonBTD + groups like @bostonbikeunion! (1 of 2) #bospoli

Reply on Twitter 1367656595933585411Retweet on Twitter 13676565959335854118Like on Twitter 136765659593358541186Twitter 1367656595933585411
Retweet on TwitterBlue Mass. Group Retweeted
BenDowningMABen Downing@BenDowningMA·
23h

"Downing sees evidence of inequities every time he drops his son off at daycare -I know that (he) will get more opportunities than many kids in his classroom b/c ... of different racial background, different ethnic background ... That's wrong" https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/03/04/ben-downing-gubernatorial-race-candicacy-baker #mapoli

Reply on Twitter 1367476101044449281Retweet on Twitter 136747610104444928111Like on Twitter 136747610104444928142Twitter 1367476101044449281
bluemassgroupBlue Mass. Group@bluemassgroup·
3 Mar

When Scott Brown won in January 2010, Alan Khazei told us, “you can’t read too much into it. It’s a special election!”

Bad result but good to keep in mind.

Stephanie Murray@stephanie_murr

Looks like JEFF TURCO wins the race to replace former House Speaker Robert DeLeo in the 19th Suffolk District. JUAN PABLO JARAMILLO comes in second by just under 300 votes.

Reply on Twitter 1367083918839717893Retweet on Twitter 13670839188397178931Like on Twitter 13670839188397178934Twitter 1367083918839717893
bluemassgroupBlue Mass. Group@bluemassgroup·
3 Mar

Yikes.

Adam Bass@AdamBassWCCS

The idea of a Pro Life Trump supporter winning Suffolk 19 is not out of the ordinary. Winthrop is particular is much more right leaning that Revere. And Revere got severely out voted. When Capobianco had his story, that left you with two progressives. #mapoli

Reply on Twitter 1366955369680031745Retweet on Twitter 1366955369680031745Like on Twitter 13669553696800317455Twitter 1366955369680031745
Retweet on TwitterBlue Mass. Group Retweeted
Jo_ComerfordJo Comerford@Jo_Comerford·
2 Mar

.@CDCgov dir. @RWalensky, once part of MA's #COVID19 advsy board, said

"Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19 ... not when we are so close."

But @MassGovernor pushes to reopen.

Who is advising Gov. Baker now?

Reply on Twitter 1366716602138386432Retweet on Twitter 136671660213838643217Like on Twitter 136671660213838643247Twitter 1366716602138386432
Load More...

From our sponsors




Google Calendar







Search

Archives

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter




Copyright © 2021 Owned and operated by BMG Media Empire LLC. Read the terms of use. Some rights reserved.

wpDiscuz
15
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply