Take it from Dr. King
Posted: August 27, 2011 Filed under: Civil Rights | Tags: American Dreamers, Dr. Michael Kazin, I have a Dream, Martin Luther King, MLK Memorial, music and social justice, Pete Seeger, We Shall Over come 24 Comments
The I have a Dream Speech happened 48 years ago tomorrow.
I thought about this a lot while I was watching the PBS Masters series on Pete Seeger called The Power of Song. A repeat of the 2007 program was played yesterday showing 88 years of Pete Seeger and the role of his protests songs in everything from cleaning the Hudson River, to the Vietnam War and protesting the Wars in Afghanistan and, of course, his score for the Civil Rights movement.
There was then and there should be now: a powerful joining of social justice, music, and words.
Here’s part of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
Here is the powerful music of Pete Seeger who provided the score to so many social justice movements during my life time.
and from the PBS show and the transcript up top:
This is an open thread, but I’d like to add an article with a good question.
Why won’t America embrace the left?
In two centuries, the movement’s history in America is plagued by failure. An expert explains why.
What has the left really accomplished over the past two centuries? FDR’s New Deal remains one of the great American success stories. In the ’60s, leftist politics created a massive countercultural movement — and sexual and feminist revolutions. The civil rights movement transformed both American society and the American soul. But, if you compare the accomplishments of the American left to those of other parts of the world, like Western Europe, its record is remarkably dismal, with a surprising lack of real political and social impact.
At least, that’s the main takeaway from “American Dreamers,” a new book by Michael Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University, which covers nearly 200 years of struggle for civil rights, sexual equality and radical rebellion. His book explores the way the national conversation has been changed by union organizers, gay rights activists and feminists. He also writes about how their techniques have now been adopted by the Tea Party movement. From Michael Moore to “Wall-E,” he argues that, although the left has been successful at transforming American culture, when it comes to practical change, it’s been woefully unsuccessful.
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Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Hurricane Rick still thinks Social Security is unconstitutional.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/27/306126/rick-perry-social-security-still-unconstitutional/
On MSNBC right now theiy are showing people in VA driving around in several inches of water. Morons. Go home and read a book.
The body language of that MLK statue doesn’t seem right- the crossed arms do signal I will not be moved- but I always thought his message was more uplifting and embracing. Just a gut reaction I guess, I always catch myself when I have that pose- seems authoritarian and overbearing, so I force myself to relax my arms.
As for the left being unsuccessful- sure seems so these days. Damn, I’m wishing for a leftie “nutjob” to appear to counter all those tea party/fundamentalist nutjobs.
I thought the crossed arms were strange too. I wonder why the artist chose that pose?
Artists — real artists can put messages in their work.
I’d only seen photos of part of the statue. And it is puzzling that the work was done in China — not giving the work to so many outstanding artists. There is a woman who does full size sculptures — she did a series of women that is outstanding.
Anyway seeing the full statues — the arms are crossed and MLK is holding rolled up sheets of paper — perhaps a speech? MLK is holding the roll of papers with left hand, against the right side of his body and somewhat protected. His stance is solid — legs spread to give good balance to the upper part of the body.
This statue could be from a photo of MLK just before he gave a speech — perhaps THE speech. Or the statue could be a Chinese artist’s concept?
From Wikipedia:
The memorial’s design, by ROMA Design Group, a San Francisco-based architecture firm, was selected out of 900 candidates from 52 countries. On December 4, 2000, a marble and bronze plaque was laid by Alpha Phi Alpha to dedicate the site where the memorial will be built.[24] Soon thereafter, a full-time fundraising team began the fundraising and promotional campaign for the memorial. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the memorial was held on November 13, 2006, in West Potomac Park.
Apparently this statue is placed in a space that was designed for the statue.
The statue of King is intended to give the impression that he is looking over the Tidal Basin at the Jefferson Memorial, and that the cherry trees that “adorn the site” will bloom every year during the anniversary of King’s death.
There was a lot of controversy about the selection of the artist and the use of material and workers from China.
In September 2010, the foundation gave written promises that it would use local stonemasons to assemble the memorial. However, when construction began in October, it appeared that only Chinese laborers would be used. The Washington area local of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers union investigated and determined that the workers were not being paid on a regular basis, with all of their pay being withheld until they return to China.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._National_Memorial
You’ve seen this? Via Roger Eberts on Facebook.
http://gawker.com/5818993/richard-dawkins-torn-limb-from-limbby-atheists
Dawkins was being a butt — he has a daughter (I’ve met her) and I doubt he would want her to be hit on constantly. I read about this just after it happened (somewhere — who knows I hit a lot of blogs).
A whole lot of men do this sort of thing — you’re alone, I’m alone — blah blah blah — and simply do not understand when they get rejected or why they’ve hit on the wrong woman at the wrong time.
Stuff like this happens at professional conferences all the time — and no one ever prepares or warns us about the creeps that crawl out of woodwork. I wish I had a paint stick so that I could put a big X on every guy who has the stupids.
Dawkins has always been a MCP — I’d say most if not all of the old males from the ivy covered towers are MCPs.
Dawkins screwed up by making a public remark — he in all his MCPnes — should have known to keep his “superiority” remarks to himself. He deserves the flash back for being an arrogant male snot.
Thanks for this link. I like some of the comments at http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/07/always_name_names.php
Dawkins’ attempts to “explain” his remarks demonstrate that he doesn’t get it all over again.
This to me is the money quote:
Rebecca’s feeling that the man’s proposition was ‘creepy’ was her own interpretation of his behaviour, presumably not his. She was probably offended to about the same extent as I am offended if a man gets into an elevator with me chewing gum. But he does me no physical damage and I simply grin and bear it until either I or he gets out of the elevator. It would be different if he physically attacked me.
Muslim women suffer physically from misogyny, their lives are substantially damaged by religiously inspired misogyny. Not just words, real deeds, painful, physical deeds, physical privations, legally sanctioned demeanings.
Dawkins reserves to himself the privilege of defining women’s experience.
Predators like this is exactly why the women here in Saudi like to cover themselves from head to toe, and why separation of men and women – separate classrooms, separate floors of shopping centers, separate lines to buy anything, and separate “women’s branches” for most banks – is the official government policy.
Can you imagine someone going to say, a convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and asking a keynote speaker for a shoe shine? I bet they would publish THAT name. And I bet you wouldn’t see that behavior again.
Ah, Pete Seeger – we shall overcome. I don’t think I could ever forget those very heady days. Today, there’s Bruce Cockburn and very very few others.(Pete and Bruce are friends) Where has the passion gone? Back then we were passionate about civil rights, equality for all, the environment etc. Today, the young are passionate about which electronic reader to buy with Mom’s money. Somewhere along the line, we got sidetracked. Giving kids stuff is not the same as teaching them to be caring, thoughtful human beings/
Here’s a taste of Bruce – one of the most accomplished gutarists in the world.
Thanks — for the link.
Way back when our generation were passionate for things that really mattered for future generations — the rules (rich & powerful who seem to control messages) were shocked — because the altruism gene had been suppressed. But the master controllers managed to find a way to take over and control the passion of the youth.
Way back when I was in college I took a course from a man who lived so far in the future that we still haven’t caught up with him. He lectured in his Soc. Class that all small spontaneous disorganization surges are eventually taken over and absorbed by the dominate social order. He told us that what we were seeing in the 60s and 70s (passion in music, arts, and social movements) would be taken over.
I honestly didn’t understand what he was saying — until the last few years. It is the young who should be the leaders — the idealistic ones — but we aren’t seeing that happen — and HT says the young are passionate about “stuff” and not seeing the larger world.
so true and to my despair, my own two – daughter and son – are dispassionate about the inequality in the world. I raised them to care – yet here they are not caring. I don’t know what I did wrong but somehow I royally screwed up..
HT it wasn’t you — the peer pressure and the culture is a powerful force. You gave them the foundation — that’s all you can really do. And then trust that eventually they will understand.
Hello all! A bit OT, but I haven’t laughed so hard in quite awhile. Seems obumbles needs some good press ad has decided that a bit of work might get it….
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-takes-charge-hurricane-command-center-172139005.html
He really should let the big boys handle it…
Asshat.
Hillary 2012
Oh for crying out loud – “taking charge” – thanks Rock, I needed a chuckle.
LMAO!!!! I pee’d a little when I saw that I was laughing so hard!!!
Hillary 2012
Yes, I love the name plate…
Yup, leader of the free world in a nutshell. And we could have had much better. Choices are funny…….Who the h elected this person?
As if everyone there didn’t know.
EGO. Are we now going to be seeing “leadership” theater?
Northwest, honestly he couldn’t lead a girl scout troop. I’ve done it, and those girls are murder.