#ReclaimMLK

[kheelcenter]

#OnThisDay in 1968

#OnThisDay Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at his last New York City appearance before his assassination at Local 1199’s annual “Salute to Freedom” event at @HunterCollege on March 10, 1968 to promote the Poor People’s Campaign, a march on Washington to fight for economic justice for the poor, and to rally against the war in Vietnam. 

 Local 1199 was MLK and Coretta Scott’s favorite union and during this speech entitled “The Other America,” King lauded the organizing efforts of 1199 and anti-war stance of the union as “the authentic conscience of the labor movement.”

 An excerpt from Dr. King at this event: “In these moments of disenchantment, I begin to think of unions like Local 1199 and it gives me renewed courage and vigor to carry on... and the feeling that there are some unions left that will always maintain the radiant and vibrant idealism that brought the labor movement into being. And I would suggest that if all of labor would emulate what you have been doing over the years, our nation would be closer to victory in the fight to eliminate poverty and injustice. I also believe that if all of labor were to follow your example of mobilizing and involving working people in the campaign to end the war in Vietnam, our nation would be much closer to a swift settlement of that immoral, unjust, and ill-considered war. {...} And so for many reasons I'm happy to be here, because of your fight for justice, your fight for peace, your fight for human decency, and for dignity for every working person. I don't consider myself a stranger. I've been with 1199 so many times in the past that I consider myself a fellow 1199er…”. 

 [Pictures from Coll. #6118, #6140, and #5206s Local 1199 Executive Secretary Moe Foner Records]

 @1199seiu @seiu1199 @CornellILR @CornellLibrary @CornellTextileIndustry #CornellRAD #CornellILR #ILR #Friday #KheelCenter #archiveslife #laborarchives #laborhistory #labor #unions #archivesofinstagram #fromthearchives #history #iglibraries #local1199 #hospitalworkers #mlk #reclaimmlk #martinlutherking #martinlutherkingjr #corettascottking #drking #civilrights #1968 #huntercollege #1199seiu #seiu1199

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

Today's the day where you see everyone quote MLK, even people who actively works against literally everything he and grassroots leaders and organizers and Civil Rights era activists, those whom came before, and those whom came after have and are still striving towards.

"Freedom", "Unity", and "Peace" are three words that even the well meaning will throw out and ask for in the spirit of MLK, but sometimes folks will do it uncritically.

They ask for freedom with pointing out what holds people in bondage today. They'll uncritically ask for unity without explaining who needs to unify or who they're asking us to unify with. They'll ask for peace and mean an absence of conflict, but Martin Luther King Jr may have advocated non-violent protests but he wasn't advocating a lack of conflict.

In the non-violent protest tension was created; tension that begged a response. King and others knew what the likely outcomes was of their protest. They knew the dangers and violence that awaited them and still they did it anyways.

[Image: Colorized photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and daughters Yolanda and Bernice King sitting for an evening meal.]

From his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, we have the following;

"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season."

Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

Emphasis mine. Everyone wants to quote his "I Have A Dream's speech, because it is so filled with hope and while there is nothing wrong with that, lip service is paid to Martin Luther King Jr. Don't forget that he was assinated. Listen to some of his other speeches and read some of his other writing.

His Three Evils of Society Speech is espet prescient today:

And lest we forget Coretta Scott King? We'd bet not. Every inch of a champion of civil rights and justice as King;

[image: Screenshot of a Twitter post from @MsPackyetti with text and an image of Coretta Scott King.

Text: "Something is wrong when we have to feed so many. Why should there be poverty with all of our science and technology? There is no deficit in human resources- it is a deficit in human will." - Coretta Scott King #MLK #ReclaimMLK

A Queen was here too. She made us better.]

Read all of Letter From a Birmingham Jail, see King's frustration with the moderate liberal, and then see the same arguments that he and others were struggling against being made today when there's a BLM protest or when finger wagging naysayer tries to drag you into the weeds about "defund the police".

Anyways, that's all.

--silentaugur

[fullpraxisnow]

#MLKalsoSaid via Twitter

[shulchan]

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Carl Muhammad

On Martin Luther King Day, Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) held its 5th Annual People’s March and Day of Action to Reclaim King’s Radical Legacy. 

Starting at 8 a.m. and ending around 8 p.m., the full day of events included meals, meditation and sound healing, a youth teach-in, speeches by mothers of Black men killed by the Oakland Police Department, a march through downtown, a musical celebration and people’s assemblies.

[thatlaidbackdude]

[kosmicole]

Uplift the youth because their curious, malleable minds are the future! A holistic, contextual education of creative, critical thought is key to spiritual wealth and economic liberation and hence a more humane & equitable society. Art can help youth navigate, develop and express their voices and intellectual-emotional experiences with courage, while contextualizing cultural exploitation, generational oppression and inhumane practices. Rather than trying to convince adults away from their programed prejudices, short tempers and confirmation biases (cuz many get enraged at #kaepernick kneeling to make a point of blatant racist/institutionalized killings🤦🏽‍♂️) Staying committed to the youth encouraging cultivation of kindness, compassion, equity and respect for self and one other, particularly #ADOS black people. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” #reclaimmlk #martinlutherkingjrday #protectblackwomen #breonnataylor #sandrabland #protectblackyouth #protectblackmen #streetart #oaklandmurals #educationmatters https://www.instagram.com/p/CKNKE4DBxWO/?igshid=1g2menx7zzv0q

[imanihenry]

#ReclaimMLK

And I know it’s frightening to come to grips with the fact that we’ve all been lied to our whole lives, but dear ones, The system is NOT broken & just needs fixing. This system is doing exactly what it was meant to do - oppress & exploit each and every one of us. Fascism has happened before & is on the rise again. I think it’s just time to acknowledge that capitalism is an evil rotten oppressive system that will never bring justice or freedom for anyone.

So especially, today on MLK Day, the call to action can’t be to simply vote Trump out of office. That if we truly want to invoke “peaceful nonviolent resistance” that means we are engaging in civil disobedience and participating in acts of economic sabotage like boycotts, workouts or strikes. That means we’re putting our bodies on the line, giving up daily comforts to occupy spaces, risking being dragged out by police until we get change. It means answering the call to come out in the thousands, taking the streets, shaking bridges, locking down highways and shutting shit down. That’s what the Civil Rights Movement did!

This liberal revisionist - and frankly ageist - version of history where the movements of today like the Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Movement or Migrants Rights movement, etc. get told “they are doing things the wrong way “ needs to end.

I would also argue that at no time in the Civil Rights Movement were Black people told they needed to sit down and have “dialogues“ or “town halls “ with the Klan, cops or any other of our enemies. And for those who invoke Dr. King���s name telling oppressed people that our demonstrations must be "peaceful & passive "- please remember WE ARE NOT THE VIOLENT ONES & our protests have ALWAYS been met with state violence. We have always been attacked by cops, dogs and water hoses - and anything that we do to protect ourselves is not violence but self-defense.

So now that we’ve established that we will never have freedom under capitalism - Can we all start to accept that the only thing that will actually free us is to have a revolution in this country. One just needs to check back on histories of Haiti, Cuba, China, Russia etc as examples. And this is exactly what the ruling class in of this country fears the most --- That people will finally understand that they have been lied to this whole time and that voting will NEVER bring change - politicians will NEVER do the right thing - corporations will NEVER stop exploiting people- and the police will NEVER stop murdering us.

I am almost 50 years old. I have been an activist for over half my life. I’m not gonna lie. I'm tired and finally just want to be free of racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ oppresion, bigotry and violence. I don’t want to continue to live worried about whether I will have housing or healthcare or when the next deportation will happen or which one of my neighbors will be shot for simply calling 911. What brings me hope, what keeps me going is my unwavering belief that one day - even if it's not in my lifetime - that there will be a socialist revolution in this country.

You can call me radical or a revolutionary - cuz I am - but at the end of the day if we truly want to be FREE -- to finally be liberated ---then our ultimate goal must be to overthrow capitalism. What do we have to lose? #ReclaimMLK

[dontshootpdx]

Art Working today with the Don’t Shoot Portland Children’s Arts and Social Justice Council. Free Event Family Friendly for Projects leading up to the #ReclaimMLK Children’s March Today join us for Screen Making, Print using the wood block method, banner making and a civil rights history photo booth. Economic Empowerment for and by Children 🍋 Join Don't Shoot PDX and PNCA's Print Media program this Sunday for a fun collaborative printmaking event to make artwork to honor and highlight the long history of Black activists and change-makers! This artwork will be co-produced and carried by the kids participating in the annual children's MLK Day march, organized by Don't Shoot PDX. We will be working together with kids and folks of all ages to screenprint and create prints from large-scale woodblocks. All ages welcome! No experience necessary! ** There are some pieces of equipment in the Print lab that are dangerous for very young children to touch, so please plan to keep all kids, especially those under the age of 6, under close supervision!** 511 NW Broadway. In PNCA's Print Labs, 2nd Floor. (at PNCA MFA Print Media)

[watchwhatyounodto]

#ReclaimMLK #BoycottCocaCola #MartinLutherKing #CocaCola #Boycott

[theartdontstop]

Sketches from the #reclaimmlk rally in Oakland led by @aptp_oakland @therealcatbrooks celebrating victories by @moms4housing and demanding accountability from the #AlamedaCounty Sheriffs dept and all their enablers. Also remembering the people who have been killed by police and making connections with labor, environment, and other justice movements. Speakers included politicians, labor leaders, disability activists, youth leaders - with clear efforts made to make the event #accessable for all #mlkday #reclaimmlkday (at Oscar Grant Plaza) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7jsOLPFI8k/?igshid=1f3q7qwvk6p26

[asharaekundayo]

Huge news: @Moms4Housing We have reached an agreement to purchase #MomsHouse. Wedgewood will negotiate in good faith w/ the #OaklandCommunityLandTrust to purchase the Magnolia Street home for "a price not to exceed the appraised value." This isn't just a win for us. We fought for all of #Oakland. Wedgewood promised to work with the City of Oakland's Housing Department & the OCLT to negotiate a right of first refusal program on Oakland properties owned by the company. #reclaimmlk #seeblackwomxn #artistasfirstresponder #organizingworks @asharaekundayogallery #january15 (at Oakland, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7jcZdrFz3g/?igshid=z59nwm1zymgk

[tyrras]

Ty flips off Dump every day for 4 years #resist #maga #covingtoncatholic #covingtoncatholichighschool #exposechristianschools #trumpshutdown #governmentshutdown #endtheshutdown #buildthewall #fuckyourwall #kamalaharris2020 #kamala2020 #covingtonboys #mlkday #mlkjr #reclaimmlk #mlknow #trumprussia #impeachthemf #climatechange #middlefingermonday #mondaymotivation #somanyreasons https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs6g8n8Brwf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qff95j22o6al

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Oakland, Calif.: People’s March to Reclaim King’s Radical Legacy

January 21, 2019 - Gather 11:00 am, March at 12 noon

Oscar Grant Plaza, 14th St. & Broadway, Oakland

Hosted by Anti Police-Terror Project

For the 5th year running, the Anti Police-Terror Project calls the Bay Area into the streets for the People’s March to Reclaim MLK’s Radical Legacy.

January 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of Oscar Grant. This year, we honor the mothers of those lost to police violence, and lift up their resilience. 

It’s also been another 10 years of gentrification. Another 10 years of displacement. Another 10 years of a worsening houselessness crisis. Another 10 years of the Bay Area’s elected leaders putting profits over people. Another 10 years of government for and by developers, tech companies, and banks -- instead of for and by the People.

The People have had enough. On Jan. 21, we march for justice for all victims of police terror and their families. We march for housing as a human right. We march for a just economy that meets everyone’s human needs. We march for real community safety, which means defunding the police to invest in our communities. We march for quality education for all our kids. We march for real sanctuary in the Bay. We march for a sustainable climate and healthy environment for all families.

We demand a Bay Area for All of Us. We demand a Bay Area for the People.

Demands:

Justice for ALL victims of police terror and their families

Housing as a human right

A just economy that works for everyone, putting people over profits; living wage jobs with dignity for all and community benefits

Community-based public safety: Defund the police

Quality education for all: No cuts, no closures

Real sanctuary for all: Abolish ICE

Environmental justice and healthy communities

Indigenous sovereignty and respect for sacred sites 

[khatter9]

#Repost @veganhiphopmovement ・・・ #reclaimmlk #martinlutherkingjr https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs5biLplco0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=g3rb632ich0p

[odinsblog]

Racists like Rob Schneider always try to throw MLKjr at Black people like he’s their personal Kumbaya Pokémon.

And they wait until MLKDay & Black History month to be a little extra with their revisionist history. It’s ugly and disgusting how racists intentionally distort the teachings of Dr. King to use against the very people he was most trying to help.