Tag: CivilRightsMovement

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MLK III: ‘Very constructive’ Trump meeting

MLK III: 'Very constructive' Trump meeting

Today our nation pauses to honor a legend, an icon, and an American hero. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lifted up the conscience of our nation — a towering leader in his day, and a lasting inspiration for all generations to follow.

Our Declaration declares that ‘all men are created equal,’ and Dr. King challenged our nation to live out that sacred truth: to banish the evils of bigotry, segregation and oppression from the institutions of society and the hearts of men.

His legacy of freedom is the true memorial to his life: no testimonial can pay better tribute than the faces of young children living out their dreams.

But his work is not done: all around us today we see communities and schools falling behind and not sharing in the prosperity of American life. Each of us has a solemn obligation to ensure that no American is left behind — and that all Americans are fully included in the American Dream. When young Americans of color are left on the sidelines, our nation is denied a lifetime of contributions to this society — and when any of our American brothers and sisters is forced to live in fear, or poverty, or violence, it is setback for the entire nation.

We rise and fall together, and today we pledge to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps so that all Americans may know the full blessings of this God-blessed land.

President Elect Donald Trump

BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE – 01/16/17 02:53 PM EST

Martin Luther King III said Monday — the federal holiday honoring his father — said he had a “very constructive” meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York.

But he declined to say whether he was offended by Trump’s weekend criticism of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

“Well, first of all I think that in the heat of emotion a lot of things get said on both sides. And I think that at some point — I am, as John Lewis and many others, a bridge builder,” King told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower.

“The goal is to bring America together and Americans. We are a great nation but we must become a greater nation. And what my father represented, my mother represented through her life, what I hope that I am trying to do is always bring people together.”

Trump criticized Lewis over the weekend, calling the congressman “all talk” and “no action” after Lewis said he did not view Trump as a “legitimate president.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/314476-mlk-iii-refuses-to-say-whether-trumps-criticism-of-lewis-offended-him

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Republicans Need to Stop Wasting MLK Day

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Muhammad Ali
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”

Republicans Need to Stop Wasting MLK Day

January 19, 2015 5 Comments

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive and well today, Save Jerseyans?

I think he’d be impressed by how color blind my generation is; he’d also be disgusted by the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of the world and how they’ve profited while many of America’s black neighborhoods continued to suffer.

So we can honor Dr. King’s legacy through volunteer work, yes, but more importantly by rejecting race profiteers and voting for REAL change. Not the fluffy, fake Obama variety that comes prepackaged in a can.

“The time is always right to do what is right.” Amen!

Where to start?

Republicans can stop wasting MLK Day with platitudinal calls for “service” in our communities and utilize a unique opportunity to advocate for, again, REAL change. Like the implementation of school choice reforms. The inequality in our education system isn’t tied to funding, and it remains the last great civil rights hurdle facing America’s youth.

Why don’t more GOP’ers speak out? They don’t do it more often, I suspect, due to a lack of confidence. They’re gun shy after effectively getting hit with the race card for decades, but I believe it’s a needless fear because the country is changing.

We’re more color blind than ever. Barack Obama and his party’s economic job performance where black America is concerned is nevertheless nothing short of abysmal.

https://savejersey.com/2015/01/republican-mlk-day/

Dr. King said it best:

“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles;

Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances.

Courage breeds creativity; Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it.

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?

Expediency ask the question, is it politic?

Vanity asks the question, is it popular?

https://savejersey.com/2015/01/republican-mlk-day/

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CARSON: MLK would be alarmed by black-on-black violence, lack of family values

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CARSON: MLK would be alarmed by black-on-black violence, lack of family values
Ben S. Carson is professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University.

It is hard to believe that 50 years have elapsed since the famous “I have a dream speech” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Mall in Washington. I was an 11-year-old child in Detroit languishing in the midst of poverty, but very interested in the strides that were being made in the civil rights movement.

I was the only black kid in my seventh-grade class and over the previous two years had risen from the bottom of the class to the top. My mother had forced us to read, which had a profound positive effect on both my brother Curtis and myself. I was quite optimistic that things were getting better for black people in America.

If King could be resurrected and see what was going on in America today, I suspect he would be extraordinarily pleased by many of the things he observed and disappointed by others. He, like almost everyone else, would be thrilled to know that there was a two-term black president of the United States of America and a black attorney general, as well as many other high government officials, business executives and university presidents.

Perhaps just as thrilling would be the sight of black doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, construction foremen, news anchors, school superintendents and almost any other position imaginable in America. The fact that seeing blacks in such positions no longer raises eyebrows is a testimony to the tremendous progress that has been made in America over the last 50 years.

Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/28/i-have-a-dream-50-years-later/#ixzz2dInp4ai2

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SCHOOLS CLOSED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16 FOR MLK DAY: COMMUNITY OBSERVANCE IS AT 10 A.M.

>SCHOOLS CLOSED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16 FOR MLK DAY: COMMUNITY OBSERVANCE IS AT 10 A.M.

 The Ridgewood Public Schools will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Ridgewood community will celebrate Dr. King’s birthday with an interfaith service at 10 a.m. at the Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street. This year’s theme is “The Power of One, the Strength of Many.”