The Martin Luther King Thread

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The Taylor Branch books are my favorite books about anything ever.

C-L, Tuesday, 17 January 2012 02:14 (twelve years ago) link

mlk3 spoke in SA, we had over 100k march again this year
proud of my city

oneohtrix and park (m bison), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 02:24 (twelve years ago) link

holy shit at the us steel vs. morbs upthread

mh, Tuesday, 17 January 2012 02:32 (twelve years ago) link

I'm on the fence about every use of Dr. King's image these days. I think that there are a lot of issues he would weigh in on, but probably not clearly aligned with a lot of groups that exist in 2012. I also think that people think "if he were alive today, he would.." while thinking of him the way he was when he was assassinated, but.. he'd be over 40 years older!

mh, Tuesday, 17 January 2012 02:35 (twelve years ago) link

yeah -- "If he were alive" questions are deadwood.

lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 02:36 (twelve years ago) link

http://i.imgur.com/ms3AB.png

dayo, Tuesday, 17 January 2012 13:18 (twelve years ago) link

Papa John's is one to talk about longevity and quality.

lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 13:19 (twelve years ago) link

lol

quick brown fox triangle (schlump), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 13:25 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

Dennis Perrin ‏@DennisThePerrin
Isn't it cute when liberals try to drag radical visionaries down to their level?

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:06 (eleven years ago) link

cute as a button

the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:07 (eleven years ago) link

Would we be calling MLK a sellout by now, had he not been killed?

mh, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:11 (eleven years ago) link

not if he was marching against Bam today, no

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:12 (eleven years ago) link

what are the chances that you think that would happen morbs

iatee, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:12 (eleven years ago) link

good

he marched "against" LBJ

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:13 (eleven years ago) link

ghost MLK actually likes drones, hate you tell you, morbs

mh, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:14 (eleven years ago) link

but the beauty is WE'LL NEVER KNOW

bye

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:14 (eleven years ago) link

(Bam will live to be 90 on the Supreme Court, bcz the good die young)

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:15 (eleven years ago) link

Isn't it cute when Morbs tries to drag radical visionaries down to his level?

Influential Acid Jazz Pioneer (crüt), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:15 (eleven years ago) link

if hilter were alive today he would support obama

iatee, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:16 (eleven years ago) link

I am basing this off a hitler personality model that I have constructed w/ a huge set of hitler data

he would love obama

iatee, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:17 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbABaBFfo9k

I believe all people are nice, even thought they get mad sometimes. My personal hero is someone who never got mad, who always turned the other cheek: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Zero Dark 33⅓: The Final Insult (Eric H.), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:20 (eleven years ago) link

just seems sort of crass to imply what a dead person would do or think, instead of saying that you found them inspirational and this is what /you/ think, partially due to their influence

last I checked MLK Jr. had a daughter who's using her name to advocate against rights for gay people

mh, Monday, 21 January 2013 16:23 (eleven years ago) link

kids are the worst.

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:24 (eleven years ago) link

itt white people speculate on the potential futures of america's civil rights greats

let's go do some crimes (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:24 (eleven years ago) link

As they do.

Zero Dark 33⅓: The Final Insult (Eric H.), Monday, 21 January 2013 16:57 (eleven years ago) link

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/601251_10151623235194056_1126994918_n.jpg

via Pee-Wee Herman, of course

pun lovin criminal (polyphonic), Monday, 21 January 2013 19:11 (eleven years ago) link

i remember my HS history teacher telling us he thought MLK would've eventually run for president had he lived. i think the odds of that were pretty low but tbh i wish i lived in the parallel universe where it happened.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 21 January 2013 20:10 (eleven years ago) link

US Air Force:

"Dr. King would be proud to see our Global Strike team - comprised of Airmen, civilians and contractors from every race, creed, background and religion - standing side-by-side ensuring the most powerful weapons in the US arsenal remain the credible bedrock of our national defense. . . Our team must overlook our differences to ensure perfection as we maintain and operate our weapon systems. . . Maintaining our commitment to our Global Strike team, our families and our nation is a fitting tribute to Dr. King as we celebrate his legacy."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/22/martin-luther-king-military-weapons

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:48 (eleven years ago) link

seven months pass...

went to a screening of 'king: a filmed record' tonight. easily one of the best documentaries i've ever seen -- a fucking incredible experience.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 29 August 2013 06:41 (eleven years ago) link

really, like, if you're a human being, you gotta see this.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 29 August 2013 06:49 (eleven years ago) link

I have seen it. Coulda done w/out the actor readings, though.

Would we be calling MLK a sellout by now, had he not been killed?

― mh, Monday, January 21, 2013 11:11 AM (7 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not if he was marching against Bam today, no

― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Monday, January 21, 2013 11:12 AM (7 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what are the chances that you think that would happen morbs

― iatee, Monday, January 21, 2013 11:12 AM

maybe not good; he'd be in Guantanamo

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 11:26 (eleven years ago) link

Poor hypothetical 84-year-old political prisoner.

midnight outdoor nude frolic up north goes south (Eric H.), Thursday, 29 August 2013 11:34 (eleven years ago) link

Anyone seen the documentary Eyes on the Prize? Made by PBS in 1987 when most of the participants were alive.

first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 29 August 2013 11:55 (eleven years ago) link

Yeah, I remember that being pretty great. Wasn't someone supposed to do Parting the Waters, or did that happen already?

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 13:16 (eleven years ago) link

of course i saw eyes on the prize! i'd like to see it again though, that was a long time ago. it's REALLY weird to think that more time has passed since that documentary was aired than had passed between it and the events it was talking about.

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 29 August 2013 13:41 (eleven years ago) link

It works in part because it's a 6-hour series (and only covers up to '65).

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 13:44 (eleven years ago) link

I've checked out the first two parts. An excellent companion to the Taylor Branch books.

first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 29 August 2013 13:51 (eleven years ago) link

There's an Eyes On The Prize II that goes to the 1970s (I think). Long unavailable, though. First aired in 1988.

Shart Week (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 29 August 2013 13:54 (eleven years ago) link

agreed about the actor readings -- pretty dated and kinda embarrassing.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:35 (eleven years ago) link

I'd like to see all the footage of King speaking and marching that is extant. Filmed Record has that angry white Chicago mob in it, right?

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:37 (eleven years ago) link

Speaking of actors, Variety piece on the showbiz contingent at the March.

The 50 or so actors and performers who attended — Sammy Davis Jr., Marlon Brando, Lena Horne, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll to name a few — were “partly responsible for bringing a relaxed and peaceful ‘county fair’ mood to the huge demonstration,” as Variety’s Mike Mosettig, then just 21 years old, wrote. But Mosettig, now a producer for PBS, also noted that Harry Belafonte, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, read a statement from the show biz that warned of “artistic sterility” if all Americans aren’t given freedom and discrimination didn’t come to an end. Without that, Belafonte read, “growth of the artist is seriously menaced.”

...Garner, in his autobiography, said that the FBI called each celebrity one by one the night before, warning them to stay away, “saying they couldn’t guarantee our safety.”

There also was disagreement among the show biz contingent on exactly what they should do and say once they got there. Before they left Los Angeles on a chartered plane, Garner wrote, then Screen Actors Guild president Heston presided over a planning meeting where Brando held up a cattle prod that had been used against demonstrators in Gadsden, Alabama.

“Marlon wanted us to chain ourselves to the Lincoln Memorial,” Garner wrote. “Chuck didn’t like that. He said we should play by the rules and threatened to bail out of the march if we did any ‘militant’ stuff. Marlon shut up and we did it Chuck’s way.”...

Josephine Baker “disavowed for one day her pledge never to return to the U.S. and flew in from Paris,” Variety reported. Wearing a blue uniform of the free French, she praised the racially mixed crowd for being “together as salt and pepper just as you should be. You are a unified people at last.” Dick Gregory quipped to the estimated 200,000 gathered, “The last time I saw this many of us, Bull Connor was doing all the talking.”

http://variety.com/2013/voices/columns/when-marlon-brando-marched-with-charlton-heston-how-variety-covered-the-march-on-washington-1200589376/

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/06/heston_brando_gallery__589x400.jpg

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:45 (eleven years ago) link

Garner, in his autobiography, said that the FBI called each celebrity one by one the night before, warning them to stay away, “saying they couldn’t guarantee our safety.”

lolololololol

one yankee sympathizer masquerading as a historian (difficult listening hour), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:48 (eleven years ago) link

Filmed Record has that angry white Chicago mob in it, right?

yes -- one of the most chilling things i've ever seen. there's a clip from MLK saying it's worse than anything he encountered in the south.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:53 (eleven years ago) link

nippers like me should watch this meet the press clip to have it brought home just how condescendingly concern-trolling the enlightened yankees were re: MLK; every single question (that isn't about noted COMMIE! bayard rustin) is about how Well Don't You Think There's Likely To Be A Lot Of Violence? Don't You Think You're Pushing Too Hard? Shouldn't You Allow The Country Time To Get Used To The Advances We've Already Made?

one yankee sympathizer masquerading as a historian (difficult listening hour), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:53 (eleven years ago) link

I wonder if they called James Baldwin... xxp

Haven't watched it yet but there's a CBS roundtable at the end of the Variety page.

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 August 2013 17:55 (eleven years ago) link

Liberals this week have been particularly good at noting the bad faith and cowardice of their white predecessors.

first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 29 August 2013 18:01 (eleven years ago) link

Chris Hayes a few days ago too

first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 29 August 2013 18:03 (eleven years ago) link

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/a-colored-mans-constitution/?_r=1&utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffera00f4&utm_medium=twitter&

wasn't sure what thread to put this in, but since there have been posts itt recently due to the march's 50th anniversary, this'll do. a (former?) slave in 1863 writes an 8-page re-interpretation of the constitution

k3vin k., Monday, 2 September 2013 19:07 (eleven years ago) link

in his memoir Heston, who called his appearance at the March the highlight of his life, hesitated before appearing with a "far left" Negro writer like James Baldwin, a man who once titled a book The Fire Next Time.

first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 September 2013 19:09 (eleven years ago) link


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