Most of you have no idea what Martin Luther King actually did

[sheshe2]

One quote keeps getting posted here over and over. It is one quote, not Martin Luther Kings Life Work.

******************************

by Hamden Rice

Most of you have no idea what Martin Luther King actually did



The topic at hand is what Martin Luther King actually did, what it was that he actually accomplished.

What most people who reference Dr. King seem not to know is how Dr. King actually changed the subjective experience of life in the United States for African Americans. And yeah, I said for African Americans, not for Americans, because his main impact was his effect on the lives of African Americans, not on Americans in general. His main impact was not to make white people nicer or fairer. That's why some of us who are African Americans get a bit possessive about his legacy. Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, despite what our civil religion tells us, is not color blind.

snip

My father told me with a sort of cold fury, "Dr. King ended the terror of living in the south."

Please let this sink in and and take my word and the word of my late father on this. If you are a white person who has always lived in the U.S. and never under a brutal dictatorship, you probably don't know what my father was talking about.

But this is what the great Dr. Martin Luther King accomplished. Not that he marched, nor that he gave speeches.

He ended the terror of living as a black person, especially in the south.

Read More http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/29/1011562/-Most-of-you-have-no-idea-what-Martin-Luther-King-actually-did

We keep being told it is about the economy. It is not. It is about Black Lives Matter. It is about the beatings and the lynchings. Trials for 'Reckless Eyeballing'

I know you are well aware of this. I wanted to post it again.

Black Lives Matter.

[kimbutgar]

1. I think it is an excellent point

His activism made the white southerners look like ignorant jerks. Our media at the time did their job of reporting.

[M0rpheus]

2. I'm gonna put a pause on my lurking just for this post.

Because this is about as true as it gets!

[sheshe2]

4. Hey M0rpheus,

I was just coming here to say hello to you, thought you just KnR'ed.

Thanks for posting your comment. It means a lot to me.

I miss you ~ and love the gif.

For you.


Ssssh~ I am hiding out in the groups for awhile scarey out there. 'sides...the fun people are here.

[M0rpheus]

9. Aw shucks!

It's nice to be missed! Don't worry though, I'm always hanging around here keeping an eye on you lot of "malcontents". :p

No shame in not wanting to Wade into the GD/GD-P latrines. The less you go the less you have to scrub off when you get out!

Just keep doing what you're doing!

[sheshe2]

11. Hmmm~

Trust me, I could say more, yet letting my hides roll away for now.

I almost stepped away the other night. The next morning I bought some extra strength brillo pads for scrubbing. I hear they work. So for now I will stick with the groups. I have to be here for Obama's finale. He is my President. Lame duck my ass, this will be brilliant.

So~ when I send out a bat signal you will respond, M0rpheus!?





Mind if I give you a hug...hell doing it anyway.

[M0rpheus]

14. If I'm lurking about and see the signal, I'll definitely respond.

I'm here at least a couple of times a day, reading and rec'ing.

[sheshe2]

16. ...

[deathrind]

3. Dr. King,

Turned on the flood lights to shine light on a subject most people were happy to ignore. Dr King deserves all the accolades that can be said about him for his actions, his eloquent words and ultimate sacrifice he made.

In a very ironic way Theophilus Eugene Connor aka Bull Connor also deserves some credit for bringing about the passage civil rights. The freedom riders, marches and speeches brought about an awareness to the issue but it was the images on tv of attack dogs and fire hoses being used on American citizens that galvanized the country to do something finally about the horrible conditions southern American citizens were living with.

[sheshe2]

6. I posted about the freedom riders as well.

It sunk. 11 Recs one comment. Here are a few pictures..the rest at the link below.







http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026195123

[deathrind]

36. I have nothing but...

Respect and gratitude for all of those who risked so much during that summer.

[sheshe2]

37. I agree with you 100%, deathrind.

[SunSeeker]

5. Thank you for posting this, sheshe2.

It really was a matter of life and death. And in two many instances today, it still is.

[sheshe2]

24. "It really was a matter of life and death. And in two many instances today, it still is."

You are so right SunSeeker.

[Wilms]

7. I know that.

And I knew it a long time ago.

And I think it is NOT yet without terror, at least sometimes, for African Americans.

Perhaps I am taking my understanding that for granted and missing something. Perhaps Sanders is too? I don't know. But this all is painful to me.

"I'm not Black. But there's a whole lots a times I wish I could say I'm not White." - Frank Zappa - Trouble Comin' Everyday

[sheshe2]

25. Thank you Wilms for pausing...

Me, I can't answer, I am white. What I will say, it is NOT yet without terror.

And I think it is NOT yet without terror, at least sometimes, for African Americans.

Perhaps I am taking my understanding that for granted and missing something. Perhaps Sanders is too? I don't know. But this all is painful to me.

[Fred Sanders]

8. Hamden Rice got it exactly right. K&R...should be mandatory reading at DU.

[sheshe2]

13. Hey Fred...

Sadly it has been posted many times and always sinks like a stone.

[Iliyah]

10. K & R

[Thinkingabout]

12. But, but, but, I was thinking Bernie may have been for Civil Rights before MLK. yea right.

But it would be good on his record to have a very long record of Civil Rights.

Just having fun, this is a serious matter. It has been a long hard road and we are not there yet.

[Cha]

15. Heartbreakingly poignant piece by Hamden Rice, she. Essential advice to take to heart..

"If you didn't get taught such things, let alone experience them, I caution you against invoking the memory of Dr. King as though he belongs exclusively to you and not primarily to African Americans."

Mahalo,she

[Cha]

20. Oh, wow.. obtuse.. purposely or otherwise.

They have no idea how insulting they are.. no clue.

Imani Gandy ?@AngryBlackLady

If I see one more Bernie acolyte mention that he marched with MLK, I'm going to burn the Internet to the ground. @EdDescault @Eclectablog
4:23 AM - 19 Jul 2015

And, thus #berniesoblack exploded..

That @AngryBlackLady tweet, sent out to her 35,000 followers, inspired Roderick Morrow—who runs the “Black Guy Who Tips” comedy podcast with his wife, Karen—to launch the mocking hashtag #BernieSoBlack:

http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9005855/black-twitter-bernie-sanders

1StrongBlackMan http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1187&pid=18752

she

[betsuni]

22. OCD posting of The Magic Quote is SO ANNOYING.

Somebody make it stop!

[JI7]

27. i disagree about Bernie using King

Bernie has mentioned his own work with King. but he doesn't do it in a way where he feels like blacks or anyone else owes him anything. i don't think Sanders is really the problem that much at all. there are criticisms of his strategy but he isn't like the ones using him to attack minorities.

[sheshe2]

19. Excuse me?

You are talking about Martin Luther King here? Please clarify.

[Cha]

21. He's refering to the OP unless he's lost. He's insulting MLK in the AA group. Why am I

not surprised? grr

[heaven05]

33. damn

I wish I had been able to get to him before the hide.....

[sheshe2]

26. FFS

You are posting in The African American Group!

This a GROUP! A GROUP! Not a forum.

Go Away!

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. A hearty K&R!

[irisblue]

28. results of the alert

**
JURY RESULTS

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Jul 21, 2015, 01:15 AM, and the Jury voted 4-3 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: not to mention the factual error that MLK was murdered by a white racist when he was in Memphis getting ready to speak to a trash collectors strike. Do you not know our history Mister P? HIDE irisblue

[onpatrol98]

29. Thank you for posting!!!

Last edited Tue Jul 21, 2015, 07:42 PM - Edit history (1)

This post really helped me understand why I have been SO out of sorts with DU. The place makes me feel owned. It makes me feel SOME people think they can pick up bits and pieces of your history, your inner being, and use it wherever appropriate.

When the activist Sturtz interrupted Michelle Obama, I had a DUer tell me that had Frederick Douglas been alive he would have been MORE proud of Sturtz than Michelle Obama. Think about the privilege or insanity in believing that...

When Whitney Houston died and the speculation that she was gay was tossed around and it was discussed that it would be a good thing for the gay community if she was outed. Now, Whitney may well have been gay, nothing wrong with that. But, I just felt like...whoa...an iconic figure for the black community, but her worth to some is only in what purpose she can serve...even after death. And, these weren't gay black people doing the pontificating.

When we discuss white privilege and its impact on the black community, we get told, hey it doesn't exist or if it does exist, it's best not to talk about it. It doesn't help the greater cause. What is the greater cause? Well, it's whatever someone else tells you it is. They don't even see the irony. They don't have to. Now, with Bernie versus Hilary. It's just ugly.

Post after post of ... can't you see what Bernie has done for black people (AKA you people)? He marched 40 years ago. What more can you want?

But, I'm essentially sick and tired of feeling OWNED. My grandmother had this saying...that she had finally gotten grown...at age 88. That's what makes DU feel absolutely unbearable at times. That the signals being sent...I assume unintentionally is...sit down. We'll send for you when we need you. We'll tell you what to say, who to vote for, what to think, when you get here. Your needs are of no consequence. Even your children are disposable...AKA there are still those that think the right outcome was produced with the Trayvon Martin trial.

And, if you don't behave...well, you'll get republicans. And, you know how they feel about you. Damn...what a life. When I'm here, I live in the AA group...where people get it.

When your grandparents reality meant never really being safe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book

And, now in 2015, our children's reality means...never really being safe.

Dr. Martin Luther King's life and death means something entirely different for me in rural Mississippi.

[heaven05]

32. damn, +1000

I commiserate....

[qwlauren35]

34. On point.

sit down. We'll send for you when we need you. We'll tell you what to say, who to vote for, what to think, when you get here. Your needs are of no consequence. Even your children are disposable...AKA there are still those that think the right outcome was produced with the Trayvon Martin trial.

And, if you don't behave...well, you'll get republicans.

WOW~! You really nailed it.

[sheshe2]

38. Well said. +1000

[ismnotwasm]

30. K&R

[heaven05]

31. +1000

yep, I stood like a man because of him and stopped letting them call me boy.

[grahamhgreen]

35. I suggest we call him what we call him in the neighborhood - "Dr King"