Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 44 Number 19
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King’s Lasting Impact on Equity in Education
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King at a rally in Chicago’s Grant Park, in 1966.
Oprah’s Barn Raiser Speech What president? A year after politics — and the newly elected occupant of the White House — dominated the conversation and tone of the Golden Globes, there was barely a mention of such things at Sunday’s ceremony. This year, it was all gender politics, and of course the #MeToo movement that has engulfed Hollywood and spread into the culture at large with astonishing speed. From the sea of glittering black gowns worn in solidarity on the usually multi-colored red carpet, to sly references to unequal pay and recognition for women, to Frances McDormand’s salute to “a tectonic shift” in the Hollywood power structure, it was a night for reckoning — crowned by Oprah Winfrey’s barn-raiser of a speech proclaiming “Their time is UP!” Some key moments: SERIOUS CARPET TALK: Usually, red carpet interviews focus on the provenance of designer gowns and jewelry. This year, there was talk of working conditions for farmers and janitors, and demands for equal pay across society. Several actresses, including Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams and Emma Watson, brought social activists with them , to focus on real-life solutions to gritty problems far from Hollywood.
“We feel emboldened in this particular moment,” Streep said, “to stand together in a thick black line dividing then from now.” LAURA DERN’S NORTH STAR: It was a night of unusually powerful speeches, whether long or short, that touched eloquently on the #MeToo moment. One came from Laura Dern, who won supporting actress for “Big Little Lies,” a TV series that, aptly, depicts not only sexual abuse, but a group of women who only fully discover their power when they unite. Using her character to describe a past culture in which people were afraid to speak out, Dern urged Hollywood to support and employ survivors brave enough to come forward. And she went further: “May we teach our children,” she said, “that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star.” A SLY NOD TO A GLARING OMISSION: One of the most glaring snubs in this year’s movie nominations came in the best director category, where Greta Gerwig was passed over for her much-loved “Lady Bird.” Natalie Portman, presenting the director prize, was not about to let that go unnoticed. “And here are the all MALE
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By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s influence on the Civil Rights Movement is indisputable, but his fight for equity in education remains a mystery to some. That fight began with his own education. “He clearly had an advanced, refined educational foundation from Booker T. Washington High School, Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University,” said Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “His education in his speeches and sermons and writings were apparent and he wanted us all to have that type of education.” King completed high school at 15, college at 19, seminary school at 22 and earned a doctorate at 26. “Dr. King laid down the case for affordable education for all Americans, including Polish children—from the ghetto and the barrios, to the Appalachian mountains and the reservations—he was a proponent for education for all and he believed that strong minds break strong chains and once you learn your lesson well, the oppressor could not unlearn you.” Rev. Al Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN), said that NAN works with Education for a Better America to partner with school districts, universities, community colleges, churches, and community organizations around the country to conduct educational programming for students and parents. “The mission of the organization has been to build bridges between policymakers and the classrooms by supporting innovations in education and creating a dialogue between policymakers, community leaders, educators, parents, and students,” Sharpton said. “We’re promoting student health, financial literacy, and college readiness in our communities, just like Dr. King did.” King was a figure to look up to in both civil rights and academia, Sharpton told the NNPA Newswire. “Then, when you look at his values, he always saw education, especially in the Black community, as a tool to uplift and inspire to action,” Sharpton said. “It’s definiteContinued on page A2
Press,” he said. “The Black Press was critically important, and King had a healthy appreciation for the Black Press.” Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., another close confidant of King, agreed. “The kinship King had with [former EBONY and Jet owner] John Johnson, [National Newspaper Publishers Association founder] John Sengstacke and others was apparent, and he realized their value and they recognized his value,” Jackson said. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said he will always cherish the days that he worked with King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “I witnessed, first-hand, the fearless courage of Dr. King as he spoke out against global racial injustice and war when it was not popular to do so,” Chavis said. Chavis continued: “The mainstream press routinely mischaracterized Dr. King as a principle-less agitator. But, it was only the Black-owned newspapers during the 1960s that would, without apology, tell the truth that Dr. King was both a theological and intellectual genius whose worldwide vision, activism and principles demanded a public stance against the unjust Vietnam War, and against the duel racist Apartheid in America and South Africa.” Chavis recalled one of King’s most famous quotes: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Wornie Reed, the director of the Race and Social Policy Center at Virginia Tech, who marched alongside King in the 1960s, said too few people knew about King’s major project when he was assassinated, HYPERLINK “https://www.britannica.com/topic/Poor-Peoples-March” “The Poor People’s Campaign.” “The Memphis garbage workers strike was a side issue, the kind he was frequently involved in. He was putting in long days and nights across the country, calling on all of us who cared to come to Washington to help him to put maximum pressure on the federal government to come forth with concrete plans to reduce poverty in this rich country,” Reed said. “King was promoting a level of pressure that the federal government had never faced Continued on page A8
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Mississippi Judge; Racial Bias Suit Against Coroner Can Proceed
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) _ Six black-owned funeral homes can proceed toward trial with their lawsuit alleging that a Mississippi Gulf Coast coroner discriminates in favor of white-owned competitors, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett on Friday ruled mostly for the plaintiffs, although he dismissed some of the claims against Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove. Ten of the original 13 legal grounds for the lawsuit remain alive. The dispute revolves around cases where Harrison County pays for a body to be picked up, stored, autopsied or buried, usually at Hargrove's direction. Starrett wrote that the plaintiffs produced enough evidence that Hargrove treated black-owned funeral homes differently from white-owned funeral homes for the case to proceed. One black funeral home owner has testified that Hargrove once told her that ``white bodies go to the white funeral homes and black bodies go to the black funeral home.'' The plaintiffs told Starrett there's plenty of evidence that Hargrove discriminated against them when directing who would get county-controlled business. ``Defendants have all but completely excluded plaintiffs from receiving mortuary business in their control,'' lawyer Steven Art wrote in November, urging Starrett to let the case go forward. ``Plaintiffs repeatedly have observed the coroner exercise his authority based on race; the coroner has said that his decisions are influenced by race; and thousands of the coroner's own files_produced by the coroner himself and extensively analyzed by plaintiffs and their experts_reveal racial discrimination.'' Hargrove and a lawyer for Harrison County deny discrimination, saying they follow the wishes of the deceased and their families. They say black-owned funeral homes have limited refrigeration facilities, and that a pathologist whom Hargrove didn't control had done all autopsies in the past at white-owned funeral homes. ``The limited exceptions occur when an autopsy is required or when a family member cannot be promptly located necessitating refrigeration of the body,'' lawyer Daniel Seawell wrote in October. ``Hargrove has no control over the sites where autopsies were performed and no control over a funeral home's decision to provide proper refrigeration with sufficient capacity.''
Child Living in Storage Container Dies in Fire This image released by NBC shows Oprah Winfrey accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC via AP)
MLK’s Unheralded Victories
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will always be remembered as a social activist and Baptist minister whose role was integral in the Civil Rights Movement. Publicly and privately, King fought for equality, justice and human rights for African Americans and others who suffered from racism, segregation and other injustices. His sermons, including the “Drum Major Instinct,” and his speeches like, “I Have a Dream,” are as important as they are legendary. But, those closest to King recalled some of his more unheralded feats. They also recalled the importance of the Black Press during the movement. “I would say King’s abiding commitment to focus on poverty and to deal with the wealth and equity gaps, and particularly the conditions of the poor, has been less heralded than his other accomplishments,” said Dr. Clarence Jones, a visiting professor at the University of San Francisco and a scholar and writer-in-residence at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Institute. Jones met King in 1960 when he was 29 and King was 31. Jones served on King’s legal team and help draft many of his most important speeches, including the 1963 “I Have a Dream” masterpiece. But, it was a speech that King delivered just five days before his April 4, 1968 assassination that Jones remembers most. “I’ve said so often that the sermon he gave at the National Cathedral in Washington was most important,” Jones said. “He captioned the speech, ‘Sleeping Through a Revolution,’ and that’s exactly what he’d say today, if he were here.” Many of King’s accomplishments were aided by his relationship with newspapers like the Atlanta Daily World, the Pittsburgh Courier and other Black-owned newspapers, Jones said. “The two essential pillars of support of the Civil Rights Movement were the Black Church and the Black
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ California authorities say a young child has died in a fire inside a storage unit where a family of five had been living. Kern County officials say firefighters responding near Bakersfield early Wednesday found the storage unit engulfed in flames. KABC-TV reports a child 4 or 5 years old died. Three other family members were hospitalized with unknown injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Suspect Shot after Driving at Officer
DELANO, Calif. (AP) _ Authorities in California say an officer investigating a suspicious vehicle shot and killed the driver when he accelerated toward him. Police in Delano near Bakersfield say the officer feared for his life when he opened fire Sunday, striking the driver. KBAK-TV reports a passenger in the car got out after the shooting and ran to a nearby home. The man was arrested following a standoff lasting several hours. The investigation is ongoing.
NAACP Wants Fans at Game to Wave Towels
Mainstream media often ignores Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fight for economic justice and his strong relationship with the Black Press. (Wikimedia Commons)
ATLANTA (AP) _ The NAACP wants to see white towels amid the crimson, white, red and black worn by fans to send a message to President Donald Trump during the national college football championship in Atlanta. Atlanta’s NAACP chapter said on its Facebook page that it wants fans inside the stadium for the College Football Playoff title game to wave white towels “Simulating a blizzard.’’ It’s one of several anti-Trump protests planned as Trump visits Atlanta on Monday night to attend the showdown between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama. The NAACP also is urging people to hold anti-Trump signs and wear white to mock the “snowflake” label Trump’s supporters use to describe their opponents. Another group, Refuse Fascism ATL, says they’ll “Take a knee against Trump”outside CNN’s world headquarters near the stadium before kickoff.