http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/dear-white-america-heres-what-you-should-know-about-mlk-using-him-shut-down-black?akid=13058.294211.WIqGoW&rd=1&src=newsletter1035677&t=7
Dear White America: Here's What You Should Know About MLK Before Using Him to Shut Down Black Uprising
If one persists in channeling Dr. King in these conversations about urban unrest, it should be done with great care.
King elaborated on the relationship of urban disorder to the
struggle for full human rights and dignity for black American in his
"The Other America" speech where he stated that:
I
think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air.
Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be
condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a
riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has
failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor
has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the
promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to
hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about
tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and
humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are
caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America
postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences
of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress
are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.
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