MLKing Day

teejay

I usually have no problem finding a point of argument with my sister when she sends personal comments. This time she got me. I couldn't do nuthin' but nod my head...

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Sad as it seems, many of today's young people of color do not realize that the 3rd Monday in
January isn't really the birth date of MLK, Jr.

Perhaps many of us don't really know the exact date either.

Nobody asked me, but I think having the day declared a 'legal' holiday, though significant, should
NOT be a day off from work. That's all it has become for so many. Just another day they don't
have to go to work.

I'm not for certain, but I bet that wasn't dr. king's dream. Not by a long shot.
Just my thinking.

Years ago, I would take the day off, as a symbol; until it dawned on me that his goal was to get
me INTO the place TO work. So I feel the best way I can show my gratitude, appreciation for all
of those who came before me was by GOING TO WORK, and remembering just how good I
sometimes DO have it. Not so long ago, in my lifetime, even, things were faaaaaar worse for
many of OUR parents.

Thank you, Dr. King, Mrs. Rosa Parks, Emmet Till (forever 14), Mr. Little (aka Malcolm X), Mr.'s
Chaney, Schwerner, & Goodman, Mrs. Daisy Bates, "The Little Rock Nine," Denise McNair, Addie
Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, Medger Evers, "Mom," "Uncle F," and the
countless others whose names I do not know...

... thank you all for opening doors that I now freely walk through.

teejay

To Lil' Sis, I said

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Well said.

I 'specially send a shout out to all those whose names we don't know and will NEVER know. People, mostly men, who spent nights in jail; OR disappeared into the night never to be seen again by their wives and children; OR were murdered (all because they stood up as Men);

AND to those who chose to stomach (well into adulthood) the simple indignity of being called "boy" by a punk-ass white boy whose ass he could easily wipe the floor with (because they didn'tstand up). Without these silent shit-eaters, I probably wouldn't be here today.

We will never, ever forget them. Because of the life we live everyday, what little we know... we're passin' on ...

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And so, here I am.

nilfun

'specially send a shout out to all those whose names we don't know and will NEVER know. People, mostly men, who spent nights in jail; OR disappeared into the night never to be seen again by their wives and children; OR were murdered (all because they stood up as Men);

I believe they stand with us still.

We will never, ever forget them

Amen.

larc

Teejay, I think your sister made a very good point. I think her point applies to Veteran's Day, President's Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving as well. People tend to forget the significance of the day and what it meant to our country. Martin Luther King was a great leader who was cut down in the prime of his life, like two other great leaders, the Kennedy brothers and Abe Lincoln before our time. It is very sad. Sometime I will tell you the story of my great grandfather, how he helped blacks, and how he was cut down as a result.

Seven

The article from TIME, thirty-nine years ago naming Dr. King the Man of the Year. January 3, 1964 TIME Magazine's Man of the Year :

http://www.time.com/time/special/moy/1963.html

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love
What more in the name of love... U2

teejay

Before this goes one post further...

I am not a big fan of MLKing, Jr. I'm not a big fan of JFK or RFK, either. Those three, IMO, rode on the backs of others waaay better than them to fame, prosperity, and legendary status. None of them, on their own merits, really earned it.

As far as I'm concerned, MLK, Jr.--I always try to distinguish the son from his Father--was lucky. Yeah, he had the gift of speaking and a certain charisma, but as a man... as a father... nah - far from "role model" or "national holiday" status, IMO.

Lightning struck a bottle and MLK, Jr. happened to be in the right place at the right time. He was able to vocalize the weary pleas that millions of Black people had been praying skyward for a coupla centuries, 99.9% of whom had an upbringing much less fortunate than him.

Nah. I've never been a fan of MLK, Jr., and like George Washington or ole Abe, I don't think he ever did anything extraordinary enough to earn a holiday in his honor.

I love the millions he spoke for, though. Always will.

meadow77

He gave his life for what he believed in. He gave a voice to people who had none. To say he did nothing is ridiculous. When's the last time you died for your beliefs?

Aztec

I'd rather have a Malcolm X day. I think he was a man of conscience and principle. Martin Luther King Jr. did do alot through his powerful words.

~Aztec

LyinEyes

Sad as it seems, many of today's young people of color do not realize that the 3rd Monday in
January isn't really the birth date of MLK, Jr.

Perhaps many of us don't really know the exact date either.

My son Jake,,,,, told me today that very thing. He did know that Monday is not really MLK,Jr. birth day...........He told me he thinks they should do it on the actuall date and not on Monday. THey are out of school for that day,,,,,,,,, he is glad of that,,,,but still thinks that it should be celebrated on the right day. They are going over MLK, Jr. this week in school. I think the message of MLK,Jr. still rings true to this day. My son goes to a small country school, where the majority of kids attending are black. He plays football and the whole team are already starting on their next year season by weight lifting. There is no racial problems between them, because of many things. THey help each other out in school with school work, they are teammates, and most of all the kids have grown up together and have spent time growing up at each others houses.
I think alot of the reason they all get along so well,,,,,,,, as you know in the deep south there are still alot of racial problems......... is the things they learn in sports. Not only are they taught to depend on others ,,,,, they learn to stand up for who their real friends are ,,,,, regardless of their skin color. I have heard Jake tell me things where this happened on both sides of the issue. Being teammates in sports made them a brotherhood , that others who did not play ,,,,, could not break. I have heard that this is the same way when you have people of any race , fighting on the same side,,,, say as in war. In situations like that you don't see skin color , you see your friend ,you see your brother.

larc

Teejay, every man's success is built on the backs of those who came before them. That fact does not make them less important. History is a succession of events that build to a conclusion. When a man takes the moment to redirect the future, that does not negate those who came before him. Life and history is a long series of events, and one person or one event can not account for all of it.

MLKing Day

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