Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Being Canadian, Dr. MLK doesnt have the same meaning up here, but obviously his message doesnt change because of a border.

Race relations; and morality in general in Canada are worsening it seems to me. Whether it be Canada's aboriginal people protesting mistreatment by our government, homophobic slurs being hurled at a local college volleyball player by parents, or the bullying of minority students in local high schools, it seems that things are getting worse rather than better.

Arent we supposed to be evolving, growing, learning from our mistakes? Its something I can be guilty of myself, whether it be an off-hand comment or simply turning a blind eye.

I see a man who did so much for others. Reflecting on Dr Martin Luther King's life, for me, means making a personal choice to better myself and those around me as much as I can. And not in the public eye, but in private, in moments of weakness.

Amazing post I must say.
Indeed a man who deserves all the respect, Martin Luther King Jr. should be an example for everyone.

niquefreak94 said:

okay

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im just saying of all days....to misconstrue and use a word that relates to racial discrimination/superiority in its wrong context... on mlk day. while im not saying you did it maliciously, or being a troll...or even dislike the man. it is at the very least distasteful.

growingupny said:

I believe Dr. Kings' Dream has evolved into something different today.

Racism, Classism, & Sexism still exist today but in a significantly reduced capacity than during Dr. King's days.

Today, we all strive to achieve attainable goals, caucasian, asian, latino etc. We strive to be better and do greater things than the previous generation. We look at what they've achieved and ask ourselves "How Can I do Better?".

Dr. King paved way for all of us to have the chance to even ponder a question like that.

Today, I know just as many mixed race individuals as ones that are of one race. Dr. King's message has finally been heard.

---

Sadly, there are those that have forgotten. Shootings in the most innocent of public places, robbing people over materialistic things. There may always be a struggle within any community. But it's the spirit of progress and Dr. King's message that still allows a light to shine through the darkness.

Today of all days, I think about what my life would be like if it hadn;t been for the pioneers of progress, the champions of courage.

Dr. King embodied all of these things, not just for blacks, but for all people.

Happy Belated Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

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No it is still the same as it was back then. Although, racism is not practice openly by a large percent of the population. It is practiced behind closed doors, so to speak, now.

Dr. King is one of my heroes. I acknowledge  people who tried to challenge the social norms in lived life like they wanted to, not how society deemed. 

One thing i will never forget tho about the whole civil rights was black leaders slandering others playing the White mans game. Dr. Kings dream was a noble idea but  not realistic.

In turns of civil rights, Malcom X contributed more to society. 

Did anyone read/ view the interview of X about, "If a dog attacks you. Kill that dog or any other 2 legged dog."

I think King and many other Civil Rights leaders lived in a bubble and excepted scraps from the masters table far too easily. The image that comes to mind is the  Little rock 9 and James Meridet, which many Civil Rights leaders saw as an accomplishment.

Malcom X's thoughts about this situation where," If it is good for one Negro it is good for (forgot number of back in America during this time) million negro's living in America.

kobe4threebang said:

dont forget to add the part about the plagiarism or the beating of white hookers, seems like everybody forgets this part

but thanks for the extra day of vacation

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clown, no respect

anways good stuff meth

ccastro02 said:

After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, plans for an interracial celebration in still-segregated Atlanta were not initially well supported by the city's business elite until Coca-Cola intervened

J. Paul Austin, the chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, and Mayor Ivan Allen summoned key Atlanta business leaders to the Commerce Club's eighteenth floor dining room, where Austin told them flatly, 'It is embarrassing for Coca-Cola to be located in a city that refuses to honor its Nobel Prize winner. We are an international business. The Coca-Cola Co. does not need Atlanta. You all need to decide whether Atlanta needs the Coca-Cola Co.' Within two hours of the end of that meeting, every ticket to the dinner was sold.
—Andrew Young

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HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH funniest post I've seen on this forum. You do know that Coca-Cola kills union organizers in Latin America right? Not to mention the creation of the "Fanta" soda to reap economic benefits from Nazi Germany? This exactly what Malcom X would have called society on.  Do you think a Billion dollar industry cares about the consumer and not profit margins? hahahahaha

fly23s said:

Do we do the same thing for Malcolm x

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Yes Malcolm X was racist (in reaction to what whites were doing). I'm white and I ain't even mad (I approve what he did).

He was racist, but when he came back from La Mecque, where he met and ate in the same plate as white people, it opened his mind.

We need to remember where he comes from and the fact that Malcolm X's thought was in constant evolution and that he was murdered at a critical point of the evolution of his thought.

Both should be remembered for what they fought for. They fought for a better world.

View media item 228515

May 19th someone make a malcom x thread. Right now it's Martin Luther King Jr's day.

What's the point in fighting?

Engaging in discussion is not the same as fighting.  Sparking dialogue, especially on that which we may disagree or makes us uncomfortable, is crucial to future progression and shared perspective. 

Swamped at work, will post later. 

My daughters initials are MLK. We did so intentionally as a way to pay homage to the man.

The GOAT.

A man that had a vision of what a country ought to look like. I don't know if it is because the area I live in is predominately caucasian/asian-american but the schools do not do enough to commemorate the man. His 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' was one of the most articulate and most beautifully/soundly written pieces I have ever read. True Visionary.

As a sneakerhead and a member of Niketalk for some years now,it make me proud to see everyone come togather like this for such a positive acknowledgment,it show's that what Dr.King fought for was'nt in vain,listening to his speech's and his sermons made me realize how important it is for us to get along in this small world,that's what he meant to me as a human,over here in The Bahamas and all over the world his message is still effecting people right now,so as human beings and people in the sneaker community we will let our light shine and try our best to be a positve influence this year and beyond.

Adelpho'CooL'
Collect 4 Life
Nassau,Bahamas

kobe4threebang said:

dont forget to add the part about the plagiarism or the beating of white hookers, seems like everybody forgets this part

but thanks for the extra day of vacation

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Basically, you're saying two things (well, explicitly saying two things; you're saying a lot more things about yourself thyat are to be implied, but I'll leave that alone, for your comfort).

First thing you're saying is that Dr. King did some evil things. I don't know this to be false, and you don't know it to be true (no, you don't). But assuming he was imperfect, even TERRIBLY imperfect, it would be hypocritical of me to judge him. Maybe YOU are perfect, or maybe YOU have never done anything that had a terribly negative impact on the life of someone else, but I doubt it, and I know I certainly have. I've done tons of terrible things to people, and that doesn't change at all the fact that I absolutely have a heart of gold, and I teach my son to be selfless and not to harm others.

On your second point, about plagiarism, the first four letters of your name are Kobe, so I would assume plagiarism isn't THAT big of a deal to you at all.

growingupny said:

Thomas Jefferson "Authored" the thoughts of a group of men. He simply was the best writer at that time who was available. Luck of the draw for him.

MLK progressed the simple, closed minded thinking of Americans to a point of cohabitation. I'd say that's way more important than being the glorified secretary of the early colonies...

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 THIS !!!

kobe4threebang said:

terrible analogy but ok

what happened in the early 1800's is way diff than what would have happened in the 20th century and thomas jefferson did way more for this country than mlk did

ever heard of the declaration of independence? and he still doesn't have his "own" day


and plagiarizing another mans work word for word for years isnt a "mistake" its plagiarism

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Jefferson did what he did for this country because he was born in the 1800s. and what actual harm does "plagiarism" do outside of school house walls ???

KING

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012...erdict-us-government-assassinated-martin.html

how could i forget this......
 

Respect!!!!!!!

Thanks the words of wisdom is appreciated..

I hope all that read see and know will honor him not just by talk but action.....

Not just live the name and day but be it in the daily things you do not just for yours but others also........

One of the greatest and celebrated (esp here in the US) leaders of all time.. America is what it is now because MLK.

What is striking to me about MLK day is the degree to which political figures jump on a bandwagon years and even decades after it became safe to do so.

No respectable public figure, especially one in an elected political position of power, would come out and say, in 2013, that public buses or water fountains should be segregated. On January 22nd, those same politicians will wake up and start defending the war on drugs, drone strikes, bank bailouts and a host of other policies that are decidedly unjust. Self anointed liberals in Washington DC will attend a Dr King memorial on Monday and on Tuesday, they will resume kowtowing to financial oligarchs and writing new legislation that will imprison the young, the poor and colored for non violent offenses.

Real courage involves confronting injustices that still have money, lobbyists and even wide spread public favor at their disposal. Our leaders need to remember Dr King in terms of what they do on the 22nd and not what they say on the 21st.

Rexanglorum said:

What is striking to me about MLK day is the degree to which political figures jump on a bandwagon years and even decades after it became safe to do so.

No respectable public figure, especially one in an elected political position of power, would come out and say, in 2013, that public buses or water fountains should be segregated. On January 22nd, those same politicians will wake up and start defending the war on drugs, drone strikes, bank bailouts and a host of other policies that are decidedly unjust. Self anointed liberals in Washington DC will attend a Dr King memorial on Monday and on Tuesday, they will resume kowtowing to financial oligarchs and writing new legislation that will imprison the young, the poor and colored for non violent offenses.

Real courage involves confronting injustices that still have money, lobbyists and even wide spread public favor at their disposal. Our leaders need to remember Dr King in terms of what they do on the 22nd and not what they say on the 21st.

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few post but never truth being spoke.....

It's difficult to believe that a full year has already passed since we last formally celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

As I look back, I have to admit that it pains me to see that the last reply to this post was added just ten days after last year's holiday.  Though longer than the mass media's 24 hour blip of coverage, cross-branding, and marketing, it is nonetheless an all too brief moment of contemplation than befits a figure of Dr. King's stature - and the amount of work that we, collectively, have left unfinished. 

So, rather than create a new topic, I thought it might be nice if we could continue to update this one.  We're happy, of course, to host any new discussions and tribute posts our fellow members would like to create - like this one, posted in honor of Dr. King's birthday:  http://niketalk.com/t/580494/happy-birthday-martin-luther-king-jr   Extending this thread, however, will allow us to continue to commemorate the occasion over what I hope will be a period of many, many years to come.  We'll be able to collect and chart the community's celebration year after year.  

This year, of course, we lost another great freedom fighter in Nelson Mandela:  http://niketalk.com/t/576388/rip-nelson-rolihlahla-mandela  

A few hours ago, a fantastic article by Dr. Henry Louis Gates was published on theroot.com that recounts the connection between very first celebration of the King holiday and the struggle to end South African Apartheid.  I'd encourage everyone to read it and share it if you haven't done so already:  http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2014/01/_1st_king_holiday_and_nelson_mandela.1.html

The King Center also has a copy of Dr. King's December 10th, 1965 address on South Africa:  http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/mlks-address-about-south-africa

We all likely remember Dr. King's famous words, "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  Here, in responding to provincial concerns about becoming involved in a "battle on two fronts" at a time when American civil rights activists could ill afford any distraction, Dr. King explained that "the struggle for freedom forms one long front crossing oceans and mountains.  The brotherhood of man is not confined within a narrow, limited circle of people.  It is felt everywhere in the world, it is an international sentiment of surpassing strength and, because this is true, when men of good will finally unite they will be invincible."  

Sometimes, when we're confronted with stories and images of suffering around the world, like those streaming in from the Philippines and the Central African Republic, certain observers are quick to disclaim them as "someone else's problem."  We already have so much poverty, injustice, and suffering in our own backyard, they argue, that we ought to protect our own first and foremost before attending to the needs of others.  

(We get this quite a bit here when we contribute to organizations that work overseas, as with our recent donation of $35,000 to Room to Read to support library construction, literacy programs, and girls' scholarships in South Africa in honor of Nelson Mandela.)  

Today, as we remember both Dr. King and Nelson Mandela, I hope that we're able to truly appreciate their global perspective - and a sense of empathy and compassion that transcended all boundaries and borders.

In Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, King wrote, 

First, we are challenged to develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone, and anyone who feels that he can live alone is sleeping through a revolution. The world in which we live is geographically one. The challenge that we face today is to make it one in terms of brotherhood.  Now it is true that the geographical oneness of this age has come into being to a large extent through modern man’s scientific ingenuity. Modern man through his scientific genius has been able to dwarf distance and place time in chains. And our jet planes have compressed into minutes distances that once took weeks and even months. All of this tells us that our world is a neighborhood.
 

Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.

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This bears repeating, especially here on an international online community like ours.  "Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood."  

It is now up to us - all of us - to make it a brotherhood, and a sisterhood.  To make of it a family.

We have a choice, in every single interaction, to be selfish or selfless, to be constructive or destructive, to be cold or compassionate, to be petty or worldly.  These are the choices that define us as individuals, as communities, and as a generation.  In leaders like Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, and their many heroic colleagues, we've been gifted a tremendous source of inspiration.  

Let's be mindful - today and EVERY day - of their call to conscience and their call to action.