DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S BLUEPRINT?” (VIDEO)

Post Sources: Beacon Press, YouTube

Black Voters Are Not Going Back In 2012! FORWARD! "Ain't Going Let Nobody Turn Me Around" (Videos)

“The Vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by Man for breaking down Injustice and destroying the terrible walls which Imprison men because they are different from other Men.”
Lyndon B. Johnson

"The Ballot Or The Bullet"
Malcolm X

“Bad Politicians are sent to Washington by Good People who don't Vote.”
William Simon











I'M NOT GOING BACK!

"Ain't Going To Let Nobody Turn Me Around"

FORWARD! TOGETHER! MARCH!!

It just isn't Natural for a BLACK American Citizen NOT to Support our Nation's First BLACK Legally Elected President.

It's just NOT Natural!

Despite Differences of Opinions on certain Issues, BLACK Voters should STILL Support Barack Obama's re-election.

Why?

Let's Consider the Alternative: Mitt Romney.

If BLACK Voters Stay home in November or Cast their Ballots for Mitt Romney, the BLACK Race in America WILL most likely be in Worse Shape than ever because Romney has made it No Secret that he plans to send us BACK to SLAVERY
via Extremely Low Wage Jobs,
NO Unions,
NO Fair Hiring Practices & via Right-to-Work laws,
NO Benefits,
NO Health Care,
NO help for Minority-Owned Small Businesses,
NO Regulation for Wall Street & Large Corporations,
NO Affirmative Action,
NO Equal Justice,
NO Voting Rights,
A Stronger Klu Klux Klan Presence,
Fewer BLACK Homeowners,
NO Public School Education,
NO Federal Postal Service,
NO TSA,
More BLACK Soldiers Ordered To The Front Lines in Combat Zones,
More BLACK Men In Prisons,
More BLACK Men in Privatized Prisons,
More Segregation,
NO Civil Rights.

If Mitt Romney is Elected the Heated Racial Divide in America will most likely Widen.

In essence the American BLACK Community will cease to Exist if Mitt Romney is Elected.

How do I know this to be true?

Because Mitt Romney has NOT reached out to BLACK Voters at all and I don't think he intends to do so. EVER!!

We Can't Go Back!

WE ARE NOT GOING BACK!

"Ain't Going To Let Nobody Turn Me Around"

FORWARD!!

HELP RE-ELECT BARACK OBAMA IN 2012!

GET YOUR STATE-APPROVED ID CARDS NOW AND GO TO THE POLLS THIS NOVEMBER EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO CRAWL THERE!

REAL TALK!!!




Battleground 2012: Will black voters put Obama over the top again in North Carolina?

“Swing state” is something North Carolinians have been hearing a lot lately. There’s no avoiding the importance the campaigns of both President Obama and his presumptive challenger Mitt Romney place on the state and its 15 electoral votes. As tightening polls and numerous candidate visits suggest, predicting the November result is not easy.

But for the president to repeat his surprising 2008 win here – by a slim, just over 14,000-vote margin – he will have to target, expand on and get out his strongest base. That would be minority, particularly African American, voters.

What will it take for the president to make North Carolina swing his way in November? Will the Democrats’ decision to hold their national convention in Charlotte, the state’s largest city, affect enthusiasm and turnout? How much does the president’s 2012 success depend on the rise of North Carolina’s minority population? And will the economy trump everything?

“A lot of politics is demographics these days, more than ever,” said David Bositis, senior research associate at the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Bositis, who studies minority political engagement, pointed to a change that is happening in North Carolina and across the country. He told me that the white working class, a group Obama has had trouble appealing to, “is really shrinking in the country,” while the number of non-white voters is growing.

According to census figures, between 2000 and 2010 the Hispanic population in North Carolina more than doubled (to slightly more than 800,000) and the black population rose almost 20 percent (to two million) out of a total of more than nine and a half million residents. Some are African Americans moving or returning to the South, for economic and cultural reasons, in what has been called a “reverse migration.”

In a record 2008 turnout, African-Americans made up 23 percent of voters here, with 95 percent favoring Obama. In exit polls, an astounding 100 percent of black women in North Carolina reported voting for the president. Obama won just 35 percent of the white vote, but he also did well overall among young and college-educated voters of all races here.

Of the voters who helped the president become the first Democrat to win the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976, “The only way those numbers will improve will be based upon population change,” said Bositis. “It’s going to depend upon the degree to which the Obama campaign decides to put resources into North Carolina,” he said.

He added, “If he does do that, if he does have a very good ground game … they will go out of their way to register as many young people, black people and Hispanic people as they can.”

“The question is ‘how energized is each candidate’s base?’” said LaTonya M. Williams, assistant professor at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

Will race matter? While Bositis said, “In Southern states, you would be foolhardy to assume that race doesn’t play any role,” he added that it matters less in a business-oriented, diverse state such as North Carolina. “Obama’s not going to bring up race; his campaign has to focus on the economy. It would be a distraction, and not a welcome distraction.”

The appeal to African-Americans may be subtle, but it’s there. The Obama campaign has opened 16 offices throughout the state, with more expected, and has organized phone banks and voter registration efforts – with a parade of celebrities offering encouragement. At a Charlotte event this year, volunteers were pumped up by Keshia Knight Pulliam, all grown up from The Cosby Show, and former Obama personal aide Reggie Love, who with his Duke basketball background brings his own state ties. Actress Angela Bassett spoke at a North Carolina Women for Obama event in Fayetteville earlier this month.

Going to the source of political and other kinds of conversation was the thinking behind the state campaign’s B&B (that’s barber shop and beauty parlor) program, where patrons can pick up voter registration forms along with a haircut.

“It’s a cornerstone of every community,” said Don Johnson, who hosted an event at his Nu-U Barbershop and Hair Salon in Charlotte on a recent Saturday. “People go there; if they’re not getting services, they take their kids there.” He told me that “when you’re in barber college, they tell you there are three things you don’t talk about – religion, personal stuff and politics. But politics is a major part of the conversation.”

He added, “We’ve been supporting Obama for a while. He’s done a good job for veterans, in health care and looking out for the small businessman, which is good for me. There’s more urgency for the second campaign than the first one.”

The president and first lady have made several stops in North Carolina, with Michelle Obama bringing a “Let’s Move!” event to Charlotte in March, during the 100th anniversary of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). In May, she gave the commencement address for North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

In September, the Obamas will return for the Democratic convention in Charlotte, where the city’s second African American mayor, Anthony Foxx, will host, with advisory assistance from Harvey B. Gantt, architect, community leader and, in the 1980s, the city’s first African American mayor.

“The convention will give them a boost in terms of publicity, assuming everything goes well,” said Bositis. In 2008, Obama built up big early-voting leads in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County that countered North Carolina election-day results, which he actually lost.

Obama’s support of same-sex marriage, thought by some to cause a rift between the president and conservative black voters, has so far not seemed to affect support for him.

With the support of black voters, a May amendment to the North Carolina constitution defining marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic legal union passed overwhelmingly. Yet, as Dwayne A. Walker, pastor at Charlotte’s Little Rock AME Zion Church, told me, though he believes “God intends for men to marry women and women to marry men,” he was against the amendment, which he felt had “unintended consequences,” and he is for Obama.

“I’m an avid Democrat, and will be supporting him again,” Walker said.

When it comes to Obama’s chances of 2012 success, what matters most may not be the number of new voters his campaign can sign up or the amount of enthusiasm a September speech in Bank of America stadium can generate, but the unemployment rate. Right now, in North Carolina, it stands at 9.4 percent, above the national 8.2 percent.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Bositis.


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Sources: AP, MSNBC, The Grio, Youtube, Google Maps

NAACP & SCLC Lose 21st Century Relevance: Push Gay Rights Versus Enforcing Anti-Discrimination Laws In Workplace & Voting Booths

The NAACP & SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) are both Irrelevant in the 21st Century because these two "Civil Rights" Organizations have lost their Original Focus & Mission i.e., Fighting Racial Discrimination which is Still a Major Problem in the South.

The Strategy for Fighting against Racial Discrimination must Change, however the Focus on this issue should NEVER have been diverted.

NEVER!!!

Just because America now has a BLACK President does NOT mean Racial Discrimination in the Work Place has stopped.

Especially as it relates to Hiring & Firing.

High BLACK Unemployment for the last 3 Years is NOT due to Unqualified BLACK Applicants.

Instead it is largely due to Widespread Employment Discrimination as a result of Retaliation against the Election of a BLACK U.S. President.

Now here it is the year 2012 and many BLACK Supporters of Pres. Obama's Re-election campaign Can NOT Financially Support him because they are BROKE.

In addition those new Voter ID Laws will make it more Difficult for BLACK & Latino Obama Supporters to Cast Ballots for him in November.

Widespread Employment Discrimination & Voter Suppression are what the SCLC and NAACP should have been Focusing on for the past 3 years.

Instead they are pushing Gay Rights!

If the SCLC & NAACP wants to push Gay Rights why NOT do so After the 2012 Election when Pres. Obama's 2nd Term is Secure?

Its because of these reasons many BLACK U.S. Citizens No Longer see the Relevance for either of these supposedly "Civil Rights" Organizations.







Is Civil Rights Group losing its Relevance?


Whenever someone has lived a solid and productive life, the pastor at his or her funeral may turn to Matthew 25:21 to offer a few words the good Lord may utter as the person's spirit ascends to heaven: "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

In the pantheon of civil rights organizations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference stands tall as one of the greatest groups ever to advance the cause of civil rights, helping bring the hatred and bigotry of Jim Crow to its knees.

From its marches and protests to its negotiations with political and business leaders and its efficient work with other civil rights groups, the SCLC's work has been legendary.

Yet 55 years after its co-founding by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is an organization that makes headlines today more for infighting among members and the revolving door that its top leadership positions have become -- all while crucial social justice issues continue to fester for African-Americans and others.

Whether we want to admit it or not, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has been devoid of a Christian spirit for a long time. It is leading nothing and doing nothing.

The fact that I'm writing these words may be painful to civil rights stalwarts (and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers of mine) like longtime activists the Rev. Joseph Lowery and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, but sometimes the truth hurts.

On Monday, the SCLC is set to announce that former CEO Charles Steele is returning to helm the organization he served as president from 2004 to 2009.

In the four years since he left, the SCLC has gone through four leaders, including the Rev. Bernice King, who, in a strange debacle, was chosen as CEO in 2010, but never assumed the post after a conflict with the board. Her cousin Isaac Farris, a nephew of Dr. King, was chosen to lead the group about a year ago, but he was replaced.
In the past several years we have seen split factions among the board, leading to competing board meetings; the doors to the headquarters being chained to keep others out; even arguments at board meetings where some members nearly came to blows.

This is nothing but drama, mess, childish antics or whatever you want to call it.

It is a severe stain on the life and legacy of King and the many others who stood with him during the darkest hours. When your group is known more for fighting among its leaders than fighting racism, sexism and inequality, you serve no real purpose.

One of Steele's accomplishments when he took over the first time was building the organization a national headquarters that the group owned.

He did so, debt-free -- but who cares about a building when an organization has no mission and no relevance? Who really cares if the organization's leaders proclaim a desire to be solvent when the SCLC has lost its soul?

I've meet Charles Steele and we've had many discussions.

He's an honorable man. But the issue here isn't who is the leader.

Instead, it's a group of people on the board of directors who aren't leading the group anywhere but further into the grave.

I'll be perfectly honest: The SCLC has been persona non grata on the media platforms I have that reach millions of African-Americans.

Booking someone from the group on my Sunday morning news show on a black cable network, TV One, or my daily news segment on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a syndicated radio show with a huge black audience, would be a waste of time.

Why am I going to waste valuable time advancing the latest initiative from the SCLC when it's likely to go nowhere due to constant infighting?

The list of issues the SCLC could be addressing is vast, from the scourge of inner-city violence that continues to take away another generation of black kids, to a high school dropout rate that is shameful.

If the SCLC wants to get back to basics and play a crucial role in the 21st century, Steele is going to have to rid the group of the spirit of dissension that is running through its veins.

He is going to have to show a new generation of pastors across the country that aligning with the SCLC has value other than raising their blood pressure.

As a Christian, I desire the best outcome for the SCLC. But frankly, I have no faith that the organization has put its past drama behind it.

And until it can prove to me and others that it wants to be taken seriously, the SCLC will be just like the Congress for Racial Equality or the now-defunct Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee -- groups that had their glory days during a different era, and saw them end.


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Sources: AOL, CNN, Huffington Post, The Grio, Wikipedia, WRAL, Youtube, Google Maps

Gingrich's Divisive Political Code Messaging Not Effective; Unity Needed!

Forget It Newt! People Aren't Stupid!

Everyone Both Democrat & Republican, Is Now Hip To That "White Folks Only" Divisive Political Code Messaging And Its NOT Working!!

Its NO Longer Effective On Today's Campaign Trail. i.e., 2011 & 2012.

In Fact I Strongly Believe Most Voters (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian) Are Tired Of Racially Motivated Politics & Really Want To Support Pres. Obama's Continued Efforts To Help Heal OUR Country.

I Believe That Most Voters Regardless Of Their Ethnicity & Socio-Economic Status Are Ready For A Unified Nation!

(Remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" Speech.)

Can We Be Real For A Moment?

Let's Face It Former Pres. G.W. Bush REALLY Screwed Up This Country Financially.

In Fact He Financially Raped It Via Deregulation & His "War On Terror"!

Pres. Obama Had To Immediately Coming Out Of The Gate Begin Working Diligently To Clean Up Bush's Mess & Stabilize Our Economy.

Thus He Will Need Another 4 Years In Office Before All Citizens NOT Just Wealthy, White Men Can Experience Real Prosperity.

So Please Know Newt That Your Little Racist 2012 "Southern Strategy" Agenda Is NOT Going To Move Pres. Obama Out Of The White House Before 2016!

NEXT!

See You At The Polls.

VOTE OBAMA IN 2012!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Sources: MSNBC, NY Times, Google Maps

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wasn't Afraid Of Death! R.I.P.

43 Years Ago Today Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Was Assassinated By Some Government Paid Fool!

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 3, 1968. R.I.P.



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In last speech, Martin Luther King Jr. 'not concerned' about early death

Forty-three years ago Monday, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. He was there to support a garbage collectors' strike, and on the night before his death gave what would be his final sermon. Amid the call for for African-Americans to boycott businesses that mistreated workers, he delivered a sermon, without notes, that focused on his life and disavowed any concern that he might be killed for his role in the fight for civil rights.

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now,” the Rev. Mr. King said that evening. “I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”

Now known as "I've Been to the Mountaintop,” the sermon was called King's "most apocalyptic" by King scholar James Washington. It was not the first time King had spoken publicly about his possible early death, though those close to him say King certainly did not expect the April 3 sermon to be his last.

"He always knew some speech would be his last," wrote Andrew Young, who was with King in Memphis. "Was he afraid? Not on your life!"

King had received death threats for years and had already survived one assassination attempt. In 1958, a black woman who apparently suffered from mental illness stabbed him at a book signing, nearly killing him. In its report on the incident, The New York Times wrote, momentously, that the wound was so severe that King would have died had he sneezed.

In his last sermon, King reflected on that experience, recalling that a ninth-grade girl wrote him afterward to say she was glad he hadn’t sneezed. King used that experience to reflect on his career and the civil rights movement.

"I too am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters," said King. "If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused[OR ROUSED?] the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had."

After the sermon, King took His seat. His friend Benjamin Hooks recalled that King's words had elicited surprising emotions in both listeners and speaker.

"To my surprise, when I got a little closer, I saw tears streaming down his face," Mr. Hook said in a speech a decade later. "Grown men were sitting there weeping openly because of the power of this man who spoke on that night."


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Sources: Christian Science Monitor, Youtube, Google Maps

Bloody Sunday: Civil Rights March In Selma: March 7, 1965

BLOODY SUNDAY: March 7, 1965!

I Wasn't There On That Awesome, Painful Day But I Can't Forget! In Fact I Refuse To Forget! Perhaps This Day Means NOTHING To Prez. Obama But Just Watching Video Clips Of What Happened On That Day Brings Tears To My Eyes. Men Like Dr. King Died For My Right To Vote! I Won't Dishonor Their Struggle By Being A STUPID Black Voter, Expecting Little From My Leaders. What About You??


Bloody Sunday: March 7, 1965: Selma To Montgomery Marches


The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL). In 1963, the DCVL and organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began voter-registration work.

When white resistance to Black voter registration proved intractable, the DCVL requested the assistance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who brought many prominent civil rights and civic leaders to support voting rights.

The first march took place on March 7, 1965 — "Bloody Sunday" — when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. The second march took place on March 9. Only the third march, which began on March 21 and lasted five days, made it to Montgomery, 51 miles (82 km) away.

The marchers averaged 10 miles (16 km) a day along U.S. Route 80, known in Alabama as the "Jefferson Davis Highway". Protected by 2,000 soldiers of the U.S. Army, 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard under Federal command, and many FBI agents and Federal Marshals, they arrived in Montgomery on March 24, and at the Alabama Capitol building on March 25.

The route is memorialized as the Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail, a U.S. National Historic Trail.


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Sources: Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Black Voters Are Stupid!! Expect Too Little From Obama!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Malcolm X Are Probably Turning Over In Their Graves Right About Now. Why?

Because America's BLACK Voters Are Stupid!!

Which Groups Of Voters Expect Much From Their Political Candidates & Leaders? White Men & Women (ALL Ages), Hispanics, Asians, Gays. Which Group Expects The Least From Their Political Candidates & Leaders? Slave-Minded BLACK VOTERS (ALL Ages)! Perhaps This Explains Why Even Our Nation's 1st BLACK Prez. Thinks Its Ok To Forget Black Folks After His Election. Oy Vey!

"Forget You!" This Is What Pres. Barack Obama Is Now Saying To America's Black Voters. Why? Because Black Voters Are STUPID!! The Majority Of Us Have Low Expectations When It Comes To Our Politicians & Leaders. Sadly Enough Most Black Voters Will Continue To Support Their Leaders Regardless Of How Poorly They're Treated. It Must Be That Slave Mentality Thing. Pitiful!!

When Barack H. Obama Was Elected Prez In 2008 I Don't Believe Black Voters Expected Him To Focus Solely On America's Black Community Or To "Fix" The Black Community. However Since He Labels Himself As A Black Man, We Did Expect Him To Demonstrate More Fairness Towards Our Plight. Other Ethnic Groups Expect More From Their Politicians. Why Not Black Voters? Only Stupid Voters Don't Expect A Return On Their Investment!

"Excuses Are The Tools That Incompetent People Use To Build Monuments Of Nothing!"
Please STOP Making Excuses For Prez. Obama Or Any Other Slack Black Leader! The Right For Black Folk To Vote In This Country Did NOT Come Easy. It Was Earned Via Blood, Sweat & Tears! No Other Ethnic Group Had To Fight Like We Did. So Why Shouldn't We Expect More From Our Leaders? Other Voters Do!

Here's The PDF Link To Prez. Obama's Official 2012 Budget.

How Will His 2012 Budget Hurt Black Voters?

CUTS: Pell Grants For Summer College Classes, LIHEAP (Help For Heating Bills), Small Biz Programs. REQUESTS: $$$ For Public Schools & To Build More Prisons.

Never Thought I Live To See The Day When A Black Leader Would Support Building More Prisons.

Aren't There Enough Black Men Already In Prison??


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Sources: CBM Group, Youtube, Google Maps

"How Long? Not Long!" By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Video & Text)

Our God Is Marching On!

March 25, 1965. Montgomery, Ala.

My dear and abiding friends, Ralph Abernathy, and to all of the distinguished Americans seated here on the rostrum, my friends and co-workers of the state of Alabama, and to all of the freedom-loving people who have assembled here this afternoon from all over our nation and from all over the world: Last Sunday, more than eight thousand of us started on a mighty walk from Selma, Alabama. We have walked through desolate valleys and across the trying hills. We have walked on meandering highways and rested our bodies on rocky byways. Some of our faces are burned from the outpourings of the sweltering sun. Some have literally slept in the mud. We have been drenched by the rains. [Audience:] (Speak) Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore.

But today as I stand before you and think back over that great march, I can say, as Sister Pollard said—a seventy-year-old Negro woman who lived in this community during the bus boycott—and one day, she was asked while walking if she didn’t want to ride. And when she answered, "No," the person said, "Well, aren’t you tired?" And with her ungrammatical profundity, she said, "My feets is tired, but my soul is rested." (Yes, sir. All right) And in a real sense this afternoon, we can say that our feet are tired, (Yes, sir) but our souls are rested.

They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, (Well. Yes, sir. Talk) but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, "We ain’t goin’ let nobody turn us around." (Yes, sir. Speak) [Applause]

Now it is not an accident that one of the great marches of American history should terminate in Montgomery, Alabama. (Yes, sir) Just ten years ago, in this very city, a new philosophy was born of the Negro struggle. Montgomery was the first city in the South in which the entire Negro community united and squarely faced its age-old oppressors. (Yes, sir. Well) Out of this struggle, more than bus [de]segregation was won; a new idea, more powerful than guns or clubs was born. Negroes took it and carried it across the South in epic battles (Yes, sir. Speak) that electrified the nation (Well) and the world.

Yet, strangely, the climactic conflicts always were fought and won on Alabama soil. After Montgomery’s, heroic confrontations loomed up in Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and elsewhere. But not until the colossus of segregation was challenged in Birmingham did the conscience of America begin to bleed. White America was profoundly aroused by Birmingham because it witnessed the whole community of Negroes facing terror and brutality with majestic scorn and heroic courage. And from the wells of this democratic spirit, the nation finally forced Congress (Well) to write legislation (Yes, sir) in the hope that it would eradicate the stain of Birmingham. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave Negroes some part of their rightful dignity, (Speak, sir) but without the vote it was dignity without strength. (Yes, sir)

Once more the method of nonviolent resistance (Yes) was unsheathed from its scabbard, and once again an entire community was mobilized to confront the adversary. (Yes, sir) And again the brutality of a dying order shrieks across the land. Yet, Selma, Alabama, became a shining moment in the conscience of man. If the worst in American life lurked in its dark streets, the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it. (Yes, sir. Speak) There never was a moment in American history (Yes, sir) more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger (Yes) at the side of its embattled Negroes.

The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma (Speak, speak) generated the massive power (Yes, sir. Yes, sir) to turn the whole nation to a new course. A president born in the South (Well) had the sensitivity to feel the will of the country, (Speak, sir) and in an address that will live in history as one of the most passionate pleas for human rights ever made by a president of our nation, he pledged the might of the federal government to cast off the centuries-old blight. President Johnson rightly praised the courage of the Negro for awakening the conscience of the nation. (Yes, sir)

On our part we must pay our profound respects to the white Americans who cherish their democratic traditions over the ugly customs and privileges of generations and come forth boldly to join hands with us. (Yes, sir) From Montgomery to Birmingham, (Yes, sir) from Birmingham to Selma, (Yes, sir) from Selma back to Montgomery, (Yes) a trail wound in a circle long and often bloody, yet it has become a highway up from darkness. (Yes, sir) Alabama has tried to nurture and defend evil, but evil is choking to death in the dusty roads and streets of this state. (Yes, sir. Speak, sir) So I stand before you this afternoon (Speak, sir. Well) with the conviction that segregation is on its deathbed in Alabama, and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly the segregationists and Wallace will make the funeral. (Go ahead. Yes, sir) [Applause]

Our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we are exposing the very origin, the root cause, of racial segregation in the Southland. Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War. There were no laws segregating the races then. And as the noted historian, C. Vann Woodward, in his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the southern masses divided and southern labor the cheapest in the land. You see, it was a simple thing to keep the poor white masses working for near-starvation wages in the years that followed the Civil War. Why, if the poor white plantation or mill worker became dissatisfied with his low wages, the plantation or mill owner would merely threaten to fire him and hire former Negro slaves and pay him even less. Thus, the southern wage level was kept almost unbearably low.

Toward the end of the Reconstruction era, something very significant happened. (Listen to him) That is what was known as the Populist Movement. (Speak, sir) The leaders of this movement began awakening the poor white masses (Yes, sir) and the former Negro slaves to the fact that they were being fleeced by the emerging Bourbon interests. Not only that, but they began uniting the Negro and white masses (Yeah) into a voting bloc that threatened to drive the Bourbon interests from the command posts of political power in the South.

To meet this threat, the southern aristocracy began immediately to engineer this development of a segregated society. (Right) I want you to follow me through here because this is very important to see the roots of racism and the denial of the right to vote. Through their control of mass media, they revised the doctrine of white supremacy. They saturated the thinking of the poor white masses with it, (Yes) thus clouding their minds to the real issue involved in the Populist Movement. They then directed the placement on the books of the South of laws that made it a crime for Negroes and whites to come together as equals at any level. (Yes, sir) And that did it. That crippled and eventually destroyed the Populist Movement of the nineteenth century.

If it may be said of the slavery era that the white man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction era that the southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor white man Jim Crow. (Yes, sir) He gave him Jim Crow. (Uh huh) And when his wrinkled stomach cried out for the food that his empty pockets could not provide, (Yes, sir) he ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man. (Right sir) And he ate Jim Crow. (Uh huh) And when his undernourished children cried out for the necessities that his low wages could not provide, he showed them the Jim Crow signs on the buses and in the stores, on the streets and in the public buildings. (Yes, sir) And his children, too, learned to feed upon Jim Crow, (Speak) their last outpost of psychological oblivion. (Yes, sir)

Thus, the threat of the free exercise of the ballot by the Negro and the white masses alike (Uh huh) resulted in the establishment of a segregated society. They segregated southern money from the poor whites; they segregated southern mores from the rich whites; (Yes, sir) they segregated southern churches from Christianity (Yes, sir); they segregated southern minds from honest thinking; (Yes, sir) and they segregated the Negro from everything. (Yes, sir) That’s what happened when the Negro and white masses of the South threatened to unite and build a great society: a society of justice where none would pray upon the weakness of others; a society of plenty where greed and poverty would be done away; a society of brotherhood where every man would respect the dignity and worth of human personality. (Yes, sir)

We’ve come a long way since that travesty of justice was perpetrated upon the American mind. James Weldon Johnson put it eloquently. He said:

We have come over a way

That with tears hath been watered. (Yes, sir)

We have come treading our paths

Through the blood of the slaughtered. (Yes, sir)

Out of the gloomy past, (Yes, sir)

Till now we stand at last

Where the white gleam

Of our bright star is cast. (Speak, sir)

Today I want to tell the city of Selma, (Tell them, Doctor) today I want to say to the state of Alabama, (Yes, sir) today I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world, that we are not about to turn around. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. (Yes, sir)

Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us. (Yes, sir) The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people will not divert us. We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) The wanton release of their known murderers would not discourage us. We are on the move now. (Yes, sir) Like an idea whose time has come, (Yes, sir) not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. (Yes, sir) We are moving to the land of freedom. (Yes, sir)

Let us therefore continue our triumphant march (Uh huh) to the realization of the American dream. (Yes, sir) Let us march on segregated housing (Yes, sir) until every ghetto or social and economic depression dissolves, and Negroes and whites live side by side in decent, safe, and sanitary housing. (Yes, sir) Let us march on segregated schools (Let us march, Tell it) until every vestige of segregated and inferior education becomes a thing of the past, and Negroes and whites study side-by-side in the socially-healing context of the classroom.

Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until no American parent has to skip a meal so that their children may eat. (Yes, sir) March on poverty (Let us march) until no starved man walks the streets of our cities and towns (Yes, sir) in search of jobs that do not exist. (Yes, sir) Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until wrinkled stomachs in Mississippi are filled, (That's right) and the idle industries of Appalachia are realized and revitalized, and broken lives in sweltering ghettos are mended and remolded.

Let us march on ballot boxes, (Let’s march) march on ballot boxes until race-baiters disappear from the political arena.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs (Yes, sir) will be transformed into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens. (Speak, Doctor)

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march) until the Wallaces of our nation tremble away in silence.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march) until we send to our city councils (Yes, sir), state legislatures, (Yes, sir) and the United States Congress, (Yes, sir) men who will not fear to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Let us march. March) until brotherhood becomes more than a meaningless word in an opening prayer, but the order of the day on every legislative agenda.

Let us march on ballot boxes (Yes) until all over Alabama God’s children will be able to walk the earth in decency and honor.

There is nothing wrong with marching in this sense. (Yes, sir) The Bible tells us that the mighty men of Joshua merely walked about the walled city of Jericho (Yes) and the barriers to freedom came tumbling down. (Yes, sir) I like that old Negro spiritual, (Yes, sir) "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho." In its simple, yet colorful, depiction (Yes, sir) of that great moment in biblical history, it tells us that:

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, (Tell it)

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, (Yes, sir)

And the walls come tumbling down. (Yes, sir. Tell it)

Up to the walls of Jericho they marched, spear in hand. (Yes, sir)

"Go blow them ramhorns," Joshua cried,

"‘Cause the battle am in my hand." (Yes, sir)

These words I have given you just as they were given us by the unknown, long-dead, dark-skinned originator. (Yes, sir) Some now long-gone black bard bequeathed to posterity these words in ungrammatical form, (Yes, sir) yet with emphatic pertinence for all of us today. (Uh huh)

The battle is in our hands. And we can answer with creative nonviolence the call to higher ground to which the new directions of our struggle summons us. (Yes, sir) The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. (No) There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going.

In the glow of the lamplight on my desk a few nights ago, I gazed again upon the wondrous sign of our times, full of hope and promise of the future. (Uh huh) And I smiled to see in the newspaper photographs of many a decade ago, the faces so bright, so solemn, of our valiant heroes, the people of Montgomery. To this list may be added the names of all those (Yes) who have fought and, yes, died in the nonviolent army of our day: Medgar Evers, (Speak) three civil rights workers in Mississippi last summer, (Uh huh) William Moore, as has already been mentioned, (Yes, sir) the Reverend James Reeb, (Yes, sir) Jimmy Lee Jackson, (Yes, sir) and four little girls in the church of God in Birmingham on Sunday morning. (Yes, sir) But in spite of this, we must go on and be sure that they did not die in vain. (Yes, sir) The pattern of their feet as they walked through Jim Crow barriers in the great stride toward freedom is the thunder of the marching men of Joshua, (Yes, sir) and the world rocks beneath their tread. (Yes, sir)

My people, my people, listen. (Yes, sir) The battle is in our hands. (Yes, sir) The battle is in our hands in Mississippi and Alabama and all over the United States. (Yes, sir) I know there is a cry today in Alabama, (Uh huh) we see it in numerous editorials: "When will Martin Luther King, SCLC, SNCC, and all of these civil rights agitators and all of the white clergymen and labor leaders and students and others get out of our community and let Alabama return to normalcy?"

But I have a message that I would like to leave with Alabama this evening. (Tell it) That is exactly what we don’t want, and we will not allow it to happen, (Yes, sir) for we know that it was normalcy in Marion (Yes, sir) that led to the brutal murder of Jimmy Lee Jackson. (Speak) It was normalcy in Birmingham (Yes) that led to the murder on Sunday morning of four beautiful, unoffending, innocent girls. It was normalcy on Highway 80 (Yes, sir) that led state troopers to use tear gas and horses and billy clubs against unarmed human beings who were simply marching for justice. (Speak, sir) It was normalcy by a cafe in Selma, Alabama, that led to the brutal beating of Reverend James Reeb.

It is normalcy all over our country (Yes, sir) which leaves the Negro perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of vast ocean of material prosperity. It is normalcy all over Alabama (Yeah) that prevents the Negro from becoming a registered voter. (Yes) No, we will not allow Alabama (Go ahead) to return to normalcy. [Applause]

The only normalcy that we will settle for (Yes, sir) is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes, sir) The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice.

And so as we go away this afternoon, let us go away more than ever before committed to this struggle and committed to nonviolence. I must admit to you that there are still some difficult days ahead. We are still in for a season of suffering in many of the black belt counties of Alabama, many areas of Mississippi, many areas of Louisiana. I must admit to you that there are still jail cells waiting for us, and dark and difficult moments. But if we will go on with the faith that nonviolence and its power can transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows, we will be able to change all of these conditions.

And so I plead with you this afternoon as we go ahead: remain committed to nonviolence. Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man. (Yes)

I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" (Speak, sir) Somebody’s asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?" Somebody’s asking, "When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?" Somebody’s asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?" (Yes, sir)

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever." (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because "you shall reap what you sow." (Yes, sir)

How long? (How long?) Not long: (Not long)

Truth forever on the scaffold, (Speak)

Wrong forever on the throne, (Yes, sir)

Yet that scaffold sways the future, (Yes, sir)

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Not long) because:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; (Yes, sir)

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; (Yes)

He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; (Yes, sir)

His truth is marching on. (Yes, sir)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; (Speak, sir)

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. (That’s right)

O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on. (Yeah)

Glory, hallelujah! (Yes, sir) Glory, hallelujah! (All right)

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on.


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Sources: MLKonline.com, Youtube, Google Maps

Charlotte, NC Boycotted By NAACP & Jesse Jackson Over King's Federal Holiday: I Agree!

Local NAACP Urges Boycott Of Charlotte, NC


At a Martin Luther King Jr. Day protest over school policies, the head of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP Monday announced a campaign to urge the CIAA basketball tournament and other groups to boycott the city.

Pledging to "expose Charlotte for the racist bastion it is," NAACP President Kojo Nantambu announced a drive to keep the CIAA, NCAA, PGA "and any other 'A'" from coming to Charlotte.

He also said his group would ask the National NAACP to consider asking the Democratic Party not to hold its 2012 Convention in Charlotte.

His comments came just before he led about 100 people on a march through uptown to protest the decision by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to hold classes on the King holiday to make up one of three days lost to snow last week.

Carrying signs and chanting "No Justice, no Peace," the group marched to the Levine Museum of the New South and on to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture.

The protest came on a day that many interracial and interfaith groups joined to mark the holiday and honor King's memory. And it came on the heels of other controversies involving schools and the African-American community.

Many in the mainly African-American crowd who gathered in the morning chill outside the government center were fired up over the school's holiday decision.

"We will not sit here and allow you to disrespect not just an American hero but a global hero," NAACP Vice President Dwayne Collins told protesters. Speaking to the crowd, Deshauna McLamb, who brought her two children to the rally, said: "This city has run havoc over this community."

"And today we're saying 'No more, no more.'"


Local School Closings At Root

In November, the NAACP and others protested a school board decision to close eight schools. Officials acknowledged the closings would disproportionately affect minority families. At least seven complaints are pending with the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights.

"I think there's a lot of deep concern about public education in particular that is perhaps mushrooming into other things," Mayor Anthony Foxx said of the proposed boycott. "A greater level of informed dialog is needed... particularly given all the challenges we're facing in the next six (to) eight months with local governmental budgets."

Nantambu said school officials "never would use the 4th of July or Easter or Christmas as an alternative (school) day." In an interview with the Observer on Sunday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said using the King holiday as a makeup day was "clearly insulting and hits a very raw nerve."

Foxx has said the holiday makeup day was "regrettable." But, he said, "Given the challenges so many young people are facing, it's hard for me to make the argument that if class is in session they shouldn't go."

U.S. Rep Mel Watt, speaking at a Queens University of Charlotte event, said "the mayor's reaction was where I would come down." Watt, who is from Charlotte and represents N.C.'s 12th district, called Nantambu's description of Charlotte as a bastion of racism "probably a little overboard."

The Democratic National Committee is expected to name a site this month for its 2012 convention. Charlotte is one of four finalists. Will Miller, executive director of the group trying to bring the gathering to Charlotte, said Monday he hopes a boycott "wouldn't become an issue."

"I would hope that's not the sentiment of more than a few people, if that's the case," he said.

How many parents kept their children out of school Monday was unclear. A spokeswoman for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools said attendance figures weren't available Monday.

But many African-American parents had no problem sending their kids to school.

"The best way to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King is to have our children in school," said the Rev. John Hicks, a Davidson pastor and member of the Carolinas Public Insight Network, a group of readers who share their knowledge for Observer stories.

"I would seriously doubt that Dr. King would be happy to know that local leaders would prefer having kids stay home and play video games rather than get an education," added Hicks, whose son attends middle school.

"After seeing the test scores for CMS, the NAACP should be the LAST organization in Charlotte to protest any day our children are not in school when the doors open."

Many schools throughout CMS incorporated King in the day's lessons.

At Rocky River High, for example, students in a 9th grade literacy class studied connections between King and Mahatma Gandhi of India. A literature class analyzed King's use of language, including his cadence syntax and his call-and-response technique.

One Rocky River student who missed classes for the uptown protest was 10th-grader Colby Johnson.

"I wanted to do more than read about the dream," he said. "I wanted to live it."




Anthony Foxx Throws Dr. King Under The Bus For Snow & White Voters!


Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx (a Black Democrat) Publicly Endorses North Carolina's Decision To Use Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Holiday As A Public School Snow Make-Up Day!

In Case You Weren't Aware 2011 Is An Re-election Year For Foxx.

He's Probably Trying To Win Back His Displeased White Voters.

Obviously A Move Straight Out of Pres. Obama's 2012 Centrist Political Playbook

Or....

Since its No Secret Anthony Foxx Is Extremely Partisan, Is It Possible He's Taking This Stance Due To Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Political Affiliation?

Dr. King Was A Registered Republican.

Never Thought I'd See The Day When A Black Politician Throws Dr. King Under The Bus!

Disgraceful!!

Were It Not For Courageous, Well-Educated Black Men Like Dr. King, Black Men Like Anthony Foxx Would Never Have Been Afforded The Opportunity To Become Mayors Of Metropolitan Cities.

I Expected Pres. Barack Obama To Throw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Under The Bus Because Obama Has Never Understood The Black American Struggle.

However Anthony Foxx Whose Ancestors Were Southerners, Former Slaves & Native American Indians, Should Most Certainly Know Better!

Where's YOUR Courage, Gratitude & Respect Mayor Foxx??

Check Out The Articles Below On This Issue.

For Shame!


Mayor Foxx: Kids Should Be In School, King Holiday Or Not

Mayor Anthony Foxx called it regrettable that Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be used as a snow make-up day for Charlotte-Mecklenburg students, but said students should be in class.

“But given the challenges so many young people are facing,” Foxx said Saturday morning, “it’s hard for me to make the argument that if class is in session they shouldn’t go.”

Foxx spoke briefly to reporters following a wreath-laying ceremony at the statue of King in Marshall Park uptown.

During the ceremony, Foxx urged Charlotteans to use Monday as a time “to reflect on our children and what kind of future we as a community want for them.”







Gov. Bev Perdue Says MLK School Day Decision Is Not A State Issue


Governor Bev Perdue says it is a local decision to open schools as a make-up day or keep them closed on the holiday set aside to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Speaking in Charlotte, where schools will be kept open Monday, the Perdue said, "It is my hope that we can all honor the Martin Luther King Day holiday."

She also said it is not a decision that should be made by state government.

The Reverend Kojo Nantambu, who is the head of the local chapter of the NAACP, called on parents to keep students home on Monday saying it is the only holiday set aside to honor an African-American.

"We do not want to miss an opportunity for our children to experience that or to celebrate that," said Nantambu, "I think it is unfair."

Eric Davis the chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board said students would spend part of the day Monday learning about the history and importance of what Dr. King did for the country.

"We will honor him by educating students," said Davis.

Parents dropping off their children at Elizabeth Traditional Elementary in Charlotte had differing opinions of the decision to keep schools open.

"I think it would take away some of what it represents," said Latasha Harris. Harris said she had not yet decided if she would keep her child home.

“I think that it is fine," said Roger Stowe.

"I think the spirit of Martin Luther King should rest in your heart,” Stowe said. “You should really celebrate him wherever you are."




For Some Students In The South, A King Day Lacking That ‘Holiday’ Feature


Put yourself in the shoes of Michael Murray, the associate superintendent of a small school district in the North Carolina foothills.

He has to provide 180 days of education for his 6,000 students by June 10. This past week of unusually brutal ice and snow in the South put the district behind schedule, and he suspects that more snow days are coming.

By state law, the only holiday he cannot cancel is Veterans Day. His solution? Make children go to school on Monday, the day when most of the nation’s schools are closed to observe Martin Luther King’s Birthday.

In the South, where establishing an official holiday for Dr. King was long in coming, that kind of move can be particularly controversial. But administrators in a handful of districts in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina say they have no choice.

That is not going over well with some parents and politicians.

“It always seems like Martin Luther King day is the first one they are willing to give up,” said Dot Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton have also weighed in. “We’re urging people to keep their kids home,” Mr. Sharpton said. “It’s un-American not to observe the holiday.”

In South Carolina, the 17,400 students in the Rock Hill School District, 20 miles south of Charlotte, N.C., will be in school on Monday. Making up for snow days will also put them in school on Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day.

“There’s no intention on our part to dishonor Martin Luther King in any way,” said a district spokeswoman, Elaine Baker. She said that even black families had contacted the district to support the move and that Dr. King would not have had a problem with students learning on his holiday.

That is not good enough for State Representative John R. King, whose district includes Rock Hill.

“The amount of snow has nothing to do with it; this is a state holiday,” he said. “I think it’s blatant. I think it’s disrespectful. As the only African-American legislator in my area, it’s a slap in my face and in the faces of people who look like me.”

The move has Mr. King so concerned that he plans to introduce a bill next week that would require the entire state to close schools on the King holiday.

In North Carolina and South Carolina in particular, the holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has long been a sensitive topic. Senators John P. East and Jesse Helms, North Carolina Republicans, provided stiff opposition in a battle to have the day declared a national holiday, which Congress did through legislation that President Ronald Reagan signed in 1983. At the time, only 27 states and Washington observed it as a holiday.

South Carolina became the last state to do so, in 2000, the same year the Legislature voted to remove the familiar Confederate battle flag that flew atop the Statehouse. The state now flies a smaller version of the battle flag in front of the Statehouse, and it will be the target of a rally on the King holiday.

But school administrators are pleading for mercy. Students can have excused absences that day, if they like. In some schools, the curriculum will be based on Dr. King’s story and the history of civil rights.

Mr. Murray, of the McDowell County public schools in North Carolina, said that other holidays were likely to become school days before the year is out.

And he has one more piece of bad news for students: they have to go to school this Saturday, too.




NAACP Calls For Protest Of CMS Holding Classes On MLK Day


The NAACP held a press conference Friday morning, protesting the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ decision to have classes on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Chapter president Kojo Nantambu said the decision to use the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a snow make-up day is disrespectful to the memory of Dr. King.

Nantambu called for a protest at the Government Center on Monday at 10 a.m. and urged parents to keep their children out of school and bring them to the protest.

He said after the protest, the children will be taken to the Levine Museum of the South and to the Harvey Gantt Center where they would learn about the legacy of Dr. King.

“We are appalled that of all the days they would choose – that the Board of Education of Charlotte-Mecklenburg would choose to use the Martin Luther King birthday as a make-up day for snow, “ Nantambu said.

On Thursday, CMS board chairman Eric Davis said there will be special programs in the schools on Monday to let students learn more about Dr. King.

The calendar of make-up days was written two years ago and the board recently agreed that in 2012, no matter what, Martin Luther King Jr. Day would not be used as a make-up day.



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Sources: Charmeck.org, McClatchy Newspapers, NAACP, NY Times, WCNC, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps