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The Struggle Continues

By TChris, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 11:22:48 AM EST
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Jeffrey Harrell, a junior at Morehouse College, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

Today, there are still immigrants and women fighting for rights, there are people who are hungry and others without homes, Harrell said. "Until everyone is able to take part in what's called the American dream, the struggle's not done," he said.

Civil rights are for all of us. Barack Obama on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

"We resolve that as we walk, we must walk together. And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let's remember King's lesson -- that our separate dreams are really one."

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    The Struggle Continues | 13 comments (13 topical)

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    Let's hope that (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Anne on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 11:48:27 AM EST
    renewing the promise of this nation means an unequivocal rejection of torture, a commitment to privacy rights, a belief that a healthy nation is a prosperous nation, that our separate dreams cannot and will not have the kind of meaning they should, and stand a greater chance of not being realized, as long as we continue to make judgments about who is and who is not entitled to their dreams and use the legislatures and the courts as tools of exclusion instead of freedom.

    As far as we have come, we have a long way to go; standing still is almost as bad as going backward.

    Talk is cheap, even when and if it is eloquent; time for Obama to make his actions as grand and glorious as his words and lead the nation in that effort.  Lead - not sit back and tell us what we can do to make it happen - lead; show the way, blaze new trails, conquer old demons.

    It's time.

    If we ever get to the point... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by kdog on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 11:54:24 AM EST
    where the inalienable rights of the sovereign individual are respected, protected, and universally acknowledged, I think the problems of racial, gender, and sexual inequality go away for good.

    Once the individual and their rights are the be all, end all...and the concerns of society are secondary to the concerns of the sovereign individual...then we will truly be free and equal.

    Some thing (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Wile ECoyote on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 12:12:58 PM EST
    you are not going to hear about much soon, individual rights.  It is the start of a Brave New World.

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    Individual rights... (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 01:07:27 PM EST
    haven't been given their due for my entire life...I think we are long past the start my friend...in fact, we are seeing the sour fruit of the start fall of the vine and into our tyrannized laps.

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    Gay civil rights (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by mmc9431 on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 12:15:02 PM EST
    Today would be a great day for Obama to speak out about the civil rights of all including the gay community.  

    It would indeed. (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by jeniferea on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 12:46:50 PM EST
    But I'm not holding my breath.  Given that Bishop Robinson's remarks were not included in the official televising of yesterday's inaugural event and Pastor Warren's speech tomorrow, this administration has a lot to prove in my mind.

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    Thats the first place my mind (none / 0) (#14)
    by kenosharick on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 05:05:11 PM EST
    went. At least women and immigrants are allowed to marry the person that they love.

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    To me, this a day to (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 12:46:33 PM EST
    celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. King. It is day of focus not only on his achievements, but also, on the unfinished work and continuing struggle needed to assure equality for all Americans.  

    It's a day for reflection (5.00 / 4) (#8)
    by blogtopus on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 01:01:55 PM EST
    I wish everyone could take a few minutes and imagine the worst possible scenario for their lives, abject poverty, wrongful imprisonment, constant abuse, no career / future, etc. I'd want everyone to imagine this, and then to imagine that it is all because of something simple, like the color of your skin, or your gender, or that you like the same sex, or where you were raised...

    The world lacks sufficient imagination to pull this off... so far.

    I'd give you a 100 for that if I could. (none / 0) (#12)
    by vml68 on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 01:52:48 PM EST


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    Why There Is Little Progress (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by bobby2009 on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 01:23:19 PM EST
    The struggle continues because black students in public schools from K-12 only learn about Slavery and Dr. King. These are depressing topics to children and leaves many of them with little motivation. There would be more progress made if they knew of others before and after Dr. King, such as Benjamin Banneker, Sarah Boone, Mark Dean, Alexander Miles, and many other inventors and engineers.

    I am more than a little skeptical (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by Anne on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 01:38:13 PM EST
    about this assertion.  For one, the curriculum in the public schools is not separated by race, such that black kids get a curriculum that is different from what the others are being taught.

    For another, it sure must make for a long Black History Month (February) if all that is being taught is slavery and Dr. King - I mean, that's just silly.  Heck, I'm 55 and I learned about people like George Washington Carver and Benjamin Banneker - you know, back before there was an MLK, Jr. Day, a Black History Month or the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    [rolling eyes]

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    Here's one for you... (5.00 / 0) (#13)
    by kdog on Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 02:05:49 PM EST
    they are honoring Jimmy Winkfield today at Aqueduct with the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.

    Jimmy Winkfield was the last African-American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, and the story of his life is something to behold.  A man who refused to be held down.

    P.S....I like Giant Ryan to win:)

    Parent

    The Struggle Continues | 13 comments (13 topical)

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