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Historians fear MLK's legacy is being lost

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"We're living increasingly in a culture of top 10 lists, of celebrity biopics which simplify the past as entertainment or mythology. We lose a view on what real leadership is by compressing him down to one window."

-Richard Greenwald, professor of history at Drew University.

When people talk about Dr. Martin Luther King today, do they still get what he stood for?
joshuaheller

11 responses // Historians fear MLK's legacy is being lost

  • Replace the word nigro w/ HUMAN in his speach...4 what currently is the issue... Now it's the poor who are slaves....NOW IS THE TIME 2 RISE FROM SEGRIGATION(rich/poor)....'cause WE(humans of poverty) ARE NOT SATISFIED!!!! *******"I have a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of free...THAT ALL (humans)MEN are created EQUAL!!!"******** I hope 2 live in a Nation that judges the character(soul) not the money....That the poor will be able 2 do the same as the rich w/out ne barier(money) .....*LET FREEDOM RING!!!!!!!* FREE AT LAST??? When money(idol) is gone then we shall TRUELY be FREE....~When no1 but your soul comands u, then u are truely FREE!!!!!!!!!!!~ *Pure TRUTH*True PEACE*Total LOVE/UNDERSTANDING*
    Angelique
  • http://www.alternet.org/story/74337/
    I *agree* w/ AngeLIQUE, especially the bits in capitals which read as an inspiring secret message from outer space when you ignore all the lower case words.

    This is a pretty interesting article that talks about how Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" words have almost become a little cliched and have " turned the man who delivered it into more of a myth than a human being made of flesh and blood."

    Then there's a funny bit at the end in which Mitt Romney is accused of claiming he saw his father march with King, before later admitting it hadn't happened at all.
    richjm
  • http://current.com/items/88820809_ten_other_things_mart...
    " Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" words have almost become a little cliched and have " turned the man who delivered it into more of a myth than a human being made of flesh and blood "


    .........yeah, he did say a few other things...
    DizzyMsLizzy
  • The capitalized words are where the truth I speak of come from...words are just words...unless emphasis is put on them...how can I do that if u cannot hear me??? *Pure TRUTH*True PEACE*Total LOVE/UNDERSTANDING*
    Angelique
  • sick post. bout sums it up. It's amazing the lessons we've learned and the will it take to ignore them.
    futurist
  • I think one of the worst things people have done is assume that MLK's dream has already been realized in full.

    He did incredibly great things for this country/ society, and it really fumes me when I see people taking what he did at skin level, or assuming things have always been as they are now - even capitalizing on it, or forgetting it altogether - which I've been seeing people do all my life.
    MLK Day should be more than just another day off work, no matter what skin color you are -
    the blossoming of civil rights and the rise of racial equality in America are not the only things he did;
    he paved the way for others to do more, set it up to be expounded upon,
    and he saved God knows how many white people, including my parents, from growing up in ignorance just by making his voice heard, which is something I'm genuinely grateful for.
    Humdrum
  • The Truth, is that the gap between rich and poor is greater than it was during King's time. What would King have said in today's world? I think that its important to apply Martin Luther King's message to our current situation. The reality is, that we are still struggling to gain equality. Not only African Americans, but all poor people. Slavery does exist in our country today. Humans are illegally trafficked into this country every single day against their will. Today our schools are still segregated since laws prohibit us from attending the schools that we wish, and instead we must attend schools within our proximity. We've come a LONG way, but we still have a long way to go.....It is important that we apply King's words not only to BLACK AND WHITE people, but ALL HUMANS in this country. We all know that Hispanics make up the majority of the population in this country, yet we're excluded when it comes to issues regarding race. I feel that king spoke for myself as an ethnic woman, and i'm NOT black. We should not limit his message and treat it as if it were history. We must apply it to the present.
    laprincesa81
  • laprincesa81: Check your census figures on population figures (here: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762156.html). Last official figure on percent of total population for Hispanics was a little over 12% (census 2001-2005). Granted there has been far more illegal immigration since then so the number is higher but not (yet) the largest percent of the population.
    Otherwise: this topic is great food for thought.
    (edit: just checked the US Cenus Bureau site for their figure and theirs, also from 2005 Census data, says Hispanics make up 14% of the total U.S. population).
    barkway
  • I totally agree w/ laprincessa81 she is stateing my meaning in a combination of words better understood...I am of no ethnicity...I am hentz 57(a little bit of all)...So I feel I should represent all...In order 4 all 2 be FREE our focus should be: PURE TRUTH + TRUE PEACE = TOTAL LOVE/UNDERSTANDING....This is the combination I come 2 find we, liveing, are in search of...the common goal....so y not live by it??? 'cause money dictates otherwise...this is why I repeat that money is the system of control....we have 2 pay 2 live...therefore we have 2 use money 2 live...money is what seperates us...NOT GOOD!!!!
    Angelique
  • Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King.
    Why do we always fall into a pessimistic state of mind when we talk about the state of race relations in this country? Everyone has soo much to say about all the things we haven't been doing to honor the sacrifice he, his family and countless others endured for our sake. Could someone drop a few lines about all the progress that we have made? Many have valid points but there must be balance, it cant all be negative. We're all so jaded and far removed as to how it use to be before civil rights that we don't realize just how good we have it. And yes things could always get better and they will. Obama 08'
    Mahoganyi
  • the only way it will get better if there isn't a price 4 all the things NEEDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MORE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!! It's what controls us...keeps us under there eye....'cause it's their money...not urs...so that means we are thiers 'cause we use it...am I the only one who can c right through their masks...???
    Angelique

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