"the enemies of the Negro are the enemies of labor"

[erodriguez]

"I can't help but think that Dr. King (or Rosa Parks, Ella Baker or Bayard Rustin) would not sign up with Bill Gates, Goldman Sachs, and the owners of Wal-Mart for such a "movement". King once said, "the enemies of the Negro are the enemies of labor." We teach children that King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, but we forget that he was there to support black workers on strike, fighting for a union. We teach children to memorize his "I Have a Dream" speech, but forget that it was first delivered in a United Auto Workers hall."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-jones/charter-schools-and-civil_b_757792.html

[Brickbat]

1. Some of us don't forget.

K&R.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. K & R

For Dr. King & for unity among laborers everywhere.

[DemocracyInaction]

3. I remember the day I discovered him

I heard this "guy" talking on tv, stopped, turned around, sat down and listened. This was when there were only 3 channels and they did cover whole speeches, etc. and didn't do all the brainwashing about what you were suppose to hear! I thought "wow"--I'm white and I know this guy is out there trying to get equality for Blacks but this speech is for everyone who are NOT of the "filthy rich" category. He woke me up.

[Starry Messenger]

4. k & r

[EFerrari]

5. K&R

[Hannah Bell]

6. knr. "They don't care who is the drone -- hands of yellow, black or brown -- profit is their only

deity."

As corporate hands of power reach around the world,
They'll strangle any weak neck they can find.

From the diamond mines of Africa to the fields of El Salvador,
From the sweatshops down in Mexico to the wire slots in Tokyo,
Sweat is sweat and blood is blood, and one day soon the time must come
We'll stand and face our common enemy.

http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=856

[onethatcares]

28. thanks.

listening to Dr. Martin Luthers speeches will change a person.

The corporations could never take that again.

But maybe we could have street corner orators spring up thoughout our nation. Just walking and talking the truth.

Maybe some day, maybe.

[blondeatlast]

7. Much of King's support was a direct result of his support for unions. Excellent piece; it should be

read by6 everyone trying to understand the opposition to charter schools.

Wish I could recommend more than one.

k/r

[msanthrope]

8. I love it when people assume what MLK would have thought about an issue that

didn't even exist when he died....

You know, like when Glenn Beck does it, it's bad, but if it's something we want to hear, it's good, right?

[blondeatlast]

9. Why was he in Memphis again?

Do you know the answer to that, Counselor?

Here's a hint from the American Prospect: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=12380

[msanthrope]

11. Don't need the hint, but charter schools didn't exist when he was alive--

I mean, I find it disgusting that his own niece had the nerve to assume her uncle would be against gay marriage---

That's offensive...why is this less offensive??? Because it's something we want to hear?

[EFerrari]

10. Are you kidding?

[msanthrope]

12. No--charter schools didn't exist then. n/t

[EFerrari]

13. Union busting is not new. n/t

[msanthrope]

17. True. Neither is appropriating the dead when our own argument falls short. n/t

[EFerrari]

30. What utter tripe. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

35. why don't you tell it to the bush family, arne duncan, bill gates & the hedge fund boys,

because they regularly invoke king & the civil rights movement in their drive to privatize public education.

[inna]

18. No - but it's safe to assume that MLK would still be pro-labor if he were alive today.

Charter schools happen to be anti-labor, in case you didn't notice.

[blondeatlast]

14. Sadly, no, she isn't.

She's got the subtle RW spin down, though.

[Gabi Hayes]

21. ''we''? you crack me up

seriously

[msanthrope]

22. Gabby--did you note that the OP source was a HuffPo blog?

On the last thread we tangled on, you got very upset that I used such a source....so I expect intellectual consistency.

Of course, I hadn't used a HuffPo blog--it was the AP News feed. When I pointed that out, you left the thread.

;)

[Gabi Hayes]

26. yeah? so what? I was responding in kind to your own reference to a blog I cited.

you take issue with blogs (and their apparent biases) only when they disagree with your own POV.

I pointed out the clearly bought and paid for sources cited in that blog. I asked why you cited such astro turf-funded propaganda mills?

never answered that one, either, did you?

have you ever revealed the inspiration for your intense interest in
this issue? how many times did I ask? still waiting.....

[msanthrope]

27. Gaby--how do you keep missing that it wasn't a 'blog?'

It was the AP News Feed. An actual story from the AP. With the logo, and an AP writer, and everything.

Not a blog.

I would think that a teacher would have better reading comprehension skills.

[txlibdem]

15. We are all negroes. At least to the wealthy bastards waging class warfare against us all.

Arrest and convict the rich for their crimes. What will it take before we wake up and smell the coffee?!?

[EFerrari]

16. Mark Crispin Miller said that of the 2004 election --

that all voters were treated as black voters have always been treated.

[txlibdem]

33. Yes, even the deluded fools who vote for Replicons

According to the wealthy "you are not one of us" and you NEVER WILL BE. They will continue stealing from the poor and middle class (and borrowing from future generations to steal even more) as long as people are dumb enough to let them.

Arrest the wealthy for their crimes. The time is now.

[political_Dem]

19. Thank you for bringing up this point. Dr. King cared about the poor and the laborer.

He worked to bring dignity to the least of society through civil disobedience. That is what people need to learn when doing a social movement. Dr. King spoke plainly and frankly without a knee-jerk reaction to anyone. Everything was done with tact, decorum, patience and grace while dealing with the ugliness of Jim Crow society.

[blondeatlast]

25. He was as keenly aware as anyone that all oppressions

are linked; strengtheming one power helps another group, who help another, and so on.

With the assault on the lower classes, labor, people of color, etc. we need to learn from his leadership.

[Number23]

31. You should read this.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-01/news/black-parents-vs-the-teachers-union/

[political_Dem]

32. That is quite an article, Number 23. The comments were rather interesting as well.

There is a lot to say about how this applies to the Charter Schools/Public School conundrum, but I'll state three things now:

One: I've always believed that education reform is needed to revamp the curriculum of the students to bring them up to par with their peers across the globe. Focusing solely on testing taking has been a disaster in America's educational system. With better curriculum, we must pay teachers what they are worth. That means Unions are important in trying to retain qualified teachers in order to teach our children. Thus, we must never turn our backs on workers' rights. This is where Dr. King's thoughts apply ensuring that workers are protected as well as our right to getting an education is looked out for as well.

Two:I simply don't like the Charter school model because the curriculum and teaching practices are unregulated. I also believe that we can't give up on public schools because it ensures an education for all instead of some. I also do not like the segregating aspect of the Charter schools.

Yes, parents should care about their kids' educations, but they must be more active in fighting for that quality in public schools.

Three:If we give up on unions/ workers rights at a juncture such as the Teacher's Union, what else could we expect for other coalitions for labor? Frankly, Reagan's union-busting ways started a dangerous anti-labor sentiment that even continues today. If Americans got more involved in the labor movement, we wouldn't have taken out-sourcing and down-sizing lying down. Workers are the heart and soul of the country. If we turn our back on them in a profession such as teaching, we are not only shunning education; we thumb our nose at other workers in other professions. We are in dire straits today because labor in America has taken a beating.

Thank you for posting the article from the Village Voice. It has given me a lot to think about. It also makes me angry because education is such a mess in this country that we the people do need to enact a movement to bring about social change. If the education of our youth aren't important, then what is?

[Number23]

34. What a fantastic post

If the discussions here could be half as insightful as your post, I think there would be much more participation in the education threads here.

As someone who has attended both public and private schools (public all the way up through college; private for grad school) I agree that abandoning public schools is not an option. But I can say that as someone who came from a family where education was encouraged more than anything else. What happens to the millions of brilliant kids (most of whom are minority and/or poor) where education is not priority number 1? How will these children be reached? That to me is the crux of the issue. I also agree that paying teachers what they're worth is a critical goal as well.

Thanks for your post and for the discussion.

[political_Dem]

41. You are very welcome. Thanks for reading my comments. :D

BTW, I come from a long line of educators, universal health care, nurses, preachers and farmers. That is why I support everyday people, education and labor. Labor is the salt of the earth. We must help them fight so that their rights are protected.

[political_Dem]

42. I mean I support Universal Health care.

Sometimes my thoughts get ahead of me. Sorry. :(

[Hannah Bell]

36. gee, you *and* msnthrope flogging the same nat hentoff article. hentoff is a bought-off

reactionary libertarian shill & has been for half a century.

[Number23]

37. Sounds like you taught him everything he knows...

[Hannah Bell]

38. no, i'm much younger than hentoff, who was freeze-dried sometime in the 80s.

[Number23]

39. Oh, so he taught you everything that YOU know. Got it.

Just trying to figure out which bought off, libertarian shill was the chicken and which was the egg.

[Hannah Bell]

40. funny shit. have you ever considered stand-up?

maybe you could do the warm-up for the arne & michelle road show.

[Number23]

20. This thread is just... something.

I'm interested in reading more about the apparent battle royale over charter vs. non-charter schools but the hyperbole and rhetoric is making me nauseous.

[WillyT]

23. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[Swamp Rat]

24. k&r

[Canuckistanian]

29. The Memphis Garbage Strike was triggered by the deaths of two Sanitation workers

Robert Walker and Echol Cole.

They died when the garbage truck they were riding in (they were forced to ride IN the garbage hopper because there was no room in the cab - and it was raining.)

Cole and Walker rode in a precarious, stinking perch between a hydraulic ram used to mash garbage into a small wad and the wall of the truck's cavernous container. As crew chief Willie Crain drove the loaded garbage packer along Colonial Street to the Shelby Drive dump, he heard the hydraulic ram go into action, perhaps set off by a shovel that had jarred loose and crossed some electrical wires. He pulled the truck over to the curb at 4:20 p.m., but the ram already was jamming Cole and Walker back into the compactor.

Their deaths were the last straw for the sanitation workers. They wanted to join AFSCME to raise their salaries and get safety standards.

http://socialistworker.org/2008/04/04/king-unfinished-struggle