WH: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's Life and Legacy

[ProSense]

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's Life and Legacy

Editor's Note: On Monday, January 17th, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and other Administration officials will honor Dr. Martin Luther King by participating in a National Day of Service.

On Monday, our Nation will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, a man whose service and sacrifice touched the lives of all Americans.

Dr. King’s vision for empowering individuals, strengthening communities, and bridging social and economic barriers is as relevant today as it ever has been. That is why I encourage all Americans to honor Dr. King’s life by participating in Monday’s "National Day of Service," through which you can get out in your community to lend a helping hand to friends and neighbors.

I am also proud to report on the progress underway at the memorial being constructed on the National Mall in Dr. King’s honor. Yesterday, I visited the memorial site with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, DC Mayor Vincent Gray and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. When completed later this year, the memorial will serve to remind us of Dr. King’s hope, sense of justice, and quest for equality.

Here are some photos of the progress underway at this tremendous monument. The memorial will be a proud tribute to Dr. King’s life and legacy.

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Celebrating MLK Day with City Year

Posted by Jack Lew

Today, I am joining hundreds of volunteers at Intermediate School 292 in Brooklyn as part of City Year’s celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. I look forward to seeing the hundreds of energetic and idealistic City Year corps members who are always an inspiration.

I helped to launch City Year New York after September 11 as part of our City's healing, and was honored to chair its board. MLK day at City Year always brings together hundreds of people eager and excited to give something of themselves, not just to honor Dr. King, but also to improve their community.

Advancing the idea that MLK day should be a "day on" doing service rather than just another "day off", more than 20 members of the Cabinet are at schools, homeless shelters, and other community service organizations pitching in.

Pursuing careers in public service is another way to express the commitment to making our communities and nation better and stronger. During the Clinton Administration I was proud to do my part to help pass the national community service legislation that started Americorps, which supports community service projects that are underway every day across our nation.

It is an honor once again to be working for a President who believes deeply in the power of community service and is committed to creating more opportunities for Americans to serve.

Just a few months after coming into office, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, expanding opportunities for Americans to serve their communities, scaling AmeriCorps from 75,000 volunteers up to 250,000 by 2017. The President’s Budget proposal for FY2011 backed up the promise of that legislation, providing funding for 105,000 AmeriCorps members in 2011, an increase of 20,000 from 2010, as well as supporting the National Civilian Community Corps program, a full-time program that dispatches teams to areas in need, with a focus on disaster relief. Understanding that outcomes are as important as good intentions, the Serve America Act also created a Social Innovation Fund to invest in ideas that are proven to improve outcomes and "what works" funds in federal agencies to promote effective and innovative programs.

And recognizing that Americans wanted to do their part during the recent economic downturn to help their fellow citizens, the President launched United We Serve, a nationwide call to service. In fact, today’s day of service is part of that initiative.

Dr. King once said that “everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” That is as true today as it was when he said those words. I hope everyone has a chance to give back to their communities and their country today and every day, and that we can continue to strive to be great through our service.

[ProSense]

1. No comment? Would

MLK harbor contempt for President Obama or celebrate his achievements?

[Drunken Irishman]

2. They don't care about MLK or his message...

They only care about taking shots at the President.

Well that's not exactly true. They only care about his message if they can use it to bash Pres. Obama.

Nothing more pathetic and embarrassing than a bunch of white liberals telling us exactly what Dr. King's dream was and whether or not it's being fulfilled personally to them by a black president.

[ProSense]

3. MLK

wasn't a petty man. Would have been great to see an older Dr. King sitting across from President Obama

[Cali_Democrat]

17. MLK would definitely celebrate Obama's achievements

But he would harbor contempt for his policies like the expansion of the war in Afghanistan and the continued presence in Iraq.

MLK was a pacifist and was vociferously opposed to the war in Vietnam because he felt those resources should be spent on social services and helping the poor. One of MLK's brilliant quotes....

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death"


That being said, he would also probably be opposed to extension of tax cuts for the wealthy.

If he could see our defense and tax policies today, he'd be rolling in his grave.

[rug]

4. King's legacy includes the Nobel Peace Prize

without predator drones and 30,000 troop surges.

[ProSense]

5. Dr. King was a Reverend, not the President

There are things that come with the job, some unpleasant.

Dr. King likely understood that more than most.

[rug]

6. Some things are unecessary.

He has a choice.

[ProSense]

7. Yes, and

some things take time to resolve.

The job is not one conducive to whim.

[rug]

8. And then there's this.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/138341-cheney-obama-has-learned-from-experience-that-bush-moves-were-necessary

Making the wrong choice rarely resolves things.

[ProSense]

9. Sorry,

"Cheney says Obama has 'learned from experience' that Bush policies were right"

....I don't put any stock in what Cheney says.

Cheney is simply trying to validate Bush's policies. If this is what President Obama was doing, this sick old man wouldn't need to go on a "we were right" tour.

President Obama Correctly Rebukes Congressional Attempt To Hinder Transfer Of Guantánamo Detainees To U.S.

[rug]

10. From your link:

"There is nothing stopping the president from ordering the Department of Justice or Homeland Security to send planes to Guantánamo to transfer detainees to the United States for prosecution or to foreign countries for repatriation or resettlement, and he should do so as soon as possible."

From Martin Luther King:

“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles;
Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances.
Courage breeds creativity; Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it.
Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency ask the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?
But conscience ask the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”

[ProSense]

11. He can do that

and then there would be other complaints for states. Other countries have to be willing to accept them, and that process has been in progress.

So, do you have a comment on the OP?

Want to start another thread about Guantanamo and Cheney?

[rug]

12. And?

This is a comment on the OP. It is not window dressing: it is a living legacy that should be honored.

[ProSense]

13. "King's legacy includes the Nobel Peace Prize"

Is not a comment on the OP.

Here's a another thread waiting to be hijacked.

[rug]

14. Lol, ok, his Nobel Peace Prize is not part of his legacy.

[ProSense]

15. Clarification needed?

Dr. King's legacy isn't his Nobel Peace Prize.

[rug]

16. True. He established his legacy before he got it.