Tag Archive for Martin

I Marched With Martin

January 19, 2015 Comments Off on I Marched With Martin

I marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., almost 50 years ago.  Not literally.  I watched the events unfold on our family’s black and white TV.  They didn’t cover it nearly as much as stations would today, but I saw enough to inspire me, to horrify me, and to make me ashamed that my country didn’t allow all of its citizens to vote.

I watched history being born.  I watched a war for citizens’ rights being waged.  I watched victories and disappointments, physical wounds and healing emotional wounds, and people waking up to the stark realization that a large group of Americans didn’t really believe that “all men are created equal.”

It was an exciting, emotional day.

As the scenes in Selma replay in my mind, I’m thankful for how far we’ve come in these last 50 years…and distressed over how much farther we have to go.

 

 

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Death of an Historical Reminder

January 17, 2014 Comments Off on Death of an Historical Reminder

I’m watching the slow death of a San Francisco Bay Area tradition that reminds us of our ongoing struggle as a nation toward true brotherhood. Yes, it harkens back to establishing freedom for the Blacks, but it’s also a prompt to consider our attitudes and behaviors toward people of all races, creeds, and nationalities.

I’m referring to the Freedom Train—the only official one in the U.S.—sponsored by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assn. of Santa Clara Valley.  Ridership is down after 29 years, supposedly because the NAACP withdrew its support a few years ago over acceptance of donations made by San Jose police at the same time they (allegedly) were mistreating minorities.

Whatever the cause, as of this morning, only 300 tickets have been sold, and if more people don’t pay the $15 ($10 for seniors, disabled, kids under 18) to ride and celebrate on Monday, this will be the last year for the train.

If you live in the SF Bay Area and are interested, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/512027 to purchase a ticket today (must buy ticket there).  Otherwise, see if there’s an unofficial Freedom Train in your area.

 

 

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Martin Too Black or Too Young?

July 16, 2013 Comments Off on Martin Too Black or Too Young?

There’s a type of profiling in our society that people upset with the Zimmerman verdict are overlooking.  Instead of profiling Trevon Martin as a BLACK person, could Zimmerman have reacted to his YOUTH?  A kid, likely with a bit of a youthful, jaunty walk, coming down the street, face partially covered by a hoodie, carrying…something….  As they moved closer together, a KID probably failed to give an adult the desired response (translate that into “respect”).  Words exchanged could not have been conversation, because kids and adults don’t speak the same slanguage, and adults, often uncomfortable with that, become defensive to keep themselves from becoming intimidated by a PUNK KID.

I don’t know.  I think there was some pre-conceived notion on Zimmerman’s part.  Otherwise he wouldn’t have left his car to confront Martin.  I have reasonable doubt, though, that it was simply racial.  Maybe partially racial, maybe not.  But I’d bet that, in that Neighborhood Watchman’s mind, young people were the perpetrators of a recent rash of burglaries; therefore, he saw Martin as a suspect and a threat because he was a KID.

 

 

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