Tag Archives: Martin Luther King Jr

4/5 News Roundup – Sanders Commemorates King In Memphis, Beto Hits Pay Dirt With Bernie’s Money Machine & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Bernie Sanders in town as hundreds march the streets of Memphis

Linked arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder, hundreds marched the streets of Memphis honoring the late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. It was 50 years ago today that Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Downtown Memphis.

The sight was reminiscent of the workers’ strike of 1968 that brought him to Memphis all those years ago. But today’s march was about more than just honoring the man. It was also about bringing light to issues that still need attention.

..

Senator Bernie Sanders was also present for the march and said seeing where history was made all those years ago was an unique experience.

“It is very moving. In my view, Dr. King was one of the great leaders in the history of our country. He was a man of extraordinary courage and to be in the city where his life came to an end tragically, for me is a very moving experience,” said Senator Bernie Sanders.

“We can never forget what Dr. King stood for and it’s not enough to just look back and honor him,” said Sanders who spoke at the rally Wednesday morning. “We have got to continue the fight that he gave his life for, and that fight was to end racism in America, to end poverty in America, militarism in America and to create a government that worked for all people and not just a handful of wealthy individuals.”

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

4/4 How Long, Not Long! MLK50 Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Last year, the Benny family went on our own “Freedom Trail” journey in Alabama, whereby we went to Selma to visit the site of where the march started, at Brown Chapel AME, where there was a bombing, and we drove over the Edmund Pettus Bridge towards Montgomery. In Montgomery, we visited the church where Dr. King spoke and got a tour. The tour guide was excellent, made it more interactive by having couples and pairing up folks from an all-white high school student group that was visiting, by getting up and saying “How Long, Not Long!”, taken from a speech … Continue reading →

4/4 News Roundup – Sanders To Speak On The Legacy Of MLK Tonight, Trump’s Plans To Deploy Border Troops Blasted & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

‘Beyond Disturbing’: Trump Says He’s Working on Plans to Deploy Troops Along US-Mexico Border

After days of ranting and raving on Twitter about the “caravans” of migrants making their way toward the United States—”caravans” that are made up largely of Honduran asylum-seekers looking to call attention to their plight—President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he has begun working with Defense Secretary James Mattis to deploy the military to “guard” the U.S.-Mexico border until his proposed wall is constructed.

“We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things—I’ve been speaking with General Mattis—we’re going to be doing things militarily,” Trump declared during a White House meeting with Baltic leaders on Tuesday. “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military.”

Lawmakers and advocacy groups immediately called the new proposal—which is reportedly favored by White House senior advisor Stephen Miller—as a “beyond disturbing” addition to Trump’s already expansive anti-immigrant agenda.

In a statement responding to Trump’s “caravan” tweets on Monday, the refugee rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras highlighted America’s role in fueling the violence migrants are now attempting to flee by supporting the 2009 Honduran military coup and denounced the president for refusing to honor international agreements that enshrine the rights of asylum seekers.

“The unprecedented number of Central Americans who have joined the current refugee caravan and the high percentage of people fleeing Honduras in the group are the result of multiple political crises in the region provoked in large part by the policies of the U.S. government,” the statement noted.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

So Neera Tanden did a MLK tweet this morning. Rob’s response was quite typical. He'd probably criticize Democrats for waging endless war on poor people abroad while spying on American citizens at home, then you'd denounce him as a Kremlin agent — Rob (@robrousseau) January 15, 2018 MLK’s opinions about capitalism seem to be more and more known: "Capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes." ~Martin Luther King Jr. — Occupy the democrats (@OccupyTheDems) January 15, 2018 Benjamin Dixon did a fantastic thread of … Continue reading →