King to Kennedy: A Look Back
Six degrees of King.
Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 81 this January 15, 2010. And during his national holiday, as well as
Black History Month, people often wonder what the world would be like if he and many other
civil rights activist were still around. What kind of social change could he and others like
Malcolm X and
John F. Kennedy affect? Would we have had an African American President sooner? Would King's
"Gandhi" inspired
nonviolent mass
civil disobedience be as effective today as it was in the 1960's?
Just some "food" for thought as you look at the slideshow below of King and other civil/human rights activist that are linked by the common thread of fighting for equality. (pics/captions: Wikipedia)
In this gallery
American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement.
African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist.
35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
African American civil rights activist whom the U.S. Congress later called the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement."
American civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, historian, author, and editor.
The pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement.
Mexican American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement.
3 Comments
Brian 'Wiz' Ray said:
Rosa Parks? I guess I never really got her as a much more than a front. I mean she did what she did, but there were reasons why she was chosen to do it and it had more to do with acceptable celebrity. It seems we have a rather shallow grasp on what really happened during the Civil RIghts movement because there is a lot of hero worship and the cult of personality in our retrospective viewing of it. It was a really, really tough row to hoe.
Steven M. Johnson said:
Wiz: Yes, some might argue that Rosa was a carefully picked "front." But, whether her action was spontaneous or pre-meditated to kick off the Montgomery bus boycott. She still stands as a symbol of "Jim Crow" segregation defiance. I would like to think we use Rosa as a symbolic reminder of one of the many civil rights battles fought that was instrumental in abolishing segregation and advancing our civil rights. Rather than simple hero worship behind a "Marxist" theory.
Brian 'Wiz' Ray said:
We really do not do well with symbols. The 'I have a Dream' speech is now a symbol of Dr. King, just as Rosa Parks was a symbol of that turning point in history. But the thing with symbols is that we often forgo what the symbolize to adore the symbol.
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