Dr. King's Memory

January 18th will be another Martin Luther King Day celebration.  The work and dreams of Dr. King are an important part of our American struggle towards justice and equality for all citizens. Dr. King lead an incredible battle for the right to vote. Dr. King under girded that battle with the strategy of non-violence. He opposed the war in Vietnam because he could not justify telling young black men to go fight, shoot, bomb, kill in Asia and then tell them to be non-violent in New York, Chicago or Atlanta. The struggle for justice, equality and dignity took Dr. King into a number of different areas at the time. The major fight was for the voter right bill, but He soon was involved in anti-war movement and in labor negotiations. The Memphis sanitation strikes were about wages and working conditions.

Dr. King was a passionate leader and battled until his death. If we are going to gather and remember and pay tribute to his memory, that memory must energize us as it has not in several years to resume the battles that he fought.  There has been a major assault on the voting rights of minorities, students, seniors and the poor. The redistricting of states has resulted in districts that are heavily in favor of one  party over the other. Voter ID requirements, shorting the early voting time, eliminating Sunday voting, and a host of other restrictions have been adopted to prevent voting by people who do not vote Republican.

Dr. King lead marching for wages in Memphis and the struggle for better wages has got to be resumed as the minimum wage has not been increased at the Federal level in decades. Equal pay for equal work has got to be an agenda item if we are to be for equality of all people.  The tax reforms implemented by the Republicans do not stand the test of being fair or just to all segments of the economy.

It is of little benefit if all we do is go and remember what a courageous, bold, and dynamic man Dr. King was.  This year the celebrations of his life need to be the inspiration for us all to renew his battles and to get out into the politic arena and fight for the same things he fought for.