Tag Archives: Martin Luther King

Instagram Comments on Martin Luther King Post

On Martin Luther King Day, I posted this Instagram with the following caption”

MLK Instagram

MLK Monument Washington, DC

“Monument in Washington DC. An awe-inspiring statue of an extraordinary man. He was killed before the current wave of terrorism, but through his words his legacy lives on — and addresses the recent atrocities in France #jesuisCharlie. We still hear his voice promoting justice and #love for all mankind. Two quotes from him come to mind: ‘We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools’ and ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice’. Please heed his wisdom!

Of course the Instagram was published worldwide – many followers are outside of insular America. I received over 15,400 “likes” and 144 comments, thirty or so from the same three people.

Most impressive in this publishing venture was the dialog that the caption generated. Some were profane, some silly, but many debated views on freedom, racism, religion, etc. We should take note that many rational people see things in a different light.

Excerpts follow, with the actual Instagram monikers obscured for privacy reasons.

Awesome statue !!… people still live by his words !! CO

When people insult black people, it’s racism, when people fight the rights of the opposite gender, it’s sexism, but when people insult Muslims and its founder, it’s freedom of speech. To hell with every supporter of JeSuisCharlie. MD

Do you really think that the world is better off with those cartoonists dead? You think they were bad people for making jokes? You can’t be serious. Just because someone believes something strongly doesn’t mean that it is free from criticism. Freedom of religion is very important. But freedom of religion is a part of having freedom of ideas, and freedom of ideas will always include tolerating any criticism of any given idea. MR

MLK Jr. would have been disgusted by the violence committed, but he would have also been even more horrified by the consistent and systematic marginalization of Arabs in the present social, political and economic context. It is disingenuous and disrespectful to use his legacy in this way. PW

Those cartoonists died horribly but their deaths are nowhere near the injustice inflicted upon the poor and mistreated minorities the world over. Please choose your comparisons wisely. HM

Don’t think because you have that wrap on your head it makes you an expert on Muslims, black American history, especially X. I will school your ass anytime you want to come to Morehouse College and have a REAL debate with REAL black men. SGJ

Real black men, college? Debate? Dude you sound angry, take a chill pill….I suggest that you watch Selma. I recommend this movie to all young disenfranchised angry Muslim men to go see it and learn how to achieve success amid hopelessness. Many good lessons to learn from this movie. HM

Until your race starts fighting the racist ideas that your people have, and stop focusing on black’s resentment to the was they’ve been treated in the past and currently, we will always hate you deep down. SJG

Bro you can get your point across without insults. You might have knowledge but no one’s gonna listen if you dish out whatever you don’t like. AK92

…hate creates violence, the extent of the hate determines the headlines not the victims then revenge is created the vicious cycle begins, again. We have had and still do (have) individuals worldwide who go beyond just thinking but also do for freedom, injustice and inequalities, all should be praised… SH

MLK and Malcolm X put their lives on the line for what they believed. Anyone can talk a good game, which one of you would die for yours? MP230

King, Gandhi and Mandela…I salute you!! Cheers on #mlkday!! ASH

So sad that such a wonderful post was soiled by such hatred. This monument is truly amazing and I appreciate the posting as a reminder to us that hatred is not the way. SK49

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I don’t agree that my post was “soiled”. I think it started a discussion.

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Photography and Civil Rights — Yesterday and Today

To commemorate 50 years since the passing of the Civil Rights Act, an exhibit called “The Movement: Bob Adelman and Civil Rights Era Photography” is at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

AdlemanThe extent of Bob’s show is formidable, showing African American living conditions in the South in the 1960’s, voter registration efforts (left), freedom marches, sit-ins, and Martin Luther King‘s speech at the Washington Monument. Charlton Heston was in the audience!

I was reminded of a discussion between Julian Bond and Danny Lyon at the  National Geographic seminar this year where Danny talked about his civil rights photography. Julian reiterated that Martin Luther King and other leaders of groups such as the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) actively recruited photographers to document the civil rights conditions in the United States. Julian told us that King said “We have enough lawyers, we need photographers.”

Many young photographers took up the challenge, including Charles Moore, Dan Budnik, James Karales, Leonard Freed, and Danny and Bob. With several others, they created a legacy of the times. Many of these pictures are iconic — demonstrators blasted by water hoses in Birmingham, school desegregation in Montgomery, sit-ins in Greensboro, and aides pointing to where James Earl Ray fired the shot that killed Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Motel.

After I saw Bob Adelman’s exhibit, it dawned on me that we are witnessing a similar situation happening in the US today. Several Supreme Court decisions in the past two years have changed the landscape. One nullified the the 1965 law that required lawmakers in states with a history of discriminating against minority voters to get federal permission before changing voting rules. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act had required federal review of new voting rules in 15 states, most of them in the South. Between 1982 and 2006, the Justice Department blocked more than 700 voting changes on the basis that the changes were discriminatory.

Mother Jones Magazine looked at how many of these 15 states passed or implemented voting restrictions after Section 5 was invalidated by the Supreme Court compared to the states that were not covered by the law. They found that 8 of the 15 states, or 53 percent, passed or implemented voting restrictions since June 25, 2013 compared to 3 of 35 states that were not covered under Section 5—or less than 9 percent.

The other Supreme Court decision upheld portions of the Arizona immigration law S.B. 1070 (specifically Section 2(B)) on whether the law unconstitutionally invaded the federal government’s exclusive prerogative to set immigration policy. The justices found that it was not clear whether Arizona was supplanting or supporting federal policy by requiring state law enforcement to demand immigration papers from anyone stopped, detained or arrested in the state whom officers reasonably suspect is in the country without authorization.

Many people (including some justices on the Supreme Court) believe that the civil rights battles of the 1960’s secured these rights for posterity. Civil rights organizations think otherwise and point out numerous recent state house reversals of our “inalienable rights”.

The photographs I see appearing in the media that relate to these recent decisions are mostly one-offs of demonstrations or politicians that are supposedly speaking about the issues. I say “supposedly” as it is impossible in a still photo to know what they are addressing – (Arizona S.B. 1070? Voting rights legislation in North Carolina?)

Where are the in-depth photo essays that give viewers visceral reactions to these subjects? I have searched the web for such photographic stories and have found none. If you, dear reader, know of any, please leave a comment and I will include them in this post.