King's legacy remembered on 37th anniversary of assassination

[struggle4progress]

The Associated Press - ATLANTA

U.S. Rep. John Lewis can still remember being a nervous college student meeting his idol, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for the first time.

"He changed my life," Lewis recalled. ""The most peaceful warrior of the 20th century lived and walked among us."

Hearing King on the radio during the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a 15-year-old student inspired Lewis to follow King's teachings of nonviolence and join the movement for racial harmony and equality.

Their ten-year relationship came to an end when King was gunned down on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968. Lewis, an Alabama native who became one of the slain civil rights leader's top aides, was in Indianapolis when he heard the news. <snip>

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=58668

[dbeach]

1. 2 Kennedys and a King...murders remain questionalbe..

thanks for reminder on this very sad day...

King stood up to the establishment...

kill their leaders..traumatize their followers...

all related..done by same gang...

[chlamor]

2. I knew that I could never again..."

By Rev. Martin Luther King

"I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government.

King was right about a lot of things, including his prophecy that America was losing its soul. Violence of all types in epidemic, especially the violence of poverty. Gun violence, from homicide to suicide, is all too common. Those making obscene profits in the weapons industry have sabotaged even the most modest logical handgun and assault rifle controls – all the while flooding America and the world with increasingly lethal weapons. It may be too late now to stop the oncoming carnage. 

Both The affluent and the poor have succumbed to the addictions of exploitative, corrupt capitalism – an economic system that has run amok. Addictions involving entertainment, gambling, shopping, drugs (both legal and illegal), sports and religion have overwhelmed the lives of many Americans who then have no time or energy left to tend the soul. 

http://207.44.245.159/article8405.htm

[derby378]

3. Early morning, April 4

Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

Rest in peace, MLK. We may not be at our optimum level of understanding yet, but your children - and their children - have more opportunity and control over their own destinies than you ever realized in your own life.

[seemslikeadream]

4. Rev. Jean-Juste supporters call him Haiti's Martin Luther King Jr.,

Fiery Priest May Seek Haiti's Presidency
By STEVENSON JACOBS Associated Press Writer


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Apr 4, 2005 — Supporters call him Haiti's Martin Luther King Jr., a fiery Roman Catholic priest who electrifies the masses with populist sermons urging social equality and nonviolent protest.

The U.S.-backed interim government recently accused him of inciting violence and hiding gunmen loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, jailing him for weeks before freeing him because of a lack of evidence.

The mix of praise and condemnation has only fueled beliefs that the pro-Aristide Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste will seek Haiti's presidency in fall elections a move that could re-ignite tensions with the United States.

Some among Aristide's Lavalas Family Party, including Jean-Juste, say they won't contest elections until their fallen leader whom they claimed was deposed in a U.S.-backed coup returns from exile in South Africa and dozens of his jailed allies are released at home.

MORE

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=639042

[Kerrytravelers]

5. What MLK and other non-violent fighters of freedom must be

thinking from Heaven on this very day.

We have become a very sad and very sick nation indeed.