Who is today's leading civil rights leader?

[BuyingThyme]

[bigtree]

1. John Lewis is still leading

Charlie Rangel still rallies to our defense.

Sheila Jackson Lee is an able advocate.

Maya Angelou has been eloquent in her defenses.

John Conyers is leading from his chairmanship.

Julian Bond still works with quiet determination.

[BuyingThyme]

2. Thank you for jumping into the hotseat.

It's a difficult question.

Who really stands up for our rights? Politicians? Radio personalities? Authors? Movie producers? Lawyers? Somebody at the ACLU? The people who spend all day every day trying to make lives livable?

[MADem]

3. All of us.

At least, that's the Seattle Times' take. I kinda agree with them:

Martin Luther King Jr. was more than a dreamy myth. The slain civil-rights leader was a powerful tug on the nation's conscience, so much so that 40 years after his death, turf battles linger over his legacy.

Jostling for the King mantle is a misguided exercise.

King's legacy was inherited by us all, and with it the obligation to make good on its many ideals.

This is worth remembering as we move through a presidential campaign rare in its unhidden theme of race and gender. Sen. Barack Obama, a black man with strong presidential prospects, carries part of King's legacy. So, too, does Sen. Hillary Clinton.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004133326_mlked21.html