Black History Month: King & Economic Justice for All

For this first day of Black History Month, we'd like to shed a different light on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Nationally, King is often remembered for his non-violent message which he and other activists used to galvanize a nation against racial segregation and injustice. Indeed, this memory is important today as many activists and social movements have used King’s words and actions as starting points for social and economic movements in their own countries.

Today, though, we think it appropriate to discuss King’s ideology toward the end of his life. He and Malcolm X, a black Muslim turned Sunni Muslim, both moved from a stance that dealt solely with racism and poverty in the U.S. to the belief that the struggle for equality included impoverished people in the United States but all over the world.

Indeed, this new message, still rooted in peace, spoke of both social and economic justice.

Our friends at VoxUnion.com, prepared a Powerpoint Presentation for Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15) and we encourage you to read through it. The document contains King’s words, newspaper clippings, and de-classified government documents detailing what King — and Malcom — were about when their lives were violently ended with bullets.

Some of us will remember King's life and death — April 5, 1968 — this month. And as we remember, let us also ask, what are you doing to ensure that economic disparity is not only ended here in the U.S., but in every city, every province, and every nation throughout the world?

Recommended Reading: Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. —post by monét cooper