“Where are our leaders today?” you ask.

It’s been 50 years and three days after Dr. Martin Luther king Jr.’s assassination, and people still ask “Where are our leaders today?” Which makes me think of Americans’ funny attitudes about leaders. By 1964, a Gallup poll reported that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the fourth most admired person in America, even beating […]

Trump, Russia and MLK’s Assassination — I don’t see it

I perfectly understand that we’ll see more online Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. references as we move closer to the 50th anniversary of his assassination, but folks should stop recklessly making parallels where none should exist. Consortium News and writer Bob Katz stand guilty at the moment, after they paired the investigation of MLK’s death […]

The MLK Speech You’ve Heard Before (But Not Really)

I’m recognizing the 49th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination by posting his final speech — better known to many as “I have Been to the Mountaintop” — since many of us only know two minutes of it. Along with the media-saturated “I Have a Dream” speech by MLK, just playing the climax of […]

SUNDAY SMACK: WHY DO ONLY FEW PEOPLE KNOW THE REAL MLK?

” …Some respectable Negro leaders who are more concerned about being invited to the White House then invited to the cause of justice … ” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech in Cleveland, OH, April 28, 1967 For a while, I’ve been writing about the Martin Luther King Jr. no one mentions. An MLK […]

SUNDAY SMACK: WOULD MLK BE PUT ON THE NO-FLY LIST IN 2015?

Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday approaches, and the fallen leader is the subject of this week’s Sunday Smack. King used to be a close friend of the White House — until he moved beyond lunch counter integration issues to fight poverty and America’s conduct in the Vietnam War. The interrelation between the US government’s attitude […]

ANOTHER MIND-MELTING DETAIL ABOUT THE MLK ASSASSINATION

Wrongful Death Since today marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination, I want to bring up a highly intriguing detail from court transcripts of the King family’s 1999 wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government, City of Memphis, and State of Tennessee. The next sentence will likely blow the minds of the […]

WHILE YOU PARTY IN SELMA…

So, you’re marching in Selma today for the star-studded 50th anniversary of the beating Martin Luther King Jr’s followers took as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge. I don’t fault you for attempting to connect with what I also see as an important part of American history, but while you march today in one […]

REMINDER: WHO KILLED MLK

Instead of taking time out during Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday to recognize his contributions to creating a just and more civil society, I find myself spending more time thinking about his assassination. And thinking about his death almost invariably surfaces the question: why did it happen? Thanks to a 1999 lawsuit filed and won […]