To all White people who say they are not racist — you all are neither innocent, nor safe, from White supremacy

You’re living in White supremacy. What will you do about it? African American George Floyd’s slow death under the seemingly-knowing knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is a symbol of White supremacy’s death spell for both America and the freedom this country celebrates. Note that I didn’t say “ … death spell for Black […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

IF AL SHARPTON WERE MLK

I had the good fortune of participating in Tanya Free & Friends’ recent year-end broadcast, where I offered a thought which may unsettle some of you self-labeled Black Progressives: Rev. Al Sharpton would be dead by now if he were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Looking back, I should have covered that concept with greater […]

MLK – REMEMBERING THE KING OF LOVE

Nina Simone’s The King of Love is Dead – song about the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – is one of the most emotionally-stirring tunes I ever heard. Note that Nina didn’t say the King of Racial Hatred is Dead, or the King of Violent Revolution is Dead, […]