Monday, August 29, 2011

A must read!

This is going to be a short one.

If you only have time to read one thing today - please make it "Most of you have no idea what Martin Luther King actually did" by HamdenRice.

The original is here at Daily Kos.

But Angry Black Lady Chronicles has reposted the whole thing if you'd rather not take a trip to GOS.

2 comments:

  1. Mo'nin', Ms. Pants

    Saw you over at ABL.

    And, THANK YOU for linking this most impressive annnd accurate diary. And, I note that "rootless" posted it - with permission - in its entirety at TPV.

    I cannot tell you the memories I was flooded with as I read how Mr. Rice's father taught him a survival technique of proper comportment while passing a white female (lest you found yourself beaten or hung because of "reckless eyeballing" - which is what that term is about). We, as youngsters, were schooled time and again, if we were going to be in relatively close quarters with whites, in how we had to conduct ourselves.

    Mr. Rice mentioned the mid-West where I am. And, therein, I have distinct memories of my father always, by our white Metropolitan Life insurance agent, being referred to as "George". His name was Otis.


    And, the struggle continues even as we speak.

    Which is why you tend to "hear" me encourage you to do what you do because there, still yet today, are people who just don't know.

    And, others who damn well do but need to be reminded.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My gawd that was a powerful article! I'm so glad its getting around. And I was anxious to hear your reaction. I emailed it to all of my staff yesterday afternoon. I'll be anxious to hear their reactions as well. They're mostly of a younger generation than you and Mr. Rice. Perhaps some of them already "know." But I felt it was important for them to read it.

    One of the things that I kept thinking about as I read it was the movie I watched recently "Deacons for the Defense." If you haven't already seen it - I highly recommend it. Forest Whitaker stars as the Deacon who finally took up arms against the KKK. His journey to that place was a profound portrayal of what Mr. Rice talked about.

    From that movie and that article, I begin to get a glimpse of what it has meant to be an African American man in this country. The road that has been traversed by folks like you and your father is astounding!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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