MLK’s birthday coinciding with a white supremacist ascending to the presidency reminds us that MLK refused to give up in the face of such reversals.
Tag Archives: Civil Rights Movement
MLK’s Lesson for the Trump Era
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "We Are Soldiers", "which side are you on?", Lucille Clifton, Martin Luther King, Trump's inauguration Comments closed
An MLK Poem for Juneteenth
For Juneteenth, here’s a Margaret Walker poem honoring MLK’s Dream speech.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Amos 1963", "Martin Luther King Jr.", Amos, Edmund Kirby-Smith, I Have a Dream speech, Margaret Walker Comments closed
Morrison on the Death of Emmett Till
In “Song of Solomon,” Morrison has the men in the community grapple with what the death of Emmett Till means.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Emmett Till, racism, Ron DeSantis, Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison Comments closed
Tony Bennett, WWII, and Race Activism
Learning about late singer Tony Bennett’s life has opened up new insights into my father, also a World War II vet and civil rights activist.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "The Greatest Generation", racism, Scott Bates, Tony Bennett, World War II Comments closed
Integration’s Child Pioneers
Black children in the early days of integration report intense bullying from peers. Ozeki describes such childhood cruelty in “Tale for the Time Being.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged desegregation, racism, Ruth Ozeki, Tale for the Time Being Comments closed
His Word Still Burns the Center of the Sun
I recall the day I heard Martin Luther King speak and share a Gwendolyn Brooks poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Martin Luther King Jr.", Gwendolyn Brooks, non-violence Comments closed
The Significance of Warnock’s Election
Let we forget, a black senator was elected in Georgia last week. Woodson’s poem honors the Civil Rights movement that made it possible.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "February 12 1963", Jacqueline Woodson, Raphael Warnock Comments closed
Mountains Loom and I Won’t Stop Now
Naomi Long Madget has just died at 97. Her poem “Midway” continues to inspire.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Midway", Black Lives Matter, Naomi Madgett Long Comments closed
On John Lewis’s Love of “Invictus”
The late John Lewis’s favorite poem was apparently “Invictus,” a problematic lyric but one can see how Lewis used it in the cause of social justice.
