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Choice Board - Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

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1. What did you learn about Black History in the past?

2. How does this knowledge connect to America’s present?

3. What is a lesson for America’s future?

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1. What is 1+ thing on your heart (feeling)?
2. What is 1+ thing in your head (thinking)?
3. What is 1+ thing that you are taking (understanding)?

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BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE | Episode 1 Scene: MLK and Black Activists | PBS

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After you watch/listen, identify 1+ surprising, interesting, or troubling idea.

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Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

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This or That... Black History Month Edition

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1. What is your name, and what are your gender pronouns? (she/her, he/him, they/them)

2.  What is something you recently learned outside of school? OR

3. What does celebrating MLK Day mean to you?

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In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of "the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community," and reminded the nation that Black people could "never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality."

Instead of seeing Black people as the enemies of democracy - contemporary critics of Black Lives Matter call the activists terrorists - King understood them as the friends of liberty. He particularly understood the need to renew the vision and energy of the movement by embracing Black youth.

King worked throughout his career with younger people, whether he was trading fierce but friendly barbs about Black power with Stokely Carmichael, applauding the courageous activism of John Lewis, or encouraging young gang members to lay down their guns in exchange for the more powerful weapon of love. King was in regular contact with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and while they shared a broad vision of social justice, they clashed on methods and style.

King was reared in a leadership culture in the church full of patriarchy and hierarchy. While there was often consultation and conversation with members of the church community, decisions were usually made unilaterally by the male religious head.

The SNCC's guiding spirit was an amazing female leader named Ella Baker. Baker's philosophy was driven by the belief that movements produce leaders, not the other way around, and that didn't necessarily comport too well with the Black church's charismatic authoritarianism.

There were the usual tensions between younger and older leaders, some of a more serious nature - King often swooped down in a town after the local work had been done, often by SNCC, taking with him the cameras and glory for labor the younger folk had contributed to but rarely got credit for. Beyond these tensions, however, King and what were essentially the Black Lives Matter activists of their day forged progress together, with the aim of changing the world and making it safer and saner for Black people.

As we celebrate King's legacy, we should remember that today's young Black activists who challenge the status quo are humanitarian leaders deeply invested in Black freedom and justice and making America a truly democratic society.

They are patriots and heroes because they are willing to risk life and limb for the building up, not tearing down, of America. Their disappointment with the nation, their rage against its lethal limits and fatal failures, is but love turned inside out.

Unlike white supremacists and domestic insurrectionists, they are trying to make America reaffirm its principles, its beliefs, its ambitions and its fundamental commitment to democracy for all.

As King reminded America on that sunny day in August 1963, these principles cannot be realized if Black people do not continue to confront police misconduct and abuse. King understood then that the official power of the state to punish and murder Black people was fatal for a democracy. He also understood that too often law enforcement joined ranks with white supremacist forces to execute domestic terror that was protected by a badge and a gun.

In our day, the stakes of Black protest against racial injustice are heightened by the fact that more than a few members of law enforcement were directly involved in the recent Capitol insurrection. The tentacles of white supremacy stretch ominously into American policing. The ultimate paradox may be that many white followers of the 45 th president rail against the very police forces that have historically had a hand in white supremacy's deadly rampages against the Black people, who are its truest victims.

The bitter resistance of many white people to organizations like the FBI might be better understood coming from the mouths of Black people, even King himself, whom the agency deliberately chose not to warn when there were credible threats to his life.

Perhaps King's greatest value to our present moment is to remind us that Black people have been willing to defend this country at every moment even when their lives didn't matter to the people they protected. King's nonviolent valor seems lost on white insurrectionists. It may be the height of irony that angry white people who benefitted most from American democracy are now willing to destroy it.
This article is adapted from a sermon delivered at the Washington National Cathedral on Sunday. Michael Eric Dyson is a professor of African American Studies at Vanderbilt University and an author, most recently, of "Long Time Coming: Reckoning With Race in America."

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Op-Ed: What King would say to Black Lives Matter activists today

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In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of "the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community," and reminded the nation that Black people could "never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality."

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How the BLM movement compares to the MLK Jr. era civil rights movement - The State News

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not mark the end of the fight for racial equality in America.

In fact, professional and public writing junior Charlotte Bachelor said that the fight is still alive and well.

"I think that a lot of people think that once the Civil Rights era ended, that was just the end of the Civil Rights Movement," Bachelor said. "I think that's where a lot of people get it misconstrued because there were still a lot of political and social forces against Black people and ... keeping them away from being able to reach their full potential."

Bachelor said she fully expected to see a revamped civil rights movement that reached the magnitude seen after the death of George Floyd. She grew up hearing stories from her grandparents and great-grandparents about their experience living through the Martin Luther King Jr. era.

The first major event in the Black Lives Matter movement Bachelor remembers is Trayvon Martin's murder Feb. 26, 2012. However, she said she didn't fully grasp the issue of police brutality until the summer of 2020.

"I believe I was only 13 or 14, so I did not fully grasp the weight, the severity of that situation. But this summer, obviously I was 20," Bachelor said. "... I don't want to say it was a wake-up call, but it definitely feels a lot more severe and a lot more heavy when you're old enough to fully grasp."

Social media also plays a role in the revival of the movement as a resource that activists can use to circulate petitions, donation sites and information about organized protests and protesting safely.

It's also a place where people are facilitating conversations in a new way. Bachelor said that since she isn't able to be physically present at protests due to health issues, she uses social media to raise awareness and help other people get involved.

"I think definitely now there are a lot more instant reactions, or instant responses to violence," Bachelor said. "So like, when George Floyd was murdered this summer like that same weekend you see protests everywhere. ... It makes it easier to rally people together and get resources and disperse information on a minute-by-minute basis. ... At times people were sharing 'O.K., the police are here, ... if you need to leave get out now' or 'Hey, they're dispersing tear gas.'"

King is one of the most visible leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Today, this moment is headed by Black youth.

The face of the current movement is millions of different faces. But, Bachelor said she believes Black women have emerged as the figurehead of the racial justice fight.

"Now with Black Lives Matter, we're seeing a push of Black women to the forefront," Bachelor said. "When Malcolm X said the most disrespected person in America is the Black woman, and then there was Breonna Taylor (her death) ... I don't think he (King) would be the face of the movement anymore, I think it would be someone much younger."

Jennifer Cobbina, an associate professor in the school of criminal justice, said that a notable difference in the two movements is that while the civil rights movement was built on the shoulders of a few, primarily male activists, the Black Lives Matter movement diversified in gender and overall is more inclusive.

"The cause has also drawn more diverse crowds than previous movements," Cobbina said in an email. "Specifically, BLM's mission is focused on diversity, inclusion, and empowerment in a way that the hierarchical, male-dominated movements of earlier eras did not."

Cobbina said the Black Lives Matter protests are also not as centralized as their MLK-era predecessors, largely because of the presence of technology and social media. There are smaller chapters across the country rather than a travelling body of leaders, which makes these quick responses to incidents of police brutality much easier to achieve.

"(BLM) is a "leader-full" movement that prizes collaboration over having one central figure deciding for everyone else what tactics to prioritize over others," Cobbina said in the email. "Instead of a pyramid of different departments topped by a leader, there is coordination and a set of shared values spread across a decentralized structure that prizes local connections and fast mobilization in response to police violence."

Although there are several differences in the civil rights and BLM movements, their common motive and methods show a clear continuation in the push for equality from the MLK days to now. While much of the 1960 civil rights movement was about equal rights and protections under federal law, Bachelor said the movement is now also about making structural changes in local communities and working closely with leaders at the city and state level.

"I think it definitely shows the importance of voting because I remember when I worked the 2016 election I had people asking me if they had to vote for president or not," Bachelor said. "I think it shows the importance ... that if we want the change we want to see in the presidency, it doesn't start in the White House, it starts in local communities. It starts with working with our city council and our mayor and our governor."

Bachelor also said a critical step in moving forward and listening to the call for racial justice and equality in America is for non-Black Americans and allies of the Black Lives Matter movement to take the initiative in educating themselves rather than relying on their Black friends and acquaintances to do it for them.

"I think there needs to be a time of reflection and actually practicing what we preach," Bachelor said. "So, 'O.K., we're going to be anti-racist.' ... I think definitely making Black history more known ... treating it just like we would American history and starting with anti-bias training."

Bachelor emphasized that making a strong effort to create equal and inclusive environments for people of color in America is what communities need.

"'Diversity,' I think, isn't a cute tagline to make your university seem more diverse," Bachelor said. "It should be something that you believe in and that you're working toward."
This article is part of our MLK Day print issue. Read the full issue .

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How the BLM movement compares to the MLK Jr. era civil rights movement

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While much of the 1960 civil rights movement was about equal rights and protections under federal law, the BLM movement is now about making structural changes in local communities and working closely with leaders at the city and state level.

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1. Text-to-Text: Make a connection to an idea from another text
2. Text-to-Self: Describe how this text connects to your life, or share what you think, feel, and wonder
3. Text-to-World: Make a connection to America or the world today

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Something troubling was that the slave owners made a economic base from the slaves.

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One troubling idea I took away from that video was that when slaves were freed, they didn't have anything to start with and were stranded without any land.

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1863 Americans free slaves. and there was a lot of segregation and there was a lot of unfariness.

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Troubling: That they would rather give European peasants land and an economic base over black people who were unwillingly brought to America and enslaved.

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something suprisning was that slaves had nothing when they were free

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Something troubling is that after all the things slaves endured they still weren't given the most simple thing to help them start their new life in emancipation.

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one troubling thing was the fact that the slaves had no way to defend themselves and had to suffer for years

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One troubling thing is how Europeans where treated differently than Black people, and even at the start of the video the man who was asking even emphasized that idea that they were mistreated just because of their color

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Something interesting was that he mentioned that black people were the only group to be enslaved.

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Something troubling I took away from that was the fact that america expected the black population to lift themselves up while at the same time making it near impossible for them to do that.

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Slaves were freed & has right.

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A troubling idea that I had was that once the slaves were free they didnt give them any land

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schools were separated from black people. the schools had it high quality on the learning only for white people. they protested it about it, they were judge of how they looked. people would just want to learn the best way but they wouldn't let them only because of how they look and what they had it for a living

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My name is Yaritzy, my pronouns are she/her. Recently I learned about different sicknesses and diseases in spanish class. MLK day is a day where i'm thankful for his impact on the world which is why we celebrate him.

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Something troubling that I seen was seeing the slaves not being allowed to defend themselves

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My name is Mia , my pronouns are she/her. I've recently leaned a lot about myself as a person. Celebrating mlk is celebrating what he did for the black community.

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1. Im feeling thankful that I didnt have to live through that pain
2. I am thinking, what did the people who were alive back then think?
3. Something im taking with me is the power that MLK had

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a troubling idea was that freed slaves were still dehumanized and not really allowed any of the resources/freedoms white Americans were born with.

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Something that was surprising was how open white people were with saying negro, it really doesn't sit right with me and the dehumanizing and discrimination against Black Americans

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America gave land to european immigrants but not to black people alredy in the country

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Something that is troubling is seeing the self destructive nature of humans in action. It's troubling how a difference in phenotype and selfishness can make a person want to harm others for "power"

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I agree with Jailah. The way they freely said negro just frustrates me/

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troubling- something surprising was that slaves had nothing when they were free

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they didn't give them anything after being freed

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my name is Jaleel my pronouns are he/him or they sometimes. what i learned about is that there are many people who are different and good then what it may seem like their going through something or they don't like asking for someone to vent their sadness or happiness to it gets lonely ya know. and i guess it means to me is where we started to be seen as people and not garbage because of our skin or even just discriminated for being who we are and for being free as a person.

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1. I learned about how majority black people were slaves of white people and there was a lot of segregation in schools
2. It connects to our present because segregation is maybe still a thing but it has decreased and we don't deal with segregation in school anymore
3. America will continue to do better and continue to go down a good path

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1. I learned that the FBI was tracking the black panthers and other black power organizations to confuse them. I also learned in the 80s black people could be consider equal if they were famous or rich.
2. Now it's kind of the same thing rich and famous people are more praised in society. I don't know what the FBI is doing rn because im a civilian.
3. Eat the rich 🍽

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they gained a lot of power in different fields of work. It has became more even, like it's not just white men who are millionaires, and who have all the power. When making things more fair, different people from different backgrounds could be succssessful

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1. As minorities Black people have had a harsh uphill battle against the world for freedom which continues to this day. African AMERICAN history has been made up of blood, enslavement, and the DREAM of equality.
2. Current social issues can be attributed to American history in terms of inequality of minorities. You can track inequality to the start of this country. Black Americans were faced with being a highly represented minority in Mass incarceration, before that it was jim crow and before that was slavery. Its a repeating cycle which needs to be stopped for the Sake of everyone.
3. A lesson the future of America can learn and implement is always do better than before. It can be done to provide justice and make the world go round easier.

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1. I feel energized because of my breakfast I had. I feel focused and ready to participate.
2. Im thinking at what can I do better to help anyone the way i can. In terms of work life, the real world. I want to do my best and ensure equality by doing my part.
3. Im trying to understand all of the injustice inflicted to POC and minorities. To connect with people of similar history. I want to understand how we as humans have become so divided and at each others throats.

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1. HE/Him/HIS
2. I learned how to tell when im burnt out so I try not to push my abilities.
3.To me Celebrating MLK is to commemorate MR. MLK but also his ideals that helped free many Americans because of his selfless sacrifice that shouldn't have been made if america would have actually provided equality.

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something surprising and troubling was that land was being given to white people but nothing to black people after slavery was illegal.

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After the blacks were freed they were left without land and had nothing to start with

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something troubling would be after the dehumanization of slavery , they weren't helped to start there live with better living conditions.

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Interesting that they gave European pesants money, troubling that they didn’t do it to anybody else. Surprising is black people being the only American slave.

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something troubling is knowing that African Americans we brought chained to the US and worked for free for more than 200 years

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Something I found surprising about the video is they slave didn’t get anything after being free like they didn’t have atleast something to keep them from struggling as hard

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something I found troubling was that slaves were used as economic properties for the benefit of white people while slaves were struggling to simply obtain food or resources.

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even though slavery was made illegal there was still steps to keep black people from having human rights like having land.

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Something troubling about this video was when they mention the aftermath of the emancipation of slaves. After they were liberated, they were still belittled and dehumanized.

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Something troubling is the fact that even after the abolition of slavery there is a left-over abundance of oppression and racism in America which a lot of white people were/are oblivious to (sometimes they are just in denial)

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1. Ghadeer Almuflihi, she/her
2. Learned how to cook.
3. It means celebrating what he fought for and appreciating what he did for society.

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a troubling fact is that even thought the enslaved people were freed, without land they had a hard time surviving. so even though they had freedom they still struggled a lot

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what i found surprising is black people were degraded and considered worthless just because of their skin and how they were not offered an equal opportunity

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something he said that caught my attention was when he said that when the slaves where free they didnt have any land hadnowhere to go and that they had no way to defend themselves

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something troubling was that slaves were labeled "free" but were not actually free.

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Something I found surpising was how white peoples seemed to comfortable saying the N-word and how blck people were being treated like they weren´t humans whitch is something no one should feel. I also noticed how the people enslaved were not able to defend themselves.

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1. Henry (He/His)
2. Celebrating MLK day is a way to honor him and what he did/sacrificed to give equality for future generations

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My name is Brenda Prounouns are she/her/ella. Something I learned was how to work quicker and efficiently under stress.

Celebrating MLK to me means the gratitude and appreciated for his impact on out world and caste system.

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Something troubling was that the color of your skin created a stigma and an "uncomfortable" feeling for those around you. This also didn't allow black people to fully be compensated for the slavery they were put through.

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The slaves were free yet they had no where to build up a life for themselves

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Something troubling would be how slaves were considered free after slavery ended but wasn't given land or resources when European peasant are given land and resources just by the bias of the slaves' skin color

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I mean it's troubling that they gave others land and not those they enslaved and treated unfairly.

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that after the abolishment of slavery almost all freed black people where still facing discrimination by white people.

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kira. (she/her) what MLK day means to me is the day that i celebrate everything that martin has did for me to have rights now.

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1. feeling revealed that those days are over.
2. How have things changed ever since those days and what are still the same.
3. equality and power and treating others the same

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1. I learned that black people were treated unfairly and it was so racist. they struggled through history because of this segregation.

2. certain social issues still exist till this day like police brutality, racism and unfair laws.
3. america can do much better.

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1)I learn that segregation in schools was outlawed in 1954 but still after 2 decades schools where still segregated due to the fact that they still lived in segregated neighborhoods. the whiter neighborhoods has more resources which meant better education.
2) It connects to our present because the richer neighborhoods have better resources then the schools that are more diverse and in low-income area.
3)find ways to give a better education to everyone

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White Flight
1. I learned that white people wanted to move to a place with more whites than a place with black people.
2. I think this knowledge connects to America's present because today there are stereotypes of black neighborhoods.
2. A lesson for America's future thats well pasted due is too treat everyone equal. In White flight I saw how children of different races got along fine but they're parents deciding to move.

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my name is ahmed Something I learned was how to work quicker and efficiently under stress.

Celebrating MLK to me means the gratitude and appreciated for his impact on out world and caste system.

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1, that the discrimination and mistreatment that black people faced was caused by white supremacy.

2,  the ideals of white supremacy are far ingrained into Americas history especially too white Americans, this means that the cycle of mistreatment many black people today face are rooted in white supremacy.

3, that unless change is made either by force or reconstruction, many black Americans will still face discrimination that has been created in a nation built on white supremacy and racism

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My name is justin, my pronouns are he/him. MLK day means celebrating all the great things MLK did for the black community.

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Something troubling was that after the slaves were freed they just continued to find other ways to discriminate against them.

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The Myth of the Welfare Queen
1. I learned just one woman was used during Reagan's presidency to create a stigma against people who have welfare and food stamps.
2. It connects to the present since there's still people who criticize others who have welfare or food stamps
3. The lesson is mind your business, you don't need to get angry just because someone is benefiting off of something that you aren't

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1/MLK and Black Activists

A, in 1954 school segregation was outlawed, B, but schools where/are still segregated today because neighborhoods are practically segregated

C, integrated schools means knowledge for all including for black students

2/The Black Panthers

A, the black panthers created shelter and created the black power movement

B,  present day America has BLM and black power movement which are incredibly successful

C, when oppressed the people will fight back

3/ White Flight

1, the more black people moved into a neighborhood the more whites fled

2, our segregated neighborhoods connect to this idea which is upheld by an economic standard

3, capitalism and racism goes hand in hand so don’t let them intertwined

D/Black Lives Matter

1,this is present so nothing …

2, BLM is a powerful movement which is being attacked by our governments

3, the attacks only prove the people’s point, the government needs to listen.

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1.people felt that they were entitled to things others weren't just because they were white
2.No matter the laws that are in place people will continue to have harsh and brutal beliefs and ways of treating oppressed people. Also we are still fighting for equality in school
3. America has shown growth but most of it is not for the better

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Social Media and Social Justice
1)Police have always been unfairly treating African Americans since way long ago.
2)Social Media and the internet has allowed people to be more aware of the injustices that police have committed.
3) We have to hold those who commit injustices accountable. Create change and a more just system.

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1. I am feeling sad for the people who had to go through those harsh dehumanizing conditions
2. whats in my head is how we can create change for these thing to not happen
3. something I am taking is knowing more information of what happen in more detail.

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I feel upset that so many people lives had to be destroyed because of others peoples action
Im thinking about what we can do to make life easier for eachother
One thing im taking with me is my pride and strength

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Something I learned about black history in the past is black people was separated a whole lot than people think so that really caught my eyes I can connect this to now because if a white person doesn’t want a black person to around or wants to separate them they will make them feel super uncomfortable so that we just leave on or own

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1.the FBI was tracking the black Panthers and other organizations that had to do with black power

2. black and white children attended segregation as hold bc the neighborhood was also segregated also the white neighborhoods were wealthier so that meant better funds for there schools

3.the white people think they don't have to be sorry that we had to sit in the back of the bus and that when we came we took over they jobs and everything and left them with nothing

4.rich and famous e people are more praised in society

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the black panther party was a marxist-leninist black power organization formed in oakland that focused on black liberation/self defense and supporting the community. they had programs like free breakfast for children and free medical clinics.

this connects to the present because those programs still exist today but things like free breakfast for children were later implemented by the american government because the FBI wanted to destroy the program, thinking it would also bring an end to the BPP. the FBI essentially took breakfast away from a lot of kids because they didn't like that black people were standing up for themselves.

the lesson for Americas future is when a government or someone in power is unfair, it leads to a lot of issues that they often will not blame themselves for. an example of this is the mulford act (1967), a gun control bill passed in California as a way to disarm the black panther party. republicans, democrats, and even the national rifle association supported this increased gun control. today republicans and the NRA would probably be against increased gun control.

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1,The past was segregated and that resulted in black poverty
2, because of that past segregation the economical difference grew
3,America should learn that this type of treatment juts causes revolt but it doesn’t understand and keeps oppressing POC communities

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1.  I learned that as Black people migrate to cities in search of work and opportunities, white people migrate to the suburbs, showing the severe obstacles that Black people face.

2. This is something we are dealing with b/c we see how white people try there best to move away from black people. Even when it comes to living in neignborhoods. we also see how black neignborhoods  are not getting needs that white neignborhoods have like near by markets to get food.

3. In the future I hope America learns that all this hate that is spread was for no reason and honstly slomething that is embarresing for the white community. All this was not needed like why cant we live in peace?...its not that hard to not be racist.

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1.   My heart goes out to everyone that experienced something like this.

2. Do we still see slavery in other countries?, Yes most definitely.

3. Im taking the words of MLK and the power he has with his words.

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"Affirmative Action"
1. I learned that black history in the past was always opposed to be recognized. The attempts to involve black Americans or any black person into America's white society, it was quick to have backlash.
2. This knowledge connects to America's present because "reverse racism" or "reverse discrimination," is still used to mock racism or for some sense of entitlement.
3. A lesson for America is to stop making excuses and being so entitled to where you make up a term to show "discrimination."

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1)I learned how segregation affected the majority of people, students with segregated laws mixed in for schools, work, and society.
2)This knowledge connects to the present where people are still experiencing that are affecting generations today.
3)A lesson should be to remember that we should see the mistakes in the past and learn to be educated from the past to not repeat it.

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I learned that the Black Panthers were a group of people that were against segregation and protested against the police for human rights.

This knowledge connects to America in the modern times because there are still protesters against police brutality and they're still seeking to achieve human rights.

A lesson that America should learn so it becomes a better nation in the future is to have stricter laws against these actions, so police are more hesitant to committing these crimes, and if this situation does happen to a police officer, they can no longer be a police officer after what they've done. Putting an end or at the very least suppress the amount of police brutality in the Untied States.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, animated.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, animated.

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King's "I Have a Dream" Speech

Freedom's Ring is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, animated. Here you can compare the written and spoken speech, explore multimedia images, listen to movement activists, and uncover historical context. Fifty years ago, as the culminating address of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King demanded the riches of freedom and the security of justice. Today, his language of love, nonviolent direct action, and redemptive suffering resonates globally in the millions who stand up for freedom together and elevate democracy to its ideals. How do the echoes of King's Dream live within you?

Credits & Acknowledgements

Director, Art and Content: Evan Bissell
Design and Programming: Erik Loyer
Content, Curriculum Design and Project Coordinator: Andrea McEvoy Spero
Project Advisor: Clayborne Carson
Video: Owen Bissell
Project Administration: Regina Covington

Freedom's Ring is a project of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University in collaboration with Beacon Press's King Legacy Series.

We extend our deep appreciation to the many people whose work and lives contributed to Freedom's Ring. Thank you to the interviewees: Aldo Billingslea, Clayborne Carson, Dorothy Cotton, Miriam Glickman, Kazu Haga, Bruce Hartford, Ericka Huggins, Clarence B. Jones, Kim Nalley, Wazir Peacock, and Marcus Shelby.

Thank you to Tenisha Armstrong. Her dedication and tireless efforts in editing Dr. King's papers allow us to make this history available to teachers and students.

Thank you to the many photographers whose work has inspired much of this project and allowed these important histories to continue. We have made our best efforts to credit these photographers. They include: Bob Adelman, Eve Arnold, George Ballis, Martha Cooper, Benedict Fernandez, Bob Fitch, Declan Haun, Matt Herron, John Loengard, Danny Lyon, Spider Martin, Charles Moore/Black Star, Herbert Randall, Steve Schapiro, Flip Schulke, Maria Varela, and Tamio Wakayama.

Thank you to David Stein for his invaluable contributions and conversations about this history. Thanks to Lucas Guilkey for his work on the videos, Ming-kuo Hung for editing support, and Naomi Wilson for her comments on content.

Thanks to Beacon Press for editing support.

Thanks to Headlands Center for the Arts for the time and space to finish the project.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Staff:

Clayborne Carson
Director

Tenisha Armstrong
Associate Director and Editor of the King Papers Project

Regina Covington
Administrator

Andrea McEvoy Spero
Director of Education

Clarence B. Jones
Scholar in Residence

Susan Carson
Editorial Consultant

Stacey Zwald
Assistant Editor

Dave Beals
Research Assistant

Video hosting by Critical Commons
Content management by Scalar,
a project of the Alliance for Networking Visual Culture

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. New York: Dell, 1985. Print.

Branch, Taylor. Parting the Waters: America in the King years, 1954-63. New York : Simon and Schuster, 1988. Print.

Carson, Clayborne, eds. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.. New York: Intellectual Properties Management; Warner Books, 1998. Print.

Freed, Leonard. This Is the Day: The March on Washington. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2013. Print.

Hansen, Drew D.. The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. New York : Ecco. 2003. Print.

Johnson, Charles and Bob Adelman. King: The Photobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York : Viking, 2000. Print.

Jones, Clarence B. and Stuart Connelly. Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print.

Jones, William P.. The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights. New York : W.W. Norton, 2013. Print.

Jones, William P. and Labor and Working-Class History Association. "The Unknown Origins of the March on Washington: Civil Rights Politics and the Black Working Class." Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas 7.3 (2010). Print.

Kasher, Steven. The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, 1954-68. New York: Abbeville, 1996. Print.

Katznelson, Ira. Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time. New York: Liveright, 2013. Print.

Kelen, Leslie G., eds. This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2011. Print.

LaFayette, Jr., Bernard and David C. Jehnsen. The Nonviolence Briefing Booklet: A 2-Day Orientation to Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation. 1995. Galena: Institute for Human Rights and Responsibilities. 2007. Print.

Le Blanc, Paul. "Freedom Budget: The Promise of the Civil Rights Movement for Economic Justice." WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor & Society 16 (2013), 43-58. Print.

Levine, Ellen. Freedom's Children : Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. New York : Putnam, 1993. Print.

Lewis, John and Michael D'Orso. Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998. Print.

Sundquist, Eric J.. King's Dream. New Haven : Yale University, 2009. Print.

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Freedom's Ring is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, animated. Here you can compare the written and spoken speech, explore multimedia images, listen to movement activists, and uncover historical context. Fifty years ago, as the culminating address of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King demanded the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

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Choose 1 sketch from the Freedom's Ring website that represents the themes of Justice, Transformation, and Freedom. Upload a picture (settings -> screen capture) and share your thinking 2 sentences minimum.

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A look at the rewards and risks of social-justice teaching

A year after leading thousands of protesters in the famous Selma-to-Montgomery march, Martin Luther King Jr. brought his campaign to end racial discrimination to Chicago. Rather than voting rights, the target was housing inequity in a city known in 1966- and even today-as the most racially segregated in the nation. King moved his family into a dilapidated apartment on Chicago's West Side, launching the Chicago Freedom Movement and bringing national attention to the fight for better housing, better schools, and better jobs for blacks in the North.

Now 50 years later, seventh- and eighth-graders at Seward Academy on Chicago's South Side study King and the very issue that brought him to their city. The Chicago teacher Gregory Michie says his lessons on the social-justice icon are designed to upend what he views as a simplistic and clichéd image often presented in schools. Since many of his students know King's famous excerpt hoping for a day when no one is judged by the color of their skin, Michie's social-studies class zeroes in on lesser-known sections of the "I Have a Dream" speech, like the "fierce urgency of now" and "tranquilizing drug of [white] gradualism." The youngsters quickly realize that they've never really heard the full message of the speech, he said, and "it's a lot more nuanced, and more fiery, than they'd thought."

As the country observes the federal holiday named in King's honor, it seems that schools are increasingly coming under sharp criticism from educators and activists for their approach to teaching King's life. Some question a sanitized teaching of the black civil-rights movement, its leaders, and other struggles for social justice that denies students an accurate and complete account of history. These debates are complicated by the inherent professional dangers in teaching through a social-justice lens.

In her book Language, Culture, and Teaching, the multicultural educator and author Sonia Nieto writes that schools in attempting to make King "palatable to the mainstream ... have made [him] a milquetoast." Nieto notes that it is rare for teachers to explore King's "consistent opposition to the Vietnam War [and rebuke] of unbridled capitalism," ignoring the breadth of his protests. What's more, this tendency to romanticize history and heroism impairs Americans' ability to confront racial injustices today, says the social-justice activist Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. "Everybody gets to celebrate the march on Washington, everybody gets to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King," Stevenson told the nonprofit news organization The Marshall Project last year, and "no one is accountable for all of the resistance to civil rights, all of the damage that was done by segregation."

When it comes to King and the treatment of social justice in classrooms, textbooks and materials are frequently lacking, with important parts of history sandwiched into commemorative months for racial and ethnic groups-Black History Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month, for example. This and other factors make it nearly impossible for students to grapple with and think critically about King the man, not the myth, says Greg E. Carr, chairman of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. "King warned us about the threats of racism, materialism, and militarism. This country doesn't want to hear that," Carr asserts. Instead, King is presented as a one-dimensional champion of racial unity, he said, and the better part of his words and actions are edited out "to make him fit that surreal representation."
"King warned us about the threats of racism, materialism, and militarism. This country doesn't want to hear that."
Social-justice teaching has its philosophical roots in educating students for a more just and equitable world. Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice describes classrooms "where students and teachers gain glimpses of the kind of society we could live in and where students learn the academic and critical skills needed to make it a reality."

The best way for teachers to educate students on King is to let him and his colleagues speak for themselves, Carr says. The civil-rights movement coincided with the rapid growth of televisions in American homes. In 1950, 9 percent of U.S. households had a television set; by 1960, TV ownership had increased almost tenfold to 87 percent. For educators, this translates into a treasure trove of primary sources for students, with "hours and hours of [King's] speeches, statements, and actions ... to get a sense of the fullness of his ideas." Among Carr's favorites are the Pacifica Radio Archives and the 1970 documentary King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis with original footage of civil rights actions. Carr also relies on Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project -seven volumes of letters, speeches, church sermons, and published and unpublished writings. "The best way to teach King is to [study] the black people who produced him, who surrounded him, who continued his work."
"The best way to teach King is to [study] the black people who produced him, who surrounded him, who continued his work."
Teaching for social justice also shows a positive correlation with student outcomes. A 2009 research review published in the journal Equity & Excellence in Education found a measurable impact on academic achievement, class participation, and attitudes about learning among racially and linguistically marginalized populations. And a study released last week by Iowa State University finds the benefits of social-justice education hold true for affluent, white students as well.

Still, even with these academic gains, social-justice lessons can be a risky proposition, leaving teachers vulnerable to accusations of political correctness and politicizing the classroom. In a recent case that gained some notoriety, a high-school teacher in New York City claims she was fired for teaching a lesson on the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted and jailed for the 1986 rape of a Central Park jogger; administrators allegedly warned her this content would "rile up" black students.

"When teachers commit to addressing social justice issues within the classroom, particularly issues that adversely affect blacks and Latinos, the stakes are so much higher," explains Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price, a seventh-grade teacher in Hackensack Public Schools in New Jersey and founder of the #SoJustEdu Twitter chat, created to bring a more heightened awareness to the importance of social-justice education. She attributes the opposition to school leaders who are uncomfortable with disrupting the status quo by arming students with the knowledge and tools to affect change from those in positions of power. "Covering up and co-opting Dr. King's message muddies the examples our children need to see. Stories of resistance are empowering and liberating," she says.
"The very act of teaching in public schools is an act of social justice."
Aryee-Price concedes that the consequences for social-justice teaching-from being fired and harassed, to being marginalized and labeled a troublemaker-are real, yet encourages her peers not to give up. "The very act of teaching in public schools is an act of social justice ... it is the responsibility of social-justice [teachers] to dissent and demand better."

Carr, the Howard professor, echoes this opinion. "The classroom is a political space," he states, noting that it's critical for teachers to devote themselves to developing students' ability to think independently. In the era of Black Lives Matter and a resurgence of movement activism, he and other educators uniformly agree helping students connect present-day events to prior resistance struggles can only deepen and grow understanding.

Back in Chicago, Michie used one of Dr. King's quotes, "A riot is the language of the unheard," last year in a unit on the Ferguson protests to help his middle-schoolers make sense of what was happening-and as a counterpoint to those who simply labeled the protesters as violent or "thugs."

"Learning about the history of lynching and racist housing policies are honoring King's legacy," Michie says. "We forget-or never learn-all of the painful history that made his efforts necessary."

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The Importance of Teaching the True Story About MLK

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A look at the rewards and risks of social-justice teaching A year after leading thousands of protesters in the famous Selma-to-Montgomery march, Martin Luther King Jr. brought his campaign to end racial discrimination to Chicago. Rather than voting rights, the target was housing inequity in a city known in 1966- and even today-as the most racially segregated in the nation.

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MLK's life has been filtered through a revisionist lens, but his radical legacy is a balm in today's political climate.

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr stands with fellow demonstrators as they are arrested for parading without a permit in Selma, Alabama in 1965 [Getty Images]

I'll never forget my first organising training course in 2016. We walked through scenarios about arrests, communications, treating pepper spray, and supporting our comrades. And then the instructor, a young Black Chicagoan, slowed his speech, looked at all of us solemnly, and said, "Be prepared for anything. They will drag you. They will knock you unconscious. They will do whatever they can do to keep you from speaking out. They will literally kill you."

At the time, during a critical period in the Movement for Black Lives, we were actively fighting against a system that had facilitated the killings of young Black Americans like Rekia Boyd and Quintonio LeGrier. As a collective, we were struggling to find justice for young Black people in Chicago who were facing the hyper-surveillance of the state, mass school closures, divestments in communities of colour and white supremacist violence.

As we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr Day, I can't help but think of moments like those, when I was concerned for my mortal safety in the name of political protest. Meanwhile, recent events prove that many Americans still do not understand why protests and riots are the domains of marginalised people rather than those in the leading class.

The world watched on January 6 as hundreds of Trump loyalists descended upon the United States Capitol to stage a " self-coup ". The attempt was not to overthrow a sitting government but to keep President Donald Trump in power despite the election results confirming Joe Biden as the nation's next president. What is particularly striking about this event has been the ways that white people continue to distance themselves from Trump loyalists and the systems so many of them seek to preserve.

The mob attack on the Capitol elucidated the grave disparities in policing and domestic militarism facing Black and white Americans, seeing as Capitol police failed to adequately protect the building. In that moment, white Americans who had actively worked to elect and support a white supremacist presidential administration were acting out their political fantasies on a grand stage. Moreover, they were showing how white Americans often escape the perils of the criminal justice system even when they are attempting to threaten domestic security and undermine US democracy on a global level.

In this moment, King would likely draw attention to the ways that Black protesters are frequently disproportionately attacked and punished for protest when compared to white Americans, even when those white Americans are engaging in anti-democratic mob violence. It is also in this moment that King would likely have encouraged and espoused a set of radical, Black liberationist politics in support of young Black Americans who have been risking their lives to ensure a freer and more just world for all of us.

King's radical protest origins

If there is one Black American hero whose radical legacy seems the most fraught and contested, it might be King. The civil rights leader, born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, was a minister's son. An accomplished philosopher and thinker, he held a doctorate in theology by the time he was 26 years old. King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1954, the same year when the landmark desegregation case - Brown v Board of Education - was decided, changing the social and political landscape of the US educational system forever.

It goes without saying that the political moment when King found himself coming of age was one that necessitated revolutionary change. Much like young Black people today, King's radical ideals were born out of intense social unrest and violence. Over his short life, King's political ideas and agendas evolved drastically, eventually moving away from integrationist politics to a politics rooted in Black liberation and freedom.

But, much of what we know about King's life and legacy has been filtered through a revisionist lens meant to make white people more comfortable with their own complicity in systems of white supremacy and anti-Blackness. Thus, many white Americans have reframed King's movement work and theorising as a way to water down the true aims of the man who became significantly radicalised, pushed by Black activists and organisers around him, before he was shot and killed on April 4, 1968.

King began to receive national attention for his involvement in helping strategise and execute the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which began on December 5, 1955, and ended more than a year later on December 20, 1956. It is estimated that the Montgomery City Bus Lines lost between 30,000 and 40,000 fares each day during the boycott. In retaliation for the success of the Montgomery Boycotts, King's family home was bombed. It was also the Montgomery Bus Boycott that drew the initial surveillance of the FBI towards King's efforts to radically change the US. King continued to face imminent threats of violence as he helped orchestrate mass protests across the country. During this time, King worked closely with communities and activists who further shaped his work in support of Black and poor people.

At the same time, King was a young, handsome man with impressive oratory skills and charisma. King's sharp rise in fame also began to shape the notion that he was the de facto leader of what was becoming known as "the Civil Rights Movement." This movement, while bolstered by King's platform, had long been brewing in Black communities across the country. But it was King's connections to church organisations and his ability to win over sympathetic white Americans with his message of morality that situated him at the head of the movement, at least in their eyes.

Radicalising Black Protest

Like the young Black Americans today who have been attacked, intimidated, and harassed by police during the protests of summer 2020, organisers in the 1960s were radicalising Black Protest. During this moment, young Black college students were desegregating lunch counters in silent sit-ins in the South. They were confronting Jim Crow laws and the antagonism of angry white people head-on. In April 1960, at a meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - a civil rights organisation of which MLK was president - at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, activist and SCLC official Ella Baker invited young Black organisers, including the late Representative John Lewis, Marion Barry, and Diane Nash, to share their experiences. Baker had grown concerned that King might be falling out of touch with young Black organisers and their struggles against the state. These young freedom fighters became the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Tensions grew between King and the SNCC as the group espoused more radical politics and direct actions than the SCLC. Under the guidance of Baker, SNCC members risked their lives in "Freedom Rides" working to desegregate interstates. Lewis, among others, was beaten during the ride from Washington, DC, to New Orleans. Student activists were frequently arrested, stranded, and intimidated during the rides. The treatment of SNCC members in the 1960s resembles much of what we witnessed on the streets in 2020.

Plagued by these repeated confrontations with the state, King's ethical commitments came under further challenge. As early as 1961, in the commentary, " After Desegregation - What? ", King reflected on the limits of desegregation and the potential risks to young Black Americans who would be faced with the ire of white American violence and racism even after the battles for desegregation had been won. King lamented the constricting conditions facing young Black Americans seeking higher education at the time. He was aware that, for young Black people in 1961, integrating interstates, colleges and universities, and other public spaces was almost certainly a confrontation with the vestiges of the crumbling Jim Crow system riddled with social mores and norms meant to persecute Black people.

Though King was struggling with the ongoing violence facing young organisers in the SNCC, he still believed that white racism and the reliance on anti-Black tropes in assessing the humanity of Black people would eventually go away. King wrote, "As the color differential fades, so will the racial point of view. Less and less will it be possible to speak with accuracy of Negro newspapers, Negro churches or the Negro vote. More and more economic, social, and professional status will be more decisive in determining a man's orientation than the color of his skin."

These sentiments foreshadowed King's famed "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. It was after this grand speech that the FBI shifted to covert surveillance of King and his comrades. Following the speech, then-FBI Director William Sullivan famously wrote of King, "We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security." That year, the FBI met to plan ways to "neutralise King" as a political leader. The increased surveillance of King's organising and direct actions contributed to tensions between the movement and the federal government.

The preoccupation with King's personal dealings and companionships culminated in an " intensive investigation " meant to cast aspersions on King's character. These wiretaps remained active until April 1965 at King's home and June 1966 at the SCLC offices. The unlawful and baseless wiretapping of King's comrades and family is just one of the ways the US government actively worked to discredit the growing interracial movement of supporters who remained committed to ending segregation. These actions also contributed to King's growing distrust of the government and his ever-radicalising ideas on justice and liberation.

The aggression of white supremacists and the growing violence of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) around the country increased in response to the growing coalitions of Black activists and organisers securing wins for Black Americans. In 1963, King was arrested and held in a jail in Birmingham for protesting segregation. There, he penned the " Letter from a Birmingham Jail " in response to white clergymen who had criticised his ongoing confrontations with the state. His blistering response was one of the many redactives he crafted to white liberals as his political career grew more radical.

In the letter, King wrote, "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." He went on to explain that white moderates were those who "set the timetable for another man's freedom."

For King, the lack of consistent support from white clergy and other advocates of the movement was just as harmful as the outright rebuke of KKK members.

Then, in September 1963, four little girls were killed by white supremacist bombers at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church had been a meeting place for King and local organisers. The bombings, set to strike fear into Black Americans and warn them away from white neighbourhoods, earned the city the nickname "Bombingham". It was indicative of the ongoing violence and racial pogroms erupting nationwide.

This tragic event was devastating for King. Like many young Black Americans today, witnessing this macabre violence against Black people triggered in him a deeper commitment to challenging the status quo.

Bloody Sunday, MLK and Black Protest

On March 7, 1965, the day now known as "Bloody Sunday", nearly 600 peaceful protesters set out on a 54-mile journey from Selma to Montgomery only to be met on the Edmund Pettus Bridge by police officers with billy clubs, whips and tear gas. John Lewis, who was only 25 years old at the time, was among those brutally beaten on the bridge that day, his skull cracked by state troopers using a billy club. The macabre violence was televised to millions of Americans during primetime. For many white Americans who had been largely insulated from the racial violence facing Black Americans in the US, this broadcast was their first direct exposure to the Civil Rights Movement.

Following this violence, from March 21 to March 25, 1965, King led the Freedom Marches from Selma to Montgomery. King's targeted direct action campaigns in Selma put pressure on then-President Lyndon B Johnson to push for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, sweeping legislation meant to end the era of literacy tests, poll taxes, and other barriers Black Americans faced to voting in the US.

In a major blow to King's legacy and work, the US Supreme Court invalidated key parts of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.

Towards the end of his life, King turned his focus to the Poor People's Campaign, an effort to unify Americans behind issues like equitable pay, unemployment insurance and a fair minimum wage. He never got to see the culminating events of the Campaign as he was killed before the project was completed.

King was a critical force in bringing the anti-Black, racist struggles facing Black Americans to the communities, living rooms, and dinner tables of white Americans who had long had the privilege of overlooking and denying its existence. He did this while sacrificing his own safety and the safety of his family.

While King believed that the fundamental tactics of mass mobilisation and movement making for racial progress should focus on a non-violent course of action, he also challenged activists and organisers to shift their focus to systemic and institutional barriers to progress for Black Americans. In 1968, just before he was killed, King said, "A riot is the language of the unheard." What we know of his legacy is that, while he did not support violent protest tactics, he believed that the only way to prevent rioting was to address the underlying concerns of those in the minority. King was clear that white people would not lead the revolution. Rather, it was always the voices of young, Black, and poor people that were most heard during times of great anguish and upheaval.

Suffice it to say, King was not confident that powerful white people would work toward justice for all. In a speech about his Poor People's campaign, he said, "I don't have any faith in the whites in power responding in the right way ... they'll treat us like they did our Japanese brothers and sisters in World War II. They'll throw us into concentration camps. The Wallaces and the Birchites will take over. The sick people and the fascists will be strengthened. They'll cordon off the ghetto and issue passes for us to get in and out." Exasperated by the continued violence and economic disparity facing Black people, King had become disillusioned with the capacity for white leadership to be responsive to the political concerns of Black Americans. Most importantly, he had come to the realisation that white Americans would frequently choose their own safety, liberty, and economic stability over the collective good of others.

Towards the end of his life, King's ideas and work had made him increasingly unpopular. In 1966, 63 percent of Americans had an unfavourable view of King, up from 37 percent in 1963, according to Gallup. The precipitous change in public opinion about King in the 60s illustrates how his public politics and commitments became less palatable for white Americans not fully committed to the liberation of poor and Black people. Yet, even as the public slowly turned away from King and his work, he continued to promote notions of class equality and Black humanity despite the risks to his own life and the lives of his family and comrades.

We must acknowledge King's radical legacy

It is the same fight we continue today. Young Black Americans have been in the streets fighting for their lives and for the safety of their communities. The protests after Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were killed by police have been described as the largest global mass protests in history. All of this in the midst of a global pandemic, where Black Americans are at greater risk of dying due to COVID-19 than any other group.

In general, Black Americans are at greater exposure for environmental risks that have only worsened under the Trump administration. The global crisis has only highlighted the grave disparities in health and safety across racial groups. Even before the pandemic, Black women were at the highest risk of death due to childbirth complications. Black children face higher rates of death from complications with asthma. Meanwhile, some Trump supporters have manifested their denial of his recent loss by appropriating protest and engaging in acts of violence as a form of national pacification.

We must acknowledge King's radical legacy in light of recent events. Not only that, we must consider how his evolving politics provide insight into the ways that young Black Americans today continue to be politicised and radicalised by the anti-Black world around them.

King's legacy teaches us that political protest, and his fight for economic justice for all people, is a tool to challenge the status quo rather than assimilate into it. His work shows that, as the conditions of state-sanctioned persecution and inequality change, we too must allow ourselves to be changed. And, when the world calls us to respond to oppression and repression, we must always concern ourselves with those least protected, least defended, and most vulnerable to the violence of the state.

We should be suspicious of the watered-down, colourblind notions of King's politics that too often dominate mainstream narratives. And, as white Americans continue to commodify and appropriate King's legacy for performative acts like the "MLK Day of Service" and other public displays, we must remember that this is the same MLK the FBI tried to convince to kill himself - only to tweet in his support decades later.

If King were here today, he would likely express both disappointment and disgust for Trump loyalists whose anti-democratic commitments leave this nation in a consistent state of uncertainty and turbulence. And, unlike the violent mob last Wednesday, King would be speaking as a Black American who has been physically threatened, surveilled, and harassed by state-sanctioned eyes. Through his life and legacy, it is clear that Black Protest has always been criminalised, and deemed riotous. This is true even though many white Americans consistently support the violent, anti-Black status quo.

Like so many of us who are committed to racial justice and accountability to those least among us, King's legacy is a balm in a moment such as this. King would have been fighting with and alongside young Black Americans following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others. And, he would have seen the January 6 attempted coup as a toothless white supremacist attempt to grasp at the reigns of power in the US despite the immense damage this administration has already done.

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Martin Luther King, Jr was radical: We must reclaim that legacy

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MLK's life has been filtered through a revisionist lens, but his radical legacy is a balm in today's political climate. I'll never forget my first organising training course in 2016. We walked through scenarios about arrests, communications, treating pepper spray, and supporting our comrades.

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3 Words/Ideas about Martin Luther King, Jr.
2 Questions
1 Connection, Metaphor, or Simile

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3 Words/Ideas about Martin Luther King, Jr.
2 Questions
1 Connection, Metaphor, or Simile

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Explain how your new responses in the Closing connect to or changed from your initial responses in the Opening.

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Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

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1. Inspiring, Intelligent, Peaceful
2. What were some challenges that MLK had to face completely on his own? How did he overcome those challenges?
3. I don't know

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1)Old,Black,Man
2)How old would MLK be now?
How many kids does MLK have?
3)IDK

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1 -I had a dream
2 -Did they catch who shot him
2 - How old was he when he passed
3 -what that mean