• Home
  • About
    • Team N4P
  • Blog
    • Events
    • News
    • FWDPROGRESS Movement Strategy
  • TAKE ACTION!
    • Campaigns
    • Advocacy
    • Service & Giving
  • NETWORK!
    • DC/MD/VA Community
    • Communications / Technology
    • Career
    • Social
    • USA
  • RESOURCES!
    • Issues
    • Organizing
    • Leadership
  • FOLLOW US!
  • DONATE!
Network For Progress
CONNECT:

THE MOST OUT-OF-CONTEXT QUOTE OF ALL TIME - Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr: "A riot is the language of the unheard."

4/27/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
When Ferguson and now Baltimore protests have led to violence, there has been varied responses from my Democratic and Progressive friends as people debate how far to switch gears from voicing support to condemning or making excuses for people who lash out with violence in response to violence….ranging from breaking windows to looting to throwing bricks at cops.

There is no excuse for this behavior...especially because it is even more premeditated and indiscriminate than the original act.

And lets set the record straight. In his 1966 interview with Chris Wallace where he uttered those words, MLK was making an observation NOT an endorsement.

It isn’t a legitimate activism tactic to destroy your own neighborhood and to suggest Dr. King condoned it is a misguided approach that discredits the legacy of Peace and Love that earned him that Monument on the National Mall.

In the below interview this is what he really was saying:

"Violence is impractical and immoral."

"I would hope that we can avoid riots because riots are self-defeating and self-destructive."


Let’s remember that and echo THOSE words when these tragedies happen….just like the family of Freddie Gray and many other residents of Baltimore are doing tonight in interviews on CNN and MSNBC. 


CNN's Van Jones said it well: "Black Jobs Matter. Black Businesses Matter. Black Neighborhoods Matter."

He could have added "COPS Lives Matter" in reference to African-Amercian and other races of police officers also under attack.

Let’s follow the lead of these voices because they represent the people who will live the consequences of these acts....let's not attempt to bury the lede and minimize them. 

One of the greatest tools an activist has is finding common ground....its a well-documented fact. 

So, let's take a break from our talking points and the "yeah, buts" and find common ground that violence is NEVER the answer or in our quest for "Justice For All" we will achieve "Justice For No One." 

- Jim McBride, Network For Progress

WATCH BELOW:
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Network For Progress

    Archives

    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    10. ACTION
    1. EVENTS
    2. NEWS/INFO
    3. DC
    4. MARYLAND
    5. VIRGINIA
    6. USA
    7. NEWSLETTER
    8. N4P EVENT
    9. FWD BLOG
    Advocacy
    Advocacy > DMV Events
    Advocacy > USA News/Info
    AfricanAm
    AfricanAm > DMV Events
    Campaigns
    Campaigns > DMV Events
    Campaigns > News/Info
    Career
    Career > DMV Events
    Comm Tech
    Comm Tech > DMV Events
    Community
    Community > DMV Events
    Democracy/Gov
    Democracy/Gov > DMV Events
    Democracy/Gov > USA Events
    Energy/Env
    Energy/Env > DMV Events
    Energy/Env > USA News/Info
    International
    International > DMV Events
    International > USA News/Info
    Serve/Give
    Serve/Give > DMV Events
    Social
    Social > DMV Events
    Social -> DMV Events
    Women
    Women > DMV Events
    Women > USA News/Info

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.