M a r tin L u t h e r K ing j R . and R o s a P a r k s
January 11, 2006
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Many Civil Rights Leaders Arrested in Bus Boycott
Wften threatened by legal action that first day she refused to take a seat at the back of the bus, Parks told the driver to “go on and have me arrested." As
she sat in the front of the bus, refusing to give up her seat, Parks reportedly recalled Bible lessons teaching people to stand up for their rights as the
children of Israel stood up to Pharaoh. The next year, in 1956, Rosa Parks (left), along with nearly 100 other people including (from left) attorney Fred
Gray, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Proffessor Jo Ann Robinson and Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were arrested for violating the bus segregation law.
Montgomery's buses were integrated later that year.
King's Dream of Economic Justice Unfulfilled
Gap between
haves and have-.
nots too wide
by K haya D arko
T he P ortland O bserver
A m erica has com e a long way in
dealing with issues o f poverty since
Dr. M artin L uther King J r.’s battle
for ju stice in the late 1960s.
H ow ever, there are still instances
o f extrem e poverty and areas o f the
w orking poor, according to Dr. T.
Allen Bethel o f northeast Portland’s
M aranathaC hurchofG od and presi
dent of the A lbina M inisterial A lli
ance.
Low earnings for m any people
m ean they don’t have enough dollars
Dr. Rev. T. Allen Bethel of the Albina Ministerial Alliance says the
economic justice wanted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has yet to
be realized.
to take care o f health or household
expenses. The recent ravages o f Hur
ricane K atrina exposed poverty in
Am erica even more.
Dr. Bethel says the gap betw een
the haves and the have-nots is simply
too wide.
Taking advantage o f opportunities
such as libraries, universities. Internet,
and furtherresources, including higher
education financing is not practical
for many black families. Barriers hold
back a lot o f m em bers o f the African
American community.
In generations past, the level o f
econom ic prosperity was often only
so high, regardless o f dream s, and
people settled for whatever they have
with a few exceptions. A constant
barrage of frustration, injustice, bar
riers and despair broke the drive for
prosperity to many Americans.
“Even aftercollege blacks still have
doors shut in their faces com pared to
th e ir
w h ite
c o u n te r p a r t s ,”
said Dr. Bethel.
Today, m any fam ilies cannot af
ford com puters, even as prices drop.
People live from paycheck to pay
check. A lso the fear o f technology
and lack o f proper guidance causes
people to shy aw ay after one or two
m istakes, Dr. Bethel said.
There are African American lead
ers who are doing a great jo b given
the circum stances and barriers they
themselves face. Dr. Bethel said. But
he encourages the community at large
tocommunicate more with their sena
tors and leaders and voice their con-
continued
P ortland S tate
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