March 20, 2013
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Urgency of Now Taken Seriously
No stopping the
battle for equality
and justice
by R ev . D r . C.T.
V ivian
We must take the urgency
of now very seriously. Not
just because of this year will
mark the 50th Anniversary of
the March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom, but because the future of
America's people; especially those who have
been long oppressed, depends on right now.
Since the beginning of this country, the
one thing that has never been fully decided
is who will truly determine this nation's fu­
ture?
Will it be America's truly wealthy, the one
percent who can decide every political and
economic move in the richest and mightiest
country in the world? And who, with the
economic one percent of Europe and Asia,
could take over every major decision in this
global world? Would it be them or would it be
"We the people"?
It is clear by studying recent events;
coupled with patterns of history, that the
democratic principle of "We the people" is
co n stan tly en d an g ered by p lu to cratic
mindsets, those who are often controlled by
greed and quests for power. Plutocracy, ac­
cording to Webster, is one, "Government by
wealthy people"; two, "A society governed
by wealthy people"; or three, "A ruling class
whose power is based on their wealth."
I caution that America could succumb to
this social mindset, if we do not continue to
stand guard using our democratic powers of
"We the people" to the fullest.
Take the last presidential election, for in­
stance. Mitt Romney, in his derogatory com­
ment about the so-called "47 percent" of
people who he claimed "are dependent upon
government, who believe that they are vic­
tims" and who "pay no income tax," ap­
peared to dismiss nearly half of American
voters. He even said ,"... and so my job is not
to worry about those people. I'll never con­
vince them that they should take personal
responsibility and care for their lives."
These derogatory comments appeared to
signal a move to exclude people of a certain
social status. Moreover, it appeared as a move
to keep the concept of "We the people" alive
while denying it in practice. What would have
or could have happened had he prevailed?
It is important to note that throughout
history, struggles for equality and justice in
America have continued to move from vic­
tory to setback and from setback to victory.
In fact, about every 30 to 35 years, there's a
new movement in this country. The civil
rights movement was the last one. The one
before that was the labor movement. Some­
where between 35 and 40 years, there’s al­
ways a new people's movement. This time,
it's the continuation of the civil rights move­
ment, which includes the movement on be­
half of the poor.
At the blessed age of 88, I recall the
degradation of segregation and Jim Crow. I
struggled for justice through the freedom
rides and alongside Dr. King. I marched on
Washington on Aug. 28,1963 and I was there
to ultimately rejoice at the signing of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and
the Voting Rights Act o f 1965.
And then we suddenly found ourselves
mourning upon the assassination of my dear
friend and brother, Dr. King, in 1968. He was
only in Memphis for the cause of the sanita­
tion workers, the poor, the struggling, and
the oppressed who were suffering unequal
wages and working conditions.
Fast forward, to see America elect and
then re-elect its first black president nearly 50
years later is reason to rejoice. And yet even
President Obama's inaugural speech called
for honest labor wages that "liberate families
from the brink of hardship."
This is a clear reason that we must con­
tinue to march to the polls as well as to take
up our banners and plead our causes. We
must win our battles in the basic old-fash­
ioned way that it has historically worked,
with non-violent direct action protests,
coupled with the vote. In doing so, our move­
ment will continue to grow.
A newsman once asked Dr. King, "How
many members do you have?" When Martin
answered, the newsman retorted, "Well that
doesn't represent much of Black America".
But then Dr. King said something that is so
very relevant in the 21st century. He said,
"We don't operate through membership. We
operate knowing that if we're right, people
will follow us."
The state of equality and justice in America
is a continued struggle for the poor despite
all of the strides America has made. The
urgency of now is to maintain the power and
sanctity of the vote, which has become the
greatest power held by the poor. As Dr. King
said, if we do what is right, others will follow
us. This is the power of "We the people."
The Rev. C. T. Vivian is national president
o f the Southern Christian Leadership Con­
ference.
Trayvon Martin One Year Later
Standing with
victims of
injustice
“ We ’re here to let the
community, and par­
ticularly teenagers, know that they
have a right to walk in peace with­
out being followed, without being
harmed and without being killed, ”
-- S yb rina F ulton, m o th e r o f
Trayvon Martin.
by
M arc M orial
A year has passed since that
aw fu l day w hen 1 7 -y ear-o ld
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed
while walking to a family member’s
home from a convenience store in
Sanford, Ha.
Trayvon Martin was an unarmed
African American teenager wearing
a hoodie. The shooter was George
Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighbor­
hood watch volunteer, who called
9-11 to report a “suspicious” per­
son and then ignored a police
dispatcher’s order not to follow
Trayvon.
Moments later, Trayvon was
shot dead. Since then, thousands
of other gun deaths and several
mass shootings have elevated the
issue of gun violence to the top of
the national agenda.
But the death of Trayvon Martin
remains especially disturbing to
many of us because of what it says
about the racial profiling of young
black males, police departments that
are often slow to protect their rights,
and a fatally flawed law that gives
people -- possibly even criminals -
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Thousands of citizens have ral­
lied in recent days to mark the one-
year anniversary ofTrayvon Martin’s
death. On Feb. 9, four days after what
would have been Trayvon’s 18th
birthday, his parents, Sybrina Fulton
and Tracy Martin, sponsored an “I
am Trayvon Day of Remembrance
Community Peace Walk” in North
Miami-Dade County.
Students at Horida State Univer­
sity in Tallahassee have rallied for a
repeal of the Stand Your Ground
law. And on Feb. 26, the one-year
anniversary of his death, a “Million
Hoodie” candlelight vigil was held
in New York’s Union Square that
was attended by hundreds, includ­
ing actor Jamie Foxx.
While attention now turns to the
upcoming trial, as the father of a 10-
year-old son, I cannot help but re­
call what Sybrina and Tracy said
about their son a year ago: “Trayvon
was our hero. At age 9, Trayvon
pulled his father from a burning
kitchen, saving his life. He loved
sports and horseback riding. At only
17, he had a bright future ahead of
him with dreams of attending col­
lege and becoming an aviation me­
chanic. Now that’s all gone.”
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin
have formed the Justice for Trayvon
Martin Foundation to honor their
son and to “advocate for all victims
of injustice and senseless crimes
throughout the world.”
Like millions of Americans, we
continue to stand with them. We
will not rest until justice is done.
Marc Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the N a­
tional Urban League.
47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
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Lucinda Baldwin
Leonard Latin
S taff W riter /P hotographer :
the right to shoot first and ask ques­
tions later.
It took a while, but the wheels of
justice are turning in the Trayvon
Martin case. In the wake o f wide­
spread criticism o f the nearly six-
week delay in arresting and charg­
ing Zimmerman with acrime, former
Sanford police chief, Bill Lee was
fired last June.
Former Elgin, 111. deputy police
chief, Cecil Smith is set to take over
as head of the Sanford police force
on April 1. Zimmerman’s second-
degree murder trial begins on June
10. It is believed that he and his
lawyers will base their defense on
Florida’s troubling Stand Your
Ground law which states that any­
one in fear of his or her life could be
justified in using lethal force against
a potential or perceived attacker.
Cari Hachmann
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