J. Edgar Hoover once called Dr. King a "notorious liar"; he also labeled him the most dangerous man in America.
Dr. King could have gone to Edinburgh Scotland for postdoctoral studies, but chose to go to the heart of gut bucket Alabama. He was driven by his Christian faith to stand up against state sponsored terrorism better known as Jim Crow. Now, let's keep it real: how many of us would tell the truth when any questioning of the status quo could get you killed?
The 81 year period of Jim Crow followed 244 years of legal slavery. America existed as a nation of legal and state sponsored terrorism. Yes, Jim Crow was better than slavery, but that choice is an indictment of the state of equality at that time.
Let's not forget that king died marching with sanitation workers; a great leap for what passes as black leadership today. Gone are the days of A. Phillip Randolph, Ida B. Wells, and Stokley Carmichael. The outspoken black leaders of this generation are prohibited from the media. Guys like Carl Dix have a better chance of being on TMZ than the corporate media. The few faces you see on television have been pushed so far to the margins that you need a map to find them.
I celebrate Dr. King because he had the courage to put his mental and physical well-being on the line. Today we won't even talk about something that makes us uncomfortable. So, as some of us enjoy the day off remember: a man was murdered standing on principles of freedom and equality.
