College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Civil Rights

Note:  I in NO way intend on this post being insulting….if taken that way I sincerely want to apologize….that was not my intention.

Today we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr………my posts today will be about MLK, Jr in honor of the day………..America would be so much worse than it is today without his leadership and dedication……..

About 2 months ago we celebrated the “March on Washington”, a whole half a century, to this old farts it does not seem like it has been that long, but that is what we get for being old.  We revisited MLK, Jr’s speech, an eloquent speech and all the trappings of a major celebration of a historic event.  But then after the fact we had all media outlets wanting to have a larger conversation on race and its effects….one channel called their attempt as “Advancing The Dream”.

I personally believe that it is beyond time for this conversation, but not the way most media is approaching the subject.  They are doing what they do with all major issues like education, the evironment, etc……throw lots of talk and so-called experts at the camera with the hopes that something will break out….and as usual it does not.  As usual the only thing accomplished is talking heads get high dollar fees for camera time and NO solutions.

Let me elaborate a bit…..the original Civil Rights Movement had 10 demands….let me save you a headache…I will list them…..

Comprehensive and effective civil rights legislation from the present Congress — without compromise or filibuster — to guarantee all Americans:

• Access to all public accommodations
• Decent housing
• Adequate and integrated education
• The right to vote

2. Withholding of Federal funds from all programs in which discrimination exists.

3. Desegregation of all school districts in 1963.

4. Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment — reducing Congressional representation of states where citizens are disfranchised.

5. A new Executive Order banning discrimination in all housing supported by federal funds.

. Authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when any Constitutional right is violated.

7. A massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers — Negro and white — on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages.

8. A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (And this is still being debated)

9. A broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to include all areas of employment which are presently excluded.

10. A federal Fair Employment Practices Act barring discrimination by federal, state, and municipal governments, and by employers, contractors, employment agencies, and trade unions.

Take a long look at the state of African-American affairs today……was the movement a complete success?

At this point I need to step back in time—-in 1989 I was asked to a political conference held at the University of Louisville….I had recently written a paper entitled “The Shortcomings In The Theory Of Non-Violence” and the scholars thought it would make a good debate during the conference.  I successfully pissed off a whole array of PhDs……at one point one guy wanted to hit me with his cane…I smiled at him and said….”made my point, huh?”

There are a couple of times in history that activists like to point to as successes in the use of non-violence to win a political situation….India and the American Civil Rights movement are the most cited.

First, let’s look at India and Gandhi–his whole tactic was to push the Empire into making massive mistakes by meeting peaceful protests with massive violence….it worked….almost every turn that Gandhi made his supporters were met with horrendous violence and it gained India popular support worldwide.  His major aims were an end to the caste system that kept many Indians down and in poverty, the peaceful co-existence of the religions for the Hindus and Muslims had been at each others throats for decades and usually egged on by the Brits to keep everyone off balanced and of course, Gandhi wanted independence of India from the UK.

In 1947 India was granted independence for the UK and was divided into two sectors India and Pakistan, that eliminated the desire for co-existence.  The truth be known, even without Gandhi and his followers India would have been independent by 1950 or so….the colony was a monetary drain on the royal treasury….the Brits thought that the division into two separate countries would prevent the religious extremism…they were wrong.  And then there was that old caste system…..still in place no attempts to end were ever found.  So basically, Gandhi for all his efforts got a bunch of people killed and maimed and all that changed was an independent India that would have been so without all the violence.

Now fast forward to 1960’s and the Civil Rights Movement and now go back and look at the demands that the movement put forward…..the first demands on housing, education, public accommodations and voting were about the only ones actually met and to this day are still being used against people only under some bureaucratic cloak.  But the vision of MLK has not been met…..living wage is still not that good for blacks, etc.  MLK wanted a more civilized nation between whites and blacks…it has gotten bettor but a huge divide is still exists.

Okay, things did not pan out totally the way that MLK want them too…..what happened to cause that?

I think with the death of MLK the remaining leadership settled on “Something Is Better Than Nothing” attitude…in other words I am saying the leadership caved to political pressure and made the case that they had won the day on civil rights…..If MLK had not been killed or if the leadership had been stronger then the dream of MLk could have been better fulfilled.

We also hear the courage it took for LBJ to jump onto the civil rights bandwagon….the Civil Rights Act was a compromise…..the nation gave up just enough to appease the people and the leaders were used to do so.

I feel that if the leaders had been as strong and committed as MLK then more would have been demanded and received and this whole fake conversation we must have yearly would not be needed today…..yes, there are still some that have not let the “Dream” die……but sadly they are a small voice in a yelling crowd…..

Now back to non-violence…..a great tactic in the bag of tricks…..a great way to draw attention to the movements aims and desires…..sadly it does not give the movement the desired results…..at best it is a compromise and a little reform that can be changed at any given time.  Today’s voter suppression and women losing their rights are just an illustration of what I am saying……..we can thank the laziness of leaders and the legalese used in all the laws…….it is not change….it is reform and reform can be altered at any time…….

Please do not misunderstand…..I am not saying that MLK’s efforts were a failure….they were not….he and his movement accomplished a lot….however with his death it seemed as if the movement was fine for settling what was given……and we see just what that inactivity did for their victory….

I apologize if I hurt one’s feelings but a good dose of reality can cure a lot of ills………Chuq

Please I very much would like to hear all points of view on this……feel free to say anything you like….I will not take offense.