Today thousands gathered at the new Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington for its dedication. The president gave an evocative speech that spoke to the struggles and sacrifices of the civil rights movement, and that great changes had been made, but there was still much to do..
Obama reminded his audience that during his life, King was not always considered a unifying figure, but was often viewed as radical and divisive, an agitator and a communist, even attacked by his own people, who felt he was going to fast or too slow, who felt he shouldn't meddle in issues like the Vietnam War or the rights of union workers.
"We gather here at a moment of great challenge and great change. In the first decade of this new century, we have been tested by war and by tragedy; by an economic crisis and its aftermath that has left millions out of work, and poverty on the rise, and millions more just struggling to get by. Indeed, even before this crisis struck, we had endured a decade of rising inequality and stagnant wages. In too many troubled neighborhoods across the country, the conditions of our poorest citizens appear little changed from what existed 50 years ago--neighborhoods with underfunded schools and broken-down slums, inadequate health care, constant violence, neighborhoods in which too many young people grow up with little hope and few prospects for the future."
"And so at this moment, when our politics appear so sharply polarized, and faith in our institutions so greatly diminished, we need more than ever to take heed of Dr. King's teachings. He calls on us to stand in the other person's shoes; to see through their eyes; to understand their pain. He tells us that we have a duty to fight against poverty, even if we are well off; to care about the child in the decrepit school even if our own children are doing fine; to show compassion toward the immigrant family, with the knowledge that most of us are only a few generations removed from similar hardships."
The day before, the Occupy Wall Street went global with marches, rallies, and occupations taking place in 951 cities throughout this nation and many more in 82 other nations throughout the world.
The people in all of those nations and throughout this great country, are all continuing Dr. King's struggle for civil rights, equality, economic justice, and freedom. The revolutions that are still taking place called Arab Spring, inspired those here in this country, and they in turn inspired all of Europe.
I can't speak for what happened in all of those 1500 cities, but I was there to witness and participate in Eugene. I had helped organize anti war rallies before the Iraq invasion, and I was impressed with how organized the people here were. There were no single leaders. All of the decisions were made by consensus, and while we had taken months to organize and get the word out, this newer generation did it in a matter of days and weeks. The new tech savvy organizers didn't have to take out ads or publish stories in the paper as we had. They got the word out using social media and the internet.
These organizers didn't get parade permits or permission to occupy but they worked with the police so there wouldn't be any trouble. The protesters were educated about what their rights were and peacekeepers were trained to keep the peace.
The rally was stirring with many inspirational speakers, and with songs. During the speeches the sound system was inadequate to the crowd, so speakers would speak in short phrases that were then repeated so all could hear and the songs were also repeated as the crowd sung the refrain. I think when most of us went home we thought about spreading the word in the same way to our friends and neighbors.
The injustices spoken of were varied and numerous, but they all had the same theme. We the vast majority of people, the 99%, had lost our voices and our rights, to the corporations and the rich. We have lost our jobs, our pensions our houses to the greed of the corporations and of Wall Street. We are struggling because of the huge income inequality and injustices of our oppressors, But it isn't a class struggle, because many of the rich are willing to pay their fair share, and many corporations are willing to help the communities and be good stewards of the environment. It is about fairness and injustice.
It isn't about political parties because many there were angry with the Democrats and Obama. While in many ways the Occupy movement is the antithesis of the Tea Party, recent polls indicate that even 60% of the Tea Party members are distrustful of big business, so there is hope that tea Party members will see the light. If they are a populist movement at some time, even they may see that all of the people are being screwed by big business, that corporations have way too much influence in Washington, and that having the rich and the corporations pay their fair share will lower the tax burdens of the vast majority.
When we marched, it was with a sense of universal joy and empowerment. There as no anger here yesterday even though it was billed as a "Day of Rage Against Wall Street" There were no arrests. Even the anarchists who covered their faces with kerchiefs behaved, except for interrupting the speakers. The police were friendly and were often thanked by the marchers. I heard one young man remark that he had never seen this many people together. Our march route took us 3 miles but the march easily stretched a mile long, so those on the way back could see a seemingly never ending line of people coming towards them.
When we returned many people stayed to set up camp and occupy the Park Center. It was against several laws and ordinances but the police said they had the latitude to allow them to stay. The occupiers set about making a place
During the dedication to the Martin Luther King Memorial they replayed King's stirring "I Have A Dream" speech. It is easy for me to imagine King smiling down on yesterday's marchers. The marchers are continuing King's struggle through peaceful protests and civil disobedience. Yesterday Freedom Rang in 951 American cities, and in 82 other nations.
When people ask the 99% what they are protesting for, and when their protest will end, I think of when they asked King when he and his movement would be satisfied, and he said we will never be satisfied as long as injustice still exists. "No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
"My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring! "
"And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"