Thursday, April 5, 2018
There Must Be Blood
An excerpt from the Root -
The Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Michael Harriot
Abraham Lincoln was disliked by many Americans when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. John F. Kennedy only had a 58 percent approval rating when he was killed in 1963. People even lined the streets to hurl insults at the man called Jesus of Nazareth as he carried the cross on which he would eventually be crucified—which brings us to the most important ingredient in the making of a martyr:
There must be blood.
This week, America will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the most famous and beloved civil rights leader in the nation’s history. Lost in the remembrance of the death of our nation’s most heralded warrior for social justice is the fact that—at the time of his death—King was a man in exile.
Contrary to popular belief, when King died, he was not an icon of freedom and equality. In fact, most of the country disliked him. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, a bullet splattered bits of Martin Luther King Jr.’s brains and blood across the balcony of Memphis, Tenn.’s Lorraine Motel.
Then, and only then, was white America ready to make him a hero.
https://www.theroot.com/from-most-hated-to-american-hero-the-whitewashing-of-m-1824258876?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-04
The Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Michael Harriot
Abraham Lincoln was disliked by many Americans when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. John F. Kennedy only had a 58 percent approval rating when he was killed in 1963. People even lined the streets to hurl insults at the man called Jesus of Nazareth as he carried the cross on which he would eventually be crucified—which brings us to the most important ingredient in the making of a martyr:
There must be blood.
This week, America will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the most famous and beloved civil rights leader in the nation’s history. Lost in the remembrance of the death of our nation’s most heralded warrior for social justice is the fact that—at the time of his death—King was a man in exile.
Contrary to popular belief, when King died, he was not an icon of freedom and equality. In fact, most of the country disliked him. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, a bullet splattered bits of Martin Luther King Jr.’s brains and blood across the balcony of Memphis, Tenn.’s Lorraine Motel.
Then, and only then, was white America ready to make him a hero.
https://www.theroot.com/from-most-hated-to-american-hero-the-whitewashing-of-m-1824258876?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-04
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Standing Tall
An excerpt from the Undefeated -
The reign of Lew Alcindor in the age of revolt
When black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics in 1968, he emerged as the most prominent face on campus
BY JOHNNY SMITH
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known as one of the greatest basketball players in history. During his 20-year professional career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared in 19 All-Star Games, won six championships and collected six MVP awards. In retirement, he has become a prominent cultural commentator and writer, a leading voice on the intersection between sports and politics. Recently, he published a memoir about his collegiate career at UCLA, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court.
Fifty years ago he was the most dominant college basketball player America had ever seen. Between 1967 and 1969, he led UCLA to three consecutive national titles and an 88-2 record. Yet, his legacy transcends the game; in the age of Black Power, he redefined the political role of black college athletes. In 1968, when black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics, Lew Alcindor, as he was then still known, emerged as the most prominent face in the revolt on campus.
Why did Alcindor refuse to play in the Olympics? To answer that question we have to return to Harlem, New York, in July 1964, the first of many long, hot summers.
https://theundefeated.com/features/lew-alcindor-kareem-abdul-jabbar-ucla-boycot-1968-olympics/
The reign of Lew Alcindor in the age of revolt
When black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics in 1968, he emerged as the most prominent face on campus
BY JOHNNY SMITH
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known as one of the greatest basketball players in history. During his 20-year professional career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared in 19 All-Star Games, won six championships and collected six MVP awards. In retirement, he has become a prominent cultural commentator and writer, a leading voice on the intersection between sports and politics. Recently, he published a memoir about his collegiate career at UCLA, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court.
Fifty years ago he was the most dominant college basketball player America had ever seen. Between 1967 and 1969, he led UCLA to three consecutive national titles and an 88-2 record. Yet, his legacy transcends the game; in the age of Black Power, he redefined the political role of black college athletes. In 1968, when black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics, Lew Alcindor, as he was then still known, emerged as the most prominent face in the revolt on campus.
Why did Alcindor refuse to play in the Olympics? To answer that question we have to return to Harlem, New York, in July 1964, the first of many long, hot summers.
https://theundefeated.com/features/lew-alcindor-kareem-abdul-jabbar-ucla-boycot-1968-olympics/
Imagine If He Was Black
An excerpt from the NY Times -
Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza Teen’ Who Killed 4 While Driving Drunk, Is Freed
By DANIEL VICTOR
Ethan Couch, whose trial for killing four people while driving drunk sparked widespread conversations about the privilege of being raised wealthy, was released from a Texas jail on Monday after nearly two years.
Mr. Couch, 20, became known as the “affluenza teen” after a psychologist suggested during his trial that growing up with money might have left him with psychological afflictions, too rich to tell right from wrong. He attracted further attention when he and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in an effort to evade possible jail time.
He served his 720-day sentence in a jail in Tarrant County, and was freed about a week before his 21st birthday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/us/ethan-couch-affluenza-jail.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Ethan Couch, ‘Affluenza Teen’ Who Killed 4 While Driving Drunk, Is Freed
By DANIEL VICTOR
Ethan Couch, whose trial for killing four people while driving drunk sparked widespread conversations about the privilege of being raised wealthy, was released from a Texas jail on Monday after nearly two years.
Mr. Couch, 20, became known as the “affluenza teen” after a psychologist suggested during his trial that growing up with money might have left him with psychological afflictions, too rich to tell right from wrong. He attracted further attention when he and his mother, Tonya Couch, fled to Mexico in an effort to evade possible jail time.
He served his 720-day sentence in a jail in Tarrant County, and was freed about a week before his 21st birthday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/us/ethan-couch-affluenza-jail.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
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