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Saturday, August 29, 2009

"The fierce urgency of Now" Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.


This week is the anniversary of Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I Have a Dream"


I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy... READ FULL TEXT http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Palestine

thank you Haithem- for remembering...
Naji Al-Ali, creator of Handala, was assassinated 22 years ago today (Aug. 29, 1987). His timeless cartoons represent the Palestinian story, the Palestinian people, the Palestinian struggle, and Handala has become the symbol of refugees and the right of return.

CSM

[ Previous Monitor cartoons Buy a classic Reprint/republish ]


The 'Elders' arrive in Israel to boost Mideast peace | csmonitor.com

They're older and wiser, and with a few hundred years of (cumulative) experience under their belts, they arrived for a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday in the hope that they might nudge along peace efforts.

The "Elders," as they are called, are a group of prominent former heads of state, renowned activists, and global business leaders who are trying to use their clout and cachet to affect change....[READ MORE]


Bringing attention to Hussein Ibish's important new book "What’s Wrong with the One-State Agenda?"


Dear Miftah,

Thank you for having a mailing list... I am THRILLED to see that Hanan Ashrawi is the First Woman in PLO Executive Committee !

But that is not why I am writing you today. I am writing you in hopes you will help bring attention to Hussein Ibish's important new book "What’s Wrong with the One-State Agenda?" | The American Task Force on Palestine
http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2009/08/28/1251432000

Most American media conglomerates on Palestine, such as the Electronic Intifada and the Palestine Chronicle, prefer to feature and applaud One State Solution authors and activists, in addition to a steady stream of articles from Haaretz.

As an American it is easy to be beguiled and distracted by the euphoric claims made by One Staters... but- painful though this is for me to admit- wishful thinking and poetic fantasies don't fix real world problems.

I think Ibish's new book brings necessary insight into the arguments that many Americans hear concerning Israel/Palestine... please help pass on the word for this timely and highly pertinent book deserves attention.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet