As Calls For Unions Grow, It is Worth Revisiting the Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Kenn Orphan

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by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
April 26, 2022

“You are doing many things here in this struggle. You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity, and it has worth.

Federal Bureau of Intimidation, by Howard Zinn

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by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Previously published August 2, 2010
April 2, 2022

I thought it would be good to talk about the FBI because they talk about us. They don’t like to be talked about. They don’t even like the fact that you’re listening to them being talked about. They are very sensitive people. If you look into the history of the FBI and Martin Luther King—which now has become notorious in that totally notorious history of the FBI—the FBI attempted to neutralize, perhaps kill him, perhaps get him to commit suicide, certainly to destroy him as a leader of black people in the United States. And if you follow the progression of that treatment of King, it starts, not even with the Montgomery Bus Boycott; it starts when King begins to criticize the FBI. You see, then suddenly Hoover’s ears, all four of them, perk up. And he says, okay, we have to start working on King.

Glen Ford: The Black Elite and the Legacy of MLK + Martin Luther King, Jr.: Organized Nonviolent Resistance Is The Most Powerful Weapon

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Dandelion Salad
Originally posted Jan. 21, 2013
January 17, 2022

TheRealNews on Jan 21, 2013

Glen Ford: Black upper class took advantage of legal victories won by MLK and the Civil Rights Movement and then helped to undermine the movement.

Caleb Maupin: Martin Luther King Was A Socialist!

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with Caleb Maupin
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published Jan. 17, 2019
January 16, 2022

Caleb Maupin on Jun 2, 2010

Your history textbooks may have you convinced he was a blind patriot and arch conservative. They were wrong. Martin Luther King was a socialist, and the following clips show him talking extensively about the need to redistribute wealth and “economic power,” the right to a job, and the dignity of the working class.

There is Room in the Tent for Everyone, by Kenn Orphan

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by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
January 15, 2022

When I was in college, I had the privilege of doing an internship in Los Angeles that was connected to a vibrant inner-city church. While I was there, I was introduced to some of the most radical leftist politics I’ve ever known. It was in this setting that I saw vibrant programs for the working class and for youth being implemented by Black churches. It is also where I learned about Liberation Theology, a Christian movement that was transforming communities all over Latin America at the time as a direct challenge to capitalism and American imperialism.

The Anti-Social Socialist: Happy New Year! Who Was The Radical MLK?

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Happy New Year!

Chris Hedges: The Second American Revolution

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on Sep 18, 2021

On the show, Chris Hedges discusses the Second American Revolution with author David Talbot.

Danny Haiphong, Margaret Kimberley and Ajamu Baraka: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the American Empire

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Dandelion Salad

with Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley

Black Agenda Report Presents: The Left Lens on Jan 18, 2021

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is often celebrated without any regard for his radical political legacy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Three Evils of Society: Racism, Militarism and Capitalism

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Dandelion Salad
Previously published Jan. 17, 2016

“What they truly advocate is Socialism for the rich and Capitalism for the poor.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., Address Delivered at the National Conference on New Politics, August 31, 1967

The Radicalization of Martin Luther King, Jr. + Dr. Martin Luther King: Where Do We Go From Here?

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Dandelion Salad

Originally posted on Jan. 20, 2013

“One day we must ask the question, “Why are there forty million poor people in America?” And when you begin to ask that question, you’re raising a question about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy.” — “Where Do We Go From Here?” Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 16, 1967

Happy New Year! Who Was The Radical MLK? by The Anti-Social Socialist

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Happy New Year!

“I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, viz, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it fell victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter to Coretta Scott, 1952

Chris Hedges: Founding Father Myths and Zinn’s People’s History

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

Rolling Stone on Dec 23, 2020

Julian Casablancas sits down with his “personal hero and greatest intellectual (along with elder chieftain Noam Chomsky),” journalist and professor Chris Hedges, on the latest episode of his Rolling Stone interview series, S.O.S. — Earth Is a Mess.

The Radicalization of Martin Luther King + Dr. Martin Luther King: Where Do We Go From Here?

Image via Cocoabiscuit

Dandelion Salad

Originally posted on Jan. 20, 2013

“One day we must ask the question, “Why are there forty million poor people in America?” And when you begin to ask that question, you’re raising a question about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy.” — “Where Do We Go From Here?” Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 16, 1967

Caleb Maupin: Martin Luther King Was A Socialist!

Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
Watch the video below

with Caleb Maupin
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published Jan. 17, 2019
January 18, 2020

Caleb Maupin on Jun 2, 2010

Your history textbooks may have you convinced he was a blind patriot and arch conservative. They were wrong. Martin Luther King was a socialist, and the following clips show him talking extensively about the need to redistribute wealth and “economic power”, the right to a job, and the dignity of the working class.

I Have a Dream, a Blurred Vision by Michael Parenti

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by Michael Parenti
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published August 29, 2013
January 17, 2020

The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington—in which Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made his famed “I Have a Dream” speech—has recently won renewed attention from various print and electronic media in the United States. But the more attention given to King’s extraordinary speech, the less we seem to know about King himself, the less aware we are about the serious challenges he was presenting, challenges that remain urgent and ignored to this very day.