Dear Editor:
Please consider this essay on MLK and the FBI from veteran journalist Robert Koehler, who draws on a few thinkers including King to help explain the dirty deeds done against him. For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
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FBI, King and the tremors of history
by Robert C. Koehler
948 words
Nothing like trying to rewrite history.
Remember way back when, when America was one nation under God and everyone got along so nicely? That was the sentiment of an FBI tweet on Martin Luther King Day, which — oh, the horror! — blew up in the agency’s face and brought a real fragment of the Old Days back into public consciousness. And maybe, in the process, the agency woke up King’s actual dream — you know, the one it hated and did its best to smother.
This was the FBI’s official tweet on MLK Day:
Today, the FBI honors the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A quote from Dr. King is etched in stone at the FBI Academy’s reflection garden in Quantico as a reminder to all students and FBI employees: ‘The time is always right to do what is right.
That the FBI — the agency that saw King and the civil rights movement as a communist plot, subjected him to merciless surveillance and may have tried to get him to commit suicide — should, 50-plus years after his murder, purport to honor him was simply too much for lots of people, many of whom linked to a monstrous letter the agency had sent to King, along with a box of tapes showing him having sex with various women who were not his wife.
The letter was a phony screed of outrage, allegedly from a black former supporter, which ended thus:
The American public, the church organizations have been helping — Protestant, Catholic and Jews will know you for what you are — an evil abnormal beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done.
“King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days in which to do (it) . . . . You are done. There is only one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal, fraudulent self is bared to the nation.
King knew from the start that this was from the FBI and did not let it stop him. And its relevance today is not as simply a piece of the past. Yes, it’s a reminder of the blatant, unrestrained racism of yore, but even more disturbing is the institutional arrogance it represents, combined with racism. This is white America “protecting” itself — institutionally, at the highest levels of government.
Who here thinks we’re done with all that?
Indeed, this nation’s lack of atonement for its past — combined with the endless wars it is currently waging — make King’s legacy profoundly problematic, by which I mean relevant.
For instance, he wrote in his 1963 book, Why We Can’t Wait:
Our nation was born in genocide, when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shore, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.
And then there was his stand against the Vietnam war:
Each day the war goes on the hatred increased in the hearts of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.
These words, delivered at Riverside Church in New York, a year to the day before his assassination, drove LBJ nuts. Who did King think he was? He got his civil rights legislation! Now here he was, opposing America’s noble war.
Not only do these words remain immensely relevant today, they are a reminder of how little has changed and how King-level outrage over our wars, our racism and our poverty remains crucial. Endless war — racist militarism — continues to be a defining national characteristic, unchallenged at the political or media center.
Even when critical of U.S. actions, media commentary on recent U.S. bombings and assassinations in the Middle East is premised on the assumption that the U.S. has the right to use violence (or the threat of it) to assert its will, anytime, anywhere,
Gregory Shupak wrote recently at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. “Conversely, corporate media coverage suggests that any countermeasure — such as resistance to the US presence in Iraq — is inherently illegitimate, criminal and/or terroristic.”
I do, however, believe that this is a nation where change — a “revolution of values,” as MLK put it — is possible. Indeed, his life shows this to be the case, but honoring King requires more than thanking him for his service or reciting a quote that instantly goes meaningless.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it this way recently, at a Martin Luther King Day event in New York City:
We can’t sit around and use the high school history version of Dr. King. King’s life did not end because he said ‘I have a dream.’ It ended because he was dangerous to the core injustices of this nation. . . . If we want to honor him, we have to be dangerous too.
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Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.
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Blaine Amendment on Trial
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Special CER News Alert
Dear Friends:
As the attorneys for Kendra Espinoza and the other moms were preparing to argue their case before the U.S. Supreme Court today in this landmark case, we and our colleagues around the country were making the case to the American people through media at all levels. We’ve been doing so for months, as without public understanding of the issues at stake-including the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children—even the best outcome for this case will not move the needle of public opinion for the long term.
Today we were proud to sit in the High Court and witness the admirable case made by Institute for Justice attorney Richard Komer on behalf of the plaintiffs. But Mr. Komer was barely able to finish his opening 10 minutes when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg began what would become a barrage of questions from her and the like minded justices about whether the case even had standing, and unbelievably questioning whether there was any harm whatsoever when the Montana scholarship program ceased operating.
This defense of religious discrimination was met with equal resistance by Justices Alito and Kavanaugh who questioned why the attorney for the state would argue that there was no discrimination when the whole reason for throwing out the program was because some parents were choosing religious schools. Frankly, the State of Montana had no good answer to that.
The arguments were a reflection of the same debates we have daily—why does the education system exist? If the answer is to serve parents and their kids there must be opportunities for them to make decisions about how and where they are educated, with monies following the students.
We’ll know later this year what the Court believes. We make no predictions—but left the hearing cautiously optimistic.
Follow our statement on today’s hearing, along with coverage from today’s Fox & Friends where Jeanne Allen argued the interest of the parent should be paramount — always.
Please read more about the arguments in the Scotus Blog. And don’t forget to check out edreform.com/Blaine to learn more about what this is all about, and see the latest reactions from today’s hearing from folks on both sides of the issue.
We’ll be back next week with regularly scheduled programming!
Join us in fighting for parents, teachers and kids!
And please designate The Center for Education Reform as your charity when shopping through AmazonSmile .
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Tune In Live to Our Arizona Summit on Indigenous Foodways Starting Right Now!
Dear Friend,
Good afternoon from Scottsdale, Arizona!
In just a few minutes, Food Tank’s Summit, "The Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways," will begin! Please tune in LIVE at FoodTank.com at 4 p.m. MST (6 p.m. EST) to join us in learning from Indigenous chefs, activists, advocates, farmers, academics, and journalists. Tribal communities have called this land home for thousands of years, and our goal with this Summit is to center native voices and bring Indigenous food system leaders to the forefront of conversations about how to transform the global food system.
Food Tank is hosting this event in partnership with the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University and the Sustainable Community Food Systems Program at the University of Hawai’i, West O’ahu. Speakers include: Chef Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), the CEO/founder of The Sioux Chef / NATIFS.org / Indigenous Food Lab; Twila Cassadore, a food sovereignty advocate from the San Carlos Apache Tribe; Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a farmer from the Hopi tribe; Janie Simms Hipp, the president of the Native American Agriculture Fund, Terrol Dew Johnson, the founder of Tohono O'odham Community Action, and more. Hear these incredible speakers and many others LIVE right now at FoodTank.com.
I’ll be here in the American Southwest for a few more days of learning, conversation, and celebration of how our food system can be transformed for the better. This Friday, I will be in Park City, Utah, for ChefDance, a celebration of food and cinema at the Sundance Film Festival. Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times and I will be moderating fireside chats with Matt Swenson of Chameleon Coffee, Eric Edge of Postmates, Jeff Gordinier, the Food and Drinks Editor at Esquire, Scott Heimendinger of Modernist Cuisine, and David Moscow, the host of From Scratch. The day will also include a brunch with Chef Alice Waters of the Edible Schoolyard Project and a screening with actress Olivia Wilde.
Whether or not you’ll be able to join us tonight in Arizona or later this week in Utah, Food Tank has upcoming events in Chicago and Minneapolis as well. And don’t forget — members can attend our events for free, so now is a great time to join or upgrade your membership!
This week, Food Tank is excited to highlight 18 organizations working to safeguard and share the biodiversity of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico: Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Bites | Eat With Your Tribe, Center for Biological Diversity, Chef Ann Foundation, First Nations Development Institute, FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake, The GrowHaus, Jack Rabbit Hill Farm, La Semilla Food Center, The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP), Native Seeds/SEARCH, New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA), Seven Canyons Trust, Sustainable Water and Innovative Irrigation Management (SWIIM), Traditional Native American Farmers Association, Utah Conservation Data Center, Voices for Biodiversity, and Wild Utah Project.
Read more about the incredible work these organizations are doing to restore the Southwest’s natural biodiversity by CLICKING HERE.
And please let us know more about your own communities — what organizations are working to protect and restore habitats and species diversity where you live? Email me at danielle@foodtank.com to share with us.
See you soon!
All the best,
Danielle Nierenberg
==Legislative Leaders Respond to Referendum Supporters
SALT LAKE CITY – President J. Stuart Adams and Speaker Brad Wilson issue the following statement regarding the referendum signature gathering efforts relative to SB 2001:
“Utah is an extraordinary place to live and work and there is no greater evidence of that than the tremendous growth and prosperity we are currently experiencing. Efforts over the past year to reform our tax system and provide tax cuts have been aimed at preserving the high quality of life we enjoy. We recognize the current tax reform plan created concern for some Utahns and the legislature remains committed to crafting solutions Utahns can be proud of while ensuring our state continues to prosper.”==================
