Martin Luther King Jr. Day - 2010

We celebrate what would've been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 81st birthday today (actual birthday was Friday, January 15th) with programs all over the country to recognize the great civil rights leader. Surely King would be ecstatic that we have our first African American President in Barack Obama, but conversely King surely would be saddened by the continued impoverished plight of many African Americans.

In many ways we continue to be our worst enemies, by not taking advantage of educational opportunities and succumbing to the lure of drugs and crime. We continue to have an underclass that will continue for generations unless a stronger fortitude can be found by our people. The progress that has been made by African Americans has been monumental, but the surviving underclass places a massive blight on any positive accomplishments.

King Children Now On One Accord!

The remaining children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King reached a settlement in the ongoing dispute over King Inc. late last night. King Inc. is the company that Dexter King has been presiding over which controls his father's intellectual properties and papers. The settlement outlines that a third party custodian will come in to run the company, which will protect the interests of Martin King III and Bernice King the other living King children. It's obvious that Dexter will eventually be removed as president of the company, and hopefully end the contentious relationship that had emerged between the siblings. The Atlanta Journal Constitution provided the update.

4 Books By MLK Jr. To Be Republished!

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that 4 books authored by Martin Luther King Jr. will be republished by Beacon Press in a deal brokered by his son Dexter King. The books to be republished are listed below:

_ "Stride Toward Freedom," first published in 1958, King's memoir of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and 1956;
_ "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?," first published in 1967, King's last book and an analysis of the state of American race relations and the movement after a decade of U.S. civil rights struggles;
_ "Trumpet of Conscience," first published in 1968, containing five lectures King gave in 1967;
_"Strength to Love," first published in 1963, a volume of his most well-known homilies and the book in the civil rights leader's briefcase when he was killed on April 4, 1968.

The books and other writings are scheduled to be released on January 18, 2010. I know the King children are feuding, but Dexter is making deals to keep his father's legacy alive and relevant for future generations.

King Children Still Split After MLK Jr. Film Rights Sold To DreamWorks!

Yesterday it was announced that DreamWorks movie studios announced that it has obtained the rights to put Martin Luther King Jr.'s life on screen. Under normal circumstances this would be a normal story, however, with King's children still feuding, nothing is normal. Dexter King negotiated the agreement, apparently without siblings Martin III and Bernice's permission and the two plan to fight the agreement. Bernice made the following statement according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

“We are taking action. We cannot reveal what it is at this time,” she said. “Dexter King has entered into an agreement without approval of his shareholders,” she said. “It’s about Dexter King and the empire he is trying to build with Madison Jones.”

It's a shame that the King children can't find common ground concerning their parents' legacies.

Would Martin Be Happy With Us?

Tomorrow we celebrate what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 80th birthday as a national holiday (his birthday was actually January 15th), basking in the weekend celebration of the Obama Express rolling into Washington, D.C. and culminating with the Inauguration of our first African American President on Tuesday. Yes, it will be momentous day for black folk all over the country and world, however if Martin Luther King Jr. is looking at us as a people today, he's probably quite bewildered with where we've come in the 40 years since his death.

The civil rights leaders who followed him, appear to have only been in the "movement" for the financial and individual advantages that the position provided them. Martin Luther King Jr. was truly called for his position, and as we can see as a people, another Martin has not been created. Forever the visionary, King would also be bewildered by what appears to be a very troubling future for the educated black male. Drop out rates in most Inner City Schools are at or approaching 50%, which will mean that local jail systems will more than likely continue to be overpopulated as the uneducated black male will turn to the lure of drugs and crime to display unnerving violent tendencies. The sad thing about this fact is that we'll then have conservative pundits like Ann Coulter blaming single mothers for raising criminals when the reality is that at some point everyone has to be accountable for their own actions.

King would probably be excited about what the future holds with Barack Obama about to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Obama stands as a testament of what can be accomplished, and as African Americans we have to take everything to the next level in term of focus and determination, because that level playing field that we've been searching for has been leveled for all Americans. Circuit City closing it's doors and costing our county 30,000 jobs is affecting every person regardless of color, so how about all of us taking on the challenge of continuing to dream Martin's dream with the zest that Barack Obama has shown us. We now know that anything truly is possible with hard work and a vision. Let's continue to try to turn Martin's dream into a reality, because right now we're on the verge of turning it into a nightmare.

"martinlutherking.org"

Google "Martin Luther King" and the site martinlutherking.org shows up third in the ranking. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the site was created by someone named Don Black and is being used to disparage the name of the civil rights icon. The King family has attempted to have the site shut down, but the attempts have been futile. Ignorance is still alive and well.