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Remembering The REAL Dr. Martin Luther King The more that Dr. Martin Luther King is celebrated, the more difficult it is to remember what he really said and what he stood for. Michael Eric Dyson's book I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr. is an invaluable resource in this respect. A speech by Dyson was part of a Democracy Now! program that also includes King's speech, "The Drum major Instinct". A PBS interview with Dyson (transcript) gets right to the heart of the matter. You can read King's words yourself at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, which includes
Beyond Vietnam,
Letter From Birmingham Jail,
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,
Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, and
I've Been To The Mountaintop. Finally, Martin Luther King: A Different Drum Major directly confronts conservative attempts to demean King's lofty sense of morality. If all this makes you want to do something to remember King's real legacy, you can
join the Mumia Contingent at the Martin Luther King Day Parade on Monday.
In 1991, filmmaker Stephanie Black began a nine-year mission to, as she puts it, "clarify, simplify, and make visible an essentially invisible subject matter: The impact of economic policies on the day-to-day lives of people whom these policies are ostensibly supposed to benefit but actually don't."
The result of her efforts is Life and Debt, a brilliant, award-winning, reggae-driven documentary telling the story of ordinary Jamaicans whose lives have been radically affected by global economic policies. Capturing Jamaica in all its beauty and despair, and narrated in dryly ironic tones from text written by Jamaica Kincaid, Life and Debt takes a complex subject - the International Monetary Fund's role in destroying the Jamaican economy - and makes it come alive, allowing audiences to not merely understand, but empathize.
February 6th is Bob Marley's Birthday - a day the LA Independent Media Center and the Jamaican Cultural Association bring Life and Debt to LA. Our first ever fundraiser will be a gala premiere of the film at the Pacific Design Center, followed by an expert panel discussion on global debt, a reception featuring Jamaican food, and special guests (to be announced).
Life and Debt, which was aired on PBS last fall, has already won top prizes at various major film festivals and received high praise from the New York Times, The Village Voice, and the Jamaican Gleaner. A film as visually stunning as it is sharp and thought provoking, Life and Debt demands to be noticed. Tickets are limited, so sign up now!
Hear Stephanie Black interviewed by Indymedia.
Boycott the Bell! Justice for the CIW! Yesterday, around 100 demonstrators descended on Taco Bell World Headquarters in Irvine, CA in a show of solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), who are building momentum in their struggle to win decent wages and working conditions for the men and women who pick tomatoes for Taco Bell.
For a detailed account of the demonstration, along with information about how to get involved in the CIW struggle in LA or Orange County, click here. For an dramatic account of the role played by the Anarchist Black Bloc at yesterday’s demostration, click here. Pictures from the demonstration: 1, 2, 3
For more information on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, including plans for the upcoming (March 1-17) Taco Bell Truth Tour, which arrives in the Los Angeles Area on March 10, and hits Orange County on March 11, go to www.ciw-online.org.
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