South Carolina's MLK Day brighter in absence of Confederate flag
For the first time in 17 years, civil rights leaders gathered at the South Carolina Statehouse to pay homage to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. without the Confederate flag casting a long shadow over them. The flag was taken down over the summer after ...
First recording of MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech turns up in North Carolina library
An English professor has unveiled a recording of what he says is the first time Martin Luther King Jr. said "I Have a Dream" in a public speech. Months before the civil rights leader gave his famous address at the March on Washington in 1963, ...
MLK's fears of nuclear devastation should continue to resonate
In a letter to Japan, Martin Luther King expressed a desire to visit the country and spread his message about the need for nuclear disarmament.
'Selma' director Ava DuVernay unveils women activists of civil rights era
A filmmaker needs more than directing skills to make it in the big league, and an activist needs more than a political agenda to change the world. Ava DuVernay brings this point home in "Selma," the first major motion picture portrayal of Martin Luther ...
'Selma' shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquence in the face of racial violence
Gone are the days when films made by women were touted as such and labeled "women's films." No critic or distributor would dare do anything so ignoble to "Selma," the first major motion-picture portrayal of American civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ...
'Selma' and the biopic perversion of history
The Ava DuVernay-directed film "Selma" is at the center of controversy due to its semi-snubbing by the Oscars and correct observations that it plays loose with history.
A note of concern to wounded MLK from a friend in Japan
Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.'s pursuit of justice and equal rights for African-Americans, he knew he had the support and consideration of Japan through an old classmate who had decided to study abroad and broaden his cultural understanding.
As Americans reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., an audiotape of an interview with the civil rights leader discovered in a Tennessee attic sheds new light on a famous phone call John F. Kennedy made to King's wife more than 50 ...
There is no mistaking the progress that has been made in the United States in the half century since Dr. Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech. But there remains a long way to go.
U.S. obsession with race doesn't help the poor
In 2013, the factors that deny opportunity in the U.S. to poor blacks affect all poor Americans. Race should be dethroned as the organizing principle for social reform.
Obama criticized for delivering predictable rhetoric amid historic backdrop
President Barack Obama began with a recapitulation, an attempt to recall in lyrical fashion who came to Washington in 1963, where they came from, how they got here and why they made the journey. They were "seamstresses, and steelworkers, and students, and teachers, maids and ...
