Forty years to the day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Morehouse College will commemorate the readings and teachings of King with a ground-breaking global conversation. Morehouse is partnering with the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida to engage several experts in conversation across continents — and it will all take place on the Internet.
The conversation, which will be explored during the four Fridays in the month of April, will focus on King’s metaphor of the World House, taken from his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? The book was published in 1976 and is a part of the 10,000-piece Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. The “World House†chapter is based on King’s Nobel Peace Prize lecture, which is also a part of the Collection.
The first of these global conversations will take place on Friday, April 4, at 10 a.m. Morehouse College will serve as the epicenter for this global connection, which will feature speakers and performances from Africa, India, China, Florida and Georgia, hosted by WSB Radio’s Condace Pressley.
The topic for April 4 will focus on King’s challenge to citizens of the world to “transcend tribe, race, class, nation and religion to embrace the vision of a World House.†Featured speakers will include Dr. Walter E. Fluker, executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College and interim director of the King collection, who will be stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China; Dr. Manisha Shelat, senior lecturer on Journalism and Communications at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India; Dr. Stephanie Evans, assistant professor in African American Studies and Women’s Studies at the University of Florida in Gainesville; and Benson Wambari, professor in the department of philosophy at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Also expected to participate in this history-making event are spoken word artists, dancers and musicians from the USA to China.
Georgia’s AME Bishop, William Deveaux released a statement regarding the so-called controvery surrounding Senator Obama’s former Reverand Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. His sermons are on YouTube and all in the mainstream now.
I understand why Rev. Wright’s words have stirred the pot, but you have to take them in context. He seems to be speaking to lager political, social, and economic issues rather than simply cursing America.
If Rev. Wright committed an illegal act, I think there would be more reason to frown. He has the right to speak his mind. That’s what America is about. I think more journalists need to be questioning the government’s actions.
From press release dated March 19, 2008 [EReporterATL]
Bishop William Deveaux, Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
We repudiate the irresponsible and shameful behavior of the national media for replaying and sensationalizing Rev. Wright’s words out of context simply to accommodate a salacious sound-bite. Quite frankly African Americans articulate and use language differently than whites by juxtaposing words to paint indelible psychological pictures. For example, in the overplayed sound-byte Rev. Wright was not cursing America or its people. Rather he was pointing out historical and modern day incidents of racial intolerance or violence that were both heinous and damnable.
Though teens are often portrayed as being rebellious, trouble making rogues, some Atlanta students are proving to be anything but that.
I recently had the chance to work with a group of Atlanta teens who are involved with a non-profit organization called Project South.
Every year the organization hosts a “Youth Day,” which is a day long workshop involving games, civil rights lessons, and the teens are responsible for examining an issue in the community and developing a plan to help foster change.
Project South’s Youth Council wanted to create a newscast for their presentation, and asked me to help them produce it. They tackled the juvenile justice system in Georgia, and researched the issues related to the trends of youth incarceration.
When it came time to tape, the teens were prepared, their script was written, and they listened to my suggestions and directions.
Unfortunately there were some technical problems during the presentation, but overall I think they did a great job.
BTW, this Saturday, Project South is participating in The Up & Out of Poverty Coalition’s 28th Annual Poor Peoples’ Day Assembly in Atlanta. A day of activities are planned.
Actions on Saturday, January 26 will include a caravan through downtown Atlanta; rally at the State Capitol; and the Poor Peoples’ Assembly. These activities respond to the World Social Forum’s call for a Global Day of Action. This year’s event is called The Poor Peoples’ Movement, Caravan & Assembly. It also commemorates the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor Peoples’ Campaign.
The Georgia Progressive Summit jumps off tonight starting with registration at 6pm. A night of musical entertainment is planned, and there will be plenty of networking, and conversations about change.
This is the grassroot. I’m actually moderating the opening plenary Saturday, and I may shoot an episode tonight. If you’re in the A, come check me out.
Registration begins at 6pm, at Vinyl. The music starts at 7pm.
7:00 – 9:00 (10:00pm) Opening Event: “ART AS POLITIC” featuring Georgia Artists
[NOTE: the lineup is subject to change without notice prior to the event]:
An effort is underway to protest the demolition of affordable housing in New Orleans. My Urban Report received an e-mail about demontrations that are being organized around the country to speak out against HUD’s plan to destroy about 4,500 public housing units in the NO.
This attack specifically targets working class women of color and their children, who have been working to reclaim these units since Hurricane Katrina.
The WashingtonPost recently reported on the issues surrounding the controversy.
Previously, HUD officials have said the old projects should be cleared out to make way for less dense, modern housing. But those new developments, to be constructed in partnership with private investors, would probably include far fewer apartments for low-income residents and would take years to complete. An unresolved lawsuit on behalf of residents charges that the demolition plan is racially discriminatory.
This is an issue affecting communities around the country. Some call it economic development, others say it’s gentrification, either way people are being displaced from their homes, and many won’t have the opportunity to move back.
Here’s some info about a demonstration in the Bay Area.
WHEN: Friday, December 14th at 12:00 pm
WHERE: Entrance to Civic Center Plaza (on Broadway between 12th and
14th Street) Oakland, CA
WHO: Everyone that supports the Human Right to Shelter is welcome to
attend and help organize the protest.
Last week My Urban Report told you about the more than 900 votes that were being challenged in local elections in Statesboro Georgia.
There’s good news to report on the issue. It looks like the group behind the challenge has withdrawn the request.
Here’s the latest information from Georgia Election Protection:
The “Statesboro Citizens for Good Government” group withdrew its challenges today against 909 student voters from Georgia Southern University. According to Jeff Akins, the staff attorney for Bulloch County , the students’ votes in the recent municipal election will be counted. The challenges were holding up the final outcome of City Council elections held November 6th.
“This is a great victory for the students,” said Charles Lester of Georgia Election Protection and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The students are free to vote. The outcome is a clear example of how Election Protection can help protect voters’ rights.”
“The students that voted using the challenged ballot process are the heroes of this dispute. The mass form challenges were clearly aimed at students that had registered to vote and were not proper challenges. Many of the students that voted reported intimidation by the presence of police in the voting place,” said Lester.
Georgia Election Protection was working with the students and the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project on a potential class action in Federal Court to enjoin the challenges.
Election Protection volunteers were also organizing to provide attorneys for the students at the hearings on the challenges before the Board of Registrars of Bulloch County.
“We are pleased that the challengers gave up on the challenges, but we remain concerned by the actions of the City officials in Statesboro, and that the challenges caused students that were registered to decide not to vote,” said Lester.
The work of Election Protection should be applauded. It is the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, and seeks to ensure that every eligible voter casts a ballot that counts on Election Day.
