Forty years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington, leaders like the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. on Thursday said they are working hard to complete King's unfinished business--social and economic maladies that oddly mirror the 1960s.
"Out of that march came fundamental public policy changes that still exist, but, there is also some unfinished business we must address now," Jackson said, reflecting on the march he attended while a stu- dent under the training of Dr. King.
Referring to the more than 2.2 million incarcerated in America, most of whom are Black, coupled with the high unemployment rate, the unequal schools, inadequate health care, workers right to organize, and the right to a clean and safe environment, Jackson said these issues need to be addressed.
In a teleconference call from Yale University where he marched with striking workers, Jackson, who attended King's march with the Rev. Calvin Morris, who heads the Community Renewal Society, said then the theme was jobs and freedom; and yet 40 years later, "we're struggling against jails for profit..." and facing high unemployment rates.
"More young Black men are in jail than in college in every state, and today we remain number one in jails, in unrestored voters, in racial profiles, in HIV, in cancer, in school expulsions, in predatory exploitation..."
"While the media focuses on the `I Have a Dream' climax to [Dr. King's] speech, the real focus is on the broken promise.
"The issue is not where is Dr. King's dream. The issue is where is America's commitment of the promises made coming out of the victory of Gettysburg, promises made not only to end slavery, but to protect those who've been enslaved...commitments made to repair damage done..."
Agreeing was Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) about the state of Black America. He said Blacks "have made tremendous gains--gains not only for African Americans, but for all Americans.
"By expanding opportunity access for all of its citizens, America has become a model of democracy for the rest of the world," said Cummings.
"America's progress, while positive, must not render its citizenry content with the way things are today. We must continue to push this country until it realizes its full potential and true greatness.
"We will never be able to pursue happiness if inequality denies us the enjoyment of the liberty we fought so hard for.
"To those who ask, `When will you be satisfied?' I respond by saying as long as our childrens' education is determined by the affluence of their neighborhood, I will never be satisfied. As long as there exist disparities in the incidence rates and treatment of life-threatening diseases, I will never be satisfied," the chairman stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment