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CREATED:20190123T233700Z
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a radical visionary. The FBI and US 
 government called him “the most dangerous man in America”. He 
 challenged the power structure, criticized policies and was unapologetic 
 when it came to acknowledging injustice. He was a democratic socialist who 
 sided with the poor, working-class people of the world. He was a warrior 
 for peace on the domestic and global battlefield. He was critical of the 
 military industrial complex and spoke out against the war in Vietnam when 
 it was unpopular and dangerous to do so. At one point he claimed that the 
 United States of America was (and some could argue still is) the 
 “greatest purveyor of violence in the world”. We never hear about this 
 King, the radical King. \n\nYear after year; Instead of celebrating the 
 true message of King, a message of resistance and liberation, events have 
 been crafted to ignore and in some ways dismiss the oppression that appears 
 all around us. The oppression, centuries old, that impacts the poor and 
 people of color in the United States as well as around the world. Over 
 generations, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has become sanitized 
 and white-washed, co-opted by the power structure and leaders who are more 
 interested in exposure and PR than they are about actually committing 
 themselves to King’s legacy. Regardless of their intention, an attempt to 
 change the conversation from one of critical and radical resistance to one 
 of community service and the rhetoric that we are all “equal” does us 
 all a disservice and, in my opinion, is an insult to King’s memory.\n\n 
 Locally in Santa Cruz poverty is still a rampant plague. Inequitable levels 
 of income and access to quality housing have forced children, the elderly 
 and those with mental health needs out onto the streets in the dead of 
 winter to fend for themselves. Our policies, like locking bathrooms and 
 fencing parks, force people into situations that are unhealthy, spiritually 
 draining and dehumanizing. We criminalize poverty as we actively exacerbate 
 it with weak regulations on rent and evictions. Santa Cruz County has one 
 of the highest rates of poverty in the State of California. Black (or 
 African American) people only make up 1% of the City of Santa Cruz. Our 
 Native American population is even smaller and currently resisting their 
 lands being destroyed. We celebrate the Missions and omit the reality of 
 the violence that took place. Is this what Dr. King would have celebrated? 
 Would Dr. King have locked arms with his oppressors and walked in a parade 
 with no set plan of action or end goal in sight? I say NO. Or, would he 
 have stood firm and demanded justice before there was the option of 
 reconciliation? I say YES.\n\n On the day dedicated to his memory I believe 
 he would be actively challenging the structure of oppression, not walking 
 symbolically in a narrative devoid of impact. What liberation will be 
 achieved for people of color and the poor, working-class people of our 
 community? What will change? What will be accomplished besides providing a 
 sense of complacency in the same people who fought against rent control, 
 who fight against the protection of the poor, who don’t want homeless in 
 their neighborhoods and for the SCPD who refuse to march without their 
 weapons and who represent, to many, a symbol of oppression? If you are 
 interested in learning more about the radical MLK, please join us for a 
 book-group where we will read, analyze and discuss “The Radical King” 
 by Cornel West. The first weekly session will take place on Saturday 
 February 9th at the Resource Center for Nonviolence 12:30pm-2:00pm. Come 
 and learn about the true MLK!\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/23/18820639.php
SUMMARY:"The Radical King" by Cornel West - Book Group
LOCATION:Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz, 612 Ocean Street, CA 95060
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/23/18820639.php
DTSTART:20190209T203000Z
DTEND:20190209T220000Z
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