Reclaiming His Legacy

[Photo by Amir Saadiq]


Those are modified lyrics from one of my favorite protest songs. They are so relevant as we prepare to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this coming weekend. While the image of King has been largely whitewashed by mainstream media; it is critical to remember that he was a freedom fighter who put his body on the line for the liberation of Black people. He stared down water hoses, withstood dogs, took beatings, engaged in direct action and civil disobedience and went to jail multiple times for what he believed. So when they try to use King to disparage the passion and tactics of organizers and activists today - it is clear they have spent little time studying the true legacy of this great leader.

We Gonna Fight All Day and Night ...

We fight with mothers to keep them housed at 5:00 in the morning when sheriffs show up with battering rams and AR 15s

We fight with immigrants who are being separated from their families and left to languish in modern day concentration camps

We fight with teachers and students who are facing school closures, under budgeting and unconscionable conditions in their schools

We fight with young people desperately working to save our planet from ourselves

We fight with families who have lost loved ones to state violence

We fight with peace activists to end American militarism and imperialism across the globe

Until We Get It Right ...

We fight. But we are not fighting in vain. We WILL get it right. I deeply believe that if we keep fighting, keep strategizing, keep organizing, keep resisting, keep building alternative models, keep forcing radical policy shifts, keep electing real progressives into office … We. Will. Win.

This Monday, join me and APTP as we celebrate not only the courageous people who put their bodies on the line every day in the fight for a just world but also the inevitable win coming our way! Celebrate the Radical “rational” legacy of Dr. King when, for the 6th year in a row, we rally and march in his name.