Fifty years ago tonight - April 3, 1968...

crimsonaudio · Apr 3, 2018

"I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night."

And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"

gtowntide · Apr 4, 2018

Wow how prophetic was his last speech? In 1968 I was in Vietnam and we didn't get the news about Dr. King for a couple of days. I'd like to say that most of the men I was there with were saddened by this news, but quite a few actually cheered. Those were turbulent times.

Bazza · Apr 4, 2018

A day of reflection for all of us.....

92tide · Apr 4, 2018

Tidewater · Apr 4, 2018

Really sad day for the United States.
Like Lincoln, he had the moral stature to heal the nation so torn at the time, but his murder denied him the chance.
The parallels to Moses making it to the promised land are striking.
RIP, MLK.

tide power fan · Apr 4, 2018

Just had went on my first ship, was in Norfolk Naval shipyards Portsmouth

Bazza · Apr 4, 2018

tide power fan said:
Just had went on my first ship, was in Norfolk Naval shipyards Portsmouth

I was a 13 year old - living in Norfolk at the time. If you recall - the Norfolk area was a bit racially charged at the time - like many other urban areas across the country, I suppose.

Bazza · Apr 4, 2018

Question for the NS crowd......

In the 50 years since the assassination of MLK, Jr.......what black person has done the most in our country to advance the needs and issues of our people of color?

And how, in your opinion?

cbi1972 · Apr 4, 2018

Bazza said:
Question for the NS crowd......

In the 50 years since the assassination of MLK, Jr.......what black person has done the most in our country to advance the needs and issues of our people of color?

And how, in your opinion?

Might be unpopular to say these days, but I would have to say Bill Cosby. He normalized being black in popular culture.

Bazza · Apr 4, 2018

cbi1972 said:
Might be unpopular to say these days, but I would have to say Bill Cosby. He normalized being black in popular culture.

Never thought of that - good point!

CullmanTide · Apr 4, 2018

Bazza said:
Question for the NS crowd......

In the 50 years since the assassination of MLK, Jr.......what black person has done the most in our country to advance the needs and issues of our people of color?

And how, in your opinion?

It saddens me to say this but in my opinion there has been a huge void since he was taken away from us. Our nation is in dire straits right now as we desperately need leadership.

Vinny · Apr 4, 2018

I was born about a month and a half later. My mother told me years ago she was terrified at what kind of world her child would be born into. Living in the NYC metropolitan area and a husband who worked in Manhattan, thankfully everything workout and their neighborhood survived what happened about a year and a half earlier with the rioting and looting.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

UAH · Apr 4, 2018

Bazza said:
Question for the NS crowd......
In the 50 years since the assassination of MLK, Jr.......what black person has done the most in our country to advance the needs and issues of our people of color?
And how, in your opinion?

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

I understand that this doesn't address your question directly but a discussion of minority leadership cannot take place without recognition of the contribution that Thurgood Marshall made to his race and to our entire society. We can all appreciate the inestimable changes for good that have taken place in our lifetimes as a result of Brown v Board of Education.

Bazza · Apr 5, 2018

UAH said:
Thank you for your thoughtful post.

I understand that this doesn't address your question directly but a discussion of minority leadership cannot take place without recognition of the contribution that Thurgood Marshall made to his race and to our entire society. We can all appreciate the inestimable changes for good that have taken place in our lifetimes as a result of Brown v Board of Education.

Great point and thanks for mentioning this.

She (Linda Brown) just passed away about a week ago.

I went back and brushed up on the details of this litigation.....worth another look for those interested in our country's social history.

Because of segregation in her Topeka, Kansas, school district, Brown was forced to travel by foot and by bus to a school significantly out of the way.

The school district maintained four elementary schools for black children, compared with the 18 available for white children.
Her father, Oliver Brown, attempted to enroll her in Sumner Elementary School, which was a few blocks away from their home and all-white at the time.
At the request of the NAACP, Brown’s father and 12 other families similarly tried to enroll their children in all-white schools, expecting to be unsuccessful.
They were, and that gave the NAACP the leverage to file a lawsuit, led by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Because Brown was the first name alphabetically on the plaintiff's list, the case was dubbed Brown v. Board of Education.

http://Linda Brown, Topeka girl at center of Brown v. Board of Education, dies at 75

UAH · Apr 5, 2018

Bazza said:
Great point and thanks for mentioning this.
She (Linda Brown) just passed away about a week ago.
I went back and brushed up on the details of this litigation.....worth another look for those interested in our country's social history.
http://Linda Brown, Topeka girl at center of Brown v. Board of Education, dies at 75

There was a movie on Thurgood Marshall's litigation that led to the Brown case a few years ago. I also had an opportunity to study Constitutional History with a great Alabama historian and through that Justice Marshall became a hero to me.

I have read that Marshall felt strongly that securing minority rights through the courts was more effective than the non-violent protest that Dr. King espoused.

In the end the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act and overturning the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessey v Ferguson in 1896 were a foundation to our society. I believe both men played a significant role in bringing that about.

Needless to say there are always forces at work that seek to take us backwards from a free and open society!

Bazza · Apr 5, 2018

UAH said:
There was a movie on Thurgood Marshall's litigation that led to the Brown case a few years ago. I also had an opportunity to study Constitutional History with a great Alabama historian and through that Justice Marshall became a hero to me.

I have read that Marshall felt strongly that securing minority rights through the courts was more effective than the non-violent protest that Dr. King espoused.

In the end the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act and overturning the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessey v Ferguson in 1896 were a foundation to our society. I believe both men played a significant role in bringing that about.

Needless to say there are always forces at work that seek to take us backwards from a free and open society!

Nice....thanks for the little back story there.

I did a small stretch as a vocational educator once but if I ever got into academics, I would think teaching history would be extremely interesting and even more so rewarding. Thanks again for posting your experiences and opinions.

TIDE-HSV · Apr 5, 2018

Bazza said:
Great point and thanks for mentioning this.

She (Linda Brown) just passed away about a week ago.

I went back and brushed up on the details of this litigation.....worth another look for those interested in our country's social history.

http://Linda Brown, Topeka girl at center of Brown v. Board of Education, dies at 75

I have a good friend who is the sales manager for a sizeable Canadian textile manufacturer. (They inherited him when they bought a Ft. Payne company and have kept on promoting him.) Anyway, he was in Topeka years ago, when Pettway was our point guard. We were playing on TV and a guy in a bar called Pettway "Buckwheat." Tony got really angry and told him that "Buckwheat," no matter what his hair looked like, had a perfect all "A" 4.0 grade point average and could think rings around him. It got nasty and almost turned into a fist fight. I think that tells you how much things have changed in the South...

TIDE-HSV · Apr 5, 2018

UAH said:
There was a movie on Thurgood Marshall's litigation that led to the Brown case a few years ago. I also had an opportunity to study Constitutional History with a great Alabama historian and through that Justice Marshall became a hero to me.

I have read that Marshall felt strongly that securing minority rights through the courts was more effective than the non-violent protest that Dr. King espoused.

In the end the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act and overturning the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessey v Ferguson in 1896 were a foundation to our society. I believe both men played a significant role in bringing that about.

Needless to say there are always forces at work that seek to take us backwards from a free and open society!

I was an early voice against segregation in the '50s. It was lonely at times and cost me friends...

LA4Bama · Apr 5, 2018

Bazza said:
Question for the NS crowd......

In the 50 years since the assassination of MLK, Jr.......what black person has done the most in our country to advance the needs and issues of our people of color?

And how, in your opinion?

The most influential is Obama. How? Being the twice-elected President.

Fifty years ago tonight - April 3, 1968...

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