Here is some basic info about the event:
Monday, January 15, 2018 (MLK Day) from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Blackout for Human Rights hosted its 3rd Annual “MLK Now”, a free event celebrating the words and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hosted in partnership with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), Color of Change, PICO National Network, and The Root, MLK Now 2018 will feature Oscar-Winner and BLACK PANTHER star Lupita Nyong’o, Grammy-Winning Hip Hop MC/Lyricist Black Thought of The Roots, and A WRINKLE IN TIME star Storm Reid, with Comedian and Author Baratunde Thurston returning this year as event M.C. Additional performers for MLK Now 2018 will be announced later this week.
Since 2016, MLK Now has brought together a cross-section of artists, performers and thought-leaders to pay homage to Dr. King and other revolutionary figures throughout history. Influential artists and entertainers that have performed at MLK Now include Chris Rock, Olivia Wilde, Q-Tip, Harry Belafonte, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Octavia Spencer, Michael B. Jordan, Omari Hardwick, Olivia Wilde, Uzo Aduba, Andre Holland, Anika Noni Rose, J. Cole, Adepero Oduye, India.Arie, and more.
For real-time updates follow the hashtag #MLKNow2018.
About Elizabeth Yeampierre, who organized the event exclaimed, “THE LEAST RESPONSIBLE ARE ALWAYS THE MOST IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, WE SEE THAT IN PUERTO RICO”:
Yeampierre is a internationally recognized Puerto Rican attorney and environmental and climate justice leader of African and Indigenous ancestry born and raised in New York City. A national leader in climate justice movement, Elizabeth is the co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance. She is Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community based organization.
Coretta Scott King’s 10 Commandments of Viet Nam
- Thou Shalt not Believe in a Military Victory
- Thou shalt Not Believe in a Political Victory
- Thou Shalt Not Believe that They, the Vietnamese Love us
- Thou Shalt Not Believe that the Saigon Government have the Support of the People
- Thou Shalt Not Believe that the Majority of the South Vietnamese look upon the Viet Cong as Terrorists.
- Thou shalt Not Believe the Figures of Killed Enemies or Killed Americans.
- Thou shalt Not Believe that the Generals Know Best.
- Thou shalt Not Believe that the Enemies Victory Means Communism.
- Thou Shalt Not Believe that the World Supports the United States
- Thou Shalt Not Kill.
NBA star Allan Houston recited Martin Luther King Jr’s July 1952 letter to his wife Coretta. That letter can be found at this webpage in the archive of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at California’s Stanford University. The institute was founded in 2005 with the support of Hall of Fame football star Ronnie Lott and his All Stars Helping Kids organization. A summary of the letter:
In Atlanta to serve as associate pastor of Ebenezer after completing his first year at Boston University, King corresponded with Coretta Scott, whom he began dating during the spring of 1952. This letter from King refers to a possible trip by Scott to Atlanta to meet his parents, a trip she made during August.
He also comments on Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000-1887, a book Scott had given King. King calls Bellamy a “social prophet” and “social scientist” and offers reflections regarding the relative merits and shortcomings of capitalism, communism, and socialism, writing, “I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic.”
You can also view the full day’s livestream from MLK NOW 2018.
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