ATLANTA — America has honored Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday for nearly four decades yet still hasn’t fully embraced and acted on the lessons from the slain civil rights leader, his youngest daughter said Monday. The Rev. Bernice King, who leads The King Center in Atlanta, said...
In Neighborhoods With Street Named for MLK, Residents are Poorer, Highly Segregated: Study
Poverty rates are almost double the national average in areas surrounding streets named after Martin Luther King Jr., according to a recent study, and educational attainment is much lower. Our geography research, published in the GeoJournal in September 2020, analyzed the racial makeup and economic well-being of 22,286 census blocks...
Civil Rights: The Road to Bloody Sunday Began 30 Miles Away
MARION, Ala. — Della Simpson Maynor remembers the mounted police officer cracking her elbow with a baton. She recalls the panicked marchers unable to escape the onslaught, and the scuffle between officers and a young church deacon who was trying to protect his mother and grandfather. Most of all, she remembers the gunshot. Two weeks before Bloody...
California Pardons Gay Civil Rights Leader in New Initiative
SACRAMENTO — California’s governor announced Wednesday that he is posthumously pardoning a gay civil rights leader while creating a new pardon process for others convicted under outdated laws punishing homosexual activity. Bayard Rustin was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a key organizer of the March on...
Gov. Gavin Newsom Asked to Pardon Late Gay Rights Leader
SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature’s LGBTQ and black caucuses on Tuesday asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to posthumously pardon a civil rights leader who was jailed for having gay sex nearly 70 years ago. Bayard Rustin was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with being an organizer of...
MLK Jr.'s Legacy Inspires a Day of Service in Fresno
On the 25th anniversary of the first day of service celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy, scores of Fresno residents turned out to support their community. For example, Mayor Lee Brand's Keep Fresno Beautiful campaign benefited from 125 volunteers who made downtown and other locations sparkle Monday. "We're...
Black Americans Mostly Left Behind by Progress Since Dr. King's Death
On Apr. 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, while assisting striking sanitation workers. Back then, a half century ago, the wholesale racial integration required by the 1964 Civil Rights Act was just beginning to chip away at discrimination in education, jobs and public facilities....
Martin Luther King Holiday: Faith, Politics Mix This Holiday
ATLANTA — The nation is marking the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with tributes Monday recalling his past struggles for racial equality, observing the federal holiday named for him against the backdrop of a presidential election year. In an early tribute to King, Vice President Mike Pence...
When Marketing Flops: 5 Super Bowl Ads That Backfired
NEW YORK — Advertisers that spend millions of dollars on the Super Bowl are trying to avoid what the Ram truck company did with a Martin Luther King speech or what Groupon did spoofing promos for charities. Though such messages can get attention, it's the wrong kind of attention. Groupon got buzz...
King's Speech Inspires Writer to Break Silence on Palestine
One year before his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King took a strong, public stand against the Vietnam war. NY Times opinion writer Michelle Alexander says most of King's closest advisors advised him to stay silent on the topic or soften his criticism. "They knew that if he told...