Tag Archives: Martin Luther King

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The Case For Action


The White House, Washington
DAILY SNAPSHOT Friday, June 28, 2013

The Case For Action

This week, the President gave a major speech on climate change policy, hosted a roundtable discussion with business leaders, named a new director of the FBI, and welcomed the next class of Presidential Innovation Fellows.

Click here to watch the latest installment of “West Wing Week.”

Senate Votes to Reform Our Nation’s Immigration System

Yesterday, 68 members of the U.S. Senate, Republicans and Democrats, came together and voted to reform our nation’s immigration system.

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FLOTUS Travel Journal: Visiting Goree Island

After our visit to the Martin Luther King School, we boarded a ferry to Goree Island, a small island off Senegal’s coast. For roughly three hundred years until the mid-1840s, countless men, women and children from Africa were kidnapped from their homes and communities and brought to this island to be sold as slaves.

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Landmark Treaty For The Visually Impaired

Today we mark another important achievement for equal rights, this time for over a million Americans — and over 340 million people worldwide — who are blind, visually impaired, or with other print disabilities.

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I Am Worker Justice Prayer Circle, Rally & March ~April 4 5:30pmET


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Please join The Black Institute in honoring the 45th anniversary of Dr. King‘s death by joining clergy, fast food workers and elected officials at the “I AM Workers Justice” prayer circle, rally and march, held at Marcus Garvey Park (E. 124th St. and Madison Ave.) on April 4, 5:30pm.

The night before Dr. King’s assassination on April 4, 1968, he told a group of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee: “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end… We’ve got to see it through.” King traveled to Memphis that month in support of striking Memphis sanitation workers, who had staged a walkout to protest unequal wages and working conditions.

04_04_13_faith_rally_(2).jpgThis Thursday, we honor Dr. King’s legacy and give ourselves to the struggle he died for as we stand along with our local faith leaders to support over 200 fast food workers across the city in their struggle for better pay, better working conditions and respect. Here, we will continue Dr. King’s struggle for workers justice through prayer, worker testimonials and direct action.

Please help support our Workers Justice Work. The gift that you give today will help our small but effective staff work to shed light on the issues that plague Black communities; empowering our men, women and children to speak out against injustice, maltreatment, ineffective government, poor public policy, inadequate and inefficient social service programs, and poor working conditions. Any amount you can give will help further our mission.

Please make a tax deductible donation or become a monthly Sustainer TODAY.
https://theblackinstitute.nationbuilder.com/make_a_donation

Bertha Lewis
President & Founder
The Black Institute
http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

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What Senate Delays Mean for Our Judicial System


Today Senate Republicans again blocked an up-or-down vote to confirm Caitlin Halligan, first nominated by President Obama in 2010 to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. As President Obama said today:

A majority of the Senate agrees that Ms. Halligan is exactly the kind of person who should serve on this court, and I urge Senate Republicans to allow the Senate to express its will and to confirm Ms. Halligan without further delay.

Ms. Halligan, who has bipartisan support from lawyers and law enforcement, has suffered endless delays in the Senate — and she’s not the only one.

Find out how the Senate’s delays are affecting our judicial system:

Learn more about judicial delays

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:

The Changing Face of Veteran Reintegration For generations, when veterans took off their uniform, their desire to serve did not end. That’s just as true today. Some very creative post 9/ll veterans’ charities have adapted to this desire and have created models for continued service and engagement.

President Obama Announces Three Nominees to Help Tackle “Our Most Important Challenges” President Obama announces his nominees for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of Energy, and Administrator of the EPA.

Hanging Out with First Lady Michelle Obama Mrs. Obama joins a virtual conversation about Let’s Move!, her initiative to ensure our nation’s kids grow up healthy and reach their full potential.

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life saving … Igor Volsky


More than a year ago, the Violence Against Women Act expired. The bill still hasn’t been reauthorized because House Republicans are insisting on an exclusive VAWA—one that offers no protections for LGBT, Native American, and undocumented victims of domestic violence.

Sign our petition asking House Republicans to stop delaying the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

With days ticking down before the legislative session ends, there’s been no movement on making sure that important protections for all victims of domestic violence are reauthorized. Republican leadership has not put the inclusive version of the bill, which passed the Senate with resounding support, up for a vote.

VAWA has been reauthorized three times with no trouble. And every year of reauthorization, Congress has made a stronger, more inclusive bill. This year should be no different. Don’t let the conservative Republican agenda stop the progress of a bill that can make the difference between life and death.

Please, tell House Republicans to pass VAWA—right now.

Thanks,

Igor Volsky
Deputy Editor, ThinkProgress

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NMAAHC


  • NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture
Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
and the March on Washington, 1963

March on Washington, 1963
March on Washington participants. Aug. 28, 1963.
Library of Congress

Opens December 14, 2012
NMAAHC Gallery at American History, second floor east

On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began his speech by declaring, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity … In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.”

In 2013 the country will commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation — the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in the grand sweep of American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals — both famous and unknown — who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Separated by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.

To commemorate these two pivotal achievements, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in collaboration with the National Museum of American History (NMAH) will present an exhibition, featuring historic photographs, paintings, new film footage and objects, that explores the historical context of these two crucial events, their accomplishments and limitations, and their impact on the generations that followed.

The exhibition will be on view from Dec. 14, 2012 through Sept. 15, 2013 in NMAAHC’s temporary gallery on level two at American History, 14th St NW and Constitution Ave NW. Metro: Smithsonian or Federal Triangle.

For more information, visit www.nmaahc.si.edu.