If Dr. Martin Luther King Were Alive, What Would He Think About Us Now?

I received an e-mail by a Mr. Robert Lewis. In the e-mail was a story about a man that had a dream about Dr. King (seen above), visiting us in our present day. The story was so moving I felt compelled to share it with you. 

Read below:

I was chillin' at the crib and there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and to my amazement there stood Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He was dressed exactly the way they dressed in the 60's. You know with the suits and the thin neck ties, only he was in black and white like an old movie and the rest of the world was still in color. 

He explained to me that he had been gone for quite some time now (over 35 years) and was lost. He said that the world had changed so much and hoped that I could help him get re-acquainted with our society so he could find his way back to his family. I invited him in and told him to make himself comfortable.

When Martin sat in front of my entertainment system, he asked me about all the contraptions connected to my television set. I explained that one was my VCR and one was my DVD player. Martin asked,"What's a VCR?" "What's a DVD?" 

I explained both technologies to him and he was astonished. Then he asked about the third box. I told him that was my cable box. Based upon the confused look on his face, it was apparent that this to needed explaining. 

I turned on the television and after a brief description and instruction on the use of the remote control, he was off clicking from channel to channel. After a few minutes Martin was working the remote like a pro! Being a man made it real easy for him to fall in love with the remote control. He was very impressed by the fact that there were so many channels geared towards specific interests, sports especially ESPN.

He continued further and eventually stopped at one of the music channels that were airing their hip-hop program. 

Dr. King asked, "What is this?"

I explained that it was a music video and that's the way today's music is presented to the public. As one thuggishly, blinged out video after another was aired I noticed a cease in questions. Martin was silent and his facial expressions changed from amazement to distress and disappointment. 

He asked, "Is this what our music has come to? Is this supposed to be progress? Why do our women condone this obscene portrayal of their womanhood? Have they forgotten the abuse, emotional and physical rape that their ancestors had been subjected to? And why do our young men act this way? Obsessed with materialism and being disrespectful to our women?"

I told him its called, "thuggin". He asked me to explain what thuggin was. 

I said, "It means to be hard and unfeeling...uh you know...a gangsta, ride or die, cash rules everything. Having no respect for anything or anyone. Any negative quality about a man." 

After several strange looks from Martin, I then realized that there was no way to explain or justify "thuggin" to an intelligent person like him. So I changed the subject. 

Abruptly Martin asked, "Could anyone else see these videos?" Anyone who pays for cable I replied.  

"You mean to tell me that you actually pay money willingly to witness this," Martin asked. I could only answer yes, but I felt ashamed to admit this to such a righteous man. 

Martin asked, "Is this behavior accepted by everyone? Where have all the ministers, pastors and leaders gone?" 

I told him there hasn't been anyone who is willing to step out there, and put it on the line since you left here. 

Martin said very sadly,"I never worried about leaving here because I was so sure, that there would be more who would come after me to step up and carry on the fight for equality and respect." 

Martin becoming more and more disgusted watching the videos being aired -- stood up and said, "This is how we overcame?" 

He grabbed my cable box, ripping it from the back of the television and smashed it on the floor. Being who he was and knowing deep down he was right, I couldn't get mad. 

As we stood there looking at the wreckage that was once my cable box with an awkward silence, Martin then apologized and asked could we please leave because he just wanted to see his family.

"Is there any place that I can go to get some gifts for my family?" Martin asked. I knew just the place.

We got in my car and headed to the mall. Dr. King was fascinated by the size of the mall and selection of different stores. It must have been a weekend because as we started to walk around, I noticed that the mall was filled predominately with teenagers. Many of them were loud and using profanity. 

Martin asked a young brother in front of a group of his friends, why is it necessary to be so profane and conduct himself in way that was not only disrespectful to himself but to his people. 

The young brother said, "F---- you man! Ni**a, you ain't my daddy! 

I had to restrain Martin from disciplining the young brother. I asked the teenager, "Do you know who this is? He replied, "Hell naw, he ain't iced out so why should I care!" At this point I was ready to snatch my man up, but Martin urged me to let it go.

After Dr. King was able to calm down he realized that the young people, were only imitating what they saw on the music videos that he had seen earlier. 

"They have been infected with the ignorance of the images they covet. So this is our future?" 

I suggested that we just get the gifts and go. As I started to walk further I noticed Martin, walking back towards the door that we came in. 

I ran after him shouting, "Whoa, where are you going?" 

With a distressed look Martin said, "I'd rather go back."  

"Why?" I asked. 

He said, "You don't understand, I never got to see my kids grow up. I missed the holidays, graduations and birthdays, all in the name of sacrifice. I felt it was necessary to bring about equal opportunity and a brighter future for this generation. All I see is that a few of us got rich, and the rest became slaves again."

I said "What are you talking about, this isn't slavery!" 

Martin looked at me and replied, "Oh it isn't?" 

He turned and walked towards the doors and exited the mall. I tried to keep him from leaving but out of nowhere this security guard gets in my way, and tells me that I can't go with him. I wrestled myself away and bolted out of the exit but once I got outside he had vanished.

As I stood outside panning the parking lot to see if I could find him, an Escalade on 24's bumping some ignorant thug anthem was coming right at me. 

All I could do was brace myself for the impact. Right before the SUV hit me I awoke out of my dream. As I lay in a puddle of sweat, I tried repeatedly to shake the dream but I couldn't. 

I remembered those who sacrificed their lives for us and I wondered, what it would be like if we had to stand before them and justify what we have become as a race. I also wondered what made me have such a dream. 

After hours of thinking I concluded it was probably guilt. The guilt of knowing that we have fallen way short of Martin Luther King's dream. 

In fact it's closer to a nightmare!

Interracial Couple Brutally Murdered for Loving Each Other

The murder of a White Marine sergeant and his African-American wife, was found to be the handiwork of four other Marines who were angry over the mixed race relationship. 

Investigators found Sgt. Jan Pietrzak (seen above-l) and his wife Quiana (seen above-r), in their California home bound in red duct tape with gunshot wounds to their heads in October. 

Police kept insisting the couple were slain for their money, but a key prosecution witness revealed a stunning bit of information; that racist remarks were spray painted on the walls of the couples home The New York Daily News reports.

“Nigger Lover” was written on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror. Riverside County Homicide investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified at a preliminary hearing, according to the News.

Four Black fellow Marines are  responsible for the brutal homicide of the twenty-four year old Marine, and his twenty-six year old wife. 

Prosecutors allege that the Marines – Pvt. Emrys John, 18; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20; Pvt. Kesuan (Psycho) Sykes, 21 and Pvt. Kevin Cox, 20 – burst into the Pietrzak’s home in Temecula, Calif., with shotguns; tying up and torturing the couple. The marines repeatedly raped Quiana before Pvt. John, shot them both in the head.

They all pleaded not guilty but if convicted the men will face the death penalty. 

The investigator stated when he arrived at the Pietrzaks’ home, that Quiana was found leaning against a couch with red duct tape covering her eyes and gunshot wounds to her head and right side. 

Her husband “was found leaning against his wife, his face, wrists and ankles bound with red duct tape. He had been shot in the right cheek, and there was blood ‘almost covering his entire face," the News reports citing investigator Ramirez.

Moreover, it was noted that two sofa cushions were apparently used to muffle the gunshot blasts and “evidence the killers tried to cover their tracks by setting a small fire. They left behind foot prints that tied them to the crime,” Ramirez said.

The victim's mothers wept during the two day hearing. “We’re going to visit our children at the grave,” Henryka Pietrzak-Varga of Bensonhurst said later. “That’s all we have left after this.”

Pietrzak’s mother and Quiana’s mother Glenda Faye Williams-Jenkins, never believed their children’s murders were about robbery. 

It is unclear why Riverside County Prosecutor Dan DeLimon, refused to delve into the racial angle, he said. “That will be addressed when the preliminary hearing continues on May 8,”

WHEN WILL THE HATRED END?!

2009 LA

New Black Film: The Lena Baker Story

Synopsis: Lena Baker , a maid who was executed for murder by the State of Georgia in 1945, for killing her employer Ernest Knight in 1944. 

According to Mrs. Baker, at her trial she claimed that she was imprisoned and threatened by Mr. Knight, that if she tried to leave he'd shoot her and as a result Ms. Baker shot him.

A jury of twelve white men and subpoenaed peers found Lena, guilty of murder in less than six hours. She received the death penalty and her sentencing earned her a place in history as the first woman, to be given the death penalty in the state of Georgia. She was pardoned posthumously in 2005.

The Lena Baker Story stars veteran actress Tichina Arnold, and hits theaters this spring.

2009 LA

The Oldest African American Couple Alive!

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher (seen above) always viewed marriage as meant to be forever. So, why wouldn’t they still be married after 84 years? 

The Craven County, N.C., couple at 103 and 102 years old, is the longest living married couple in the world and they have the certificate from the Guinness World Records to prove it!

Their granddaughter Iris Godette submitted their names to the Guinness, which authenticated their claim. 

Zelmyra who uses a walker to get around the house and the yard, still remembers why she decided to marry Herbert on May 13, 1924:  

“He was not mean; he was not a fighter,” she told the Sun Journal, “He was quiet and kind. He was not much to look at, but he was sweet.”

Talk about true love to the end of time!

2009 LA

Attorney Gen. Holder Calls America "A Nation Of Cowards"

Attorney General Eric Holder, brought the race topic back to the table in light of it being Black History month. 

He spoke confidently about the race relation issues that still reside within our country and I applaud General Holder for revisiting this issue, because unless we deal with the problem at hand with hopes of finding a resolution there will never be closure; minorities want closure.

We want the government to take accountability for what racism has done to whole races of people. We want a formal binding apology for slavery, we want proper acknowledgement for all achievements, we want more minority based history museums, we want reparations (which can come in many forms not just cash), and we want to give our ancestors the resurrection they deserve so they know that their deaths were not in vain. If this is done, I believe we'll be able to move on. Of course no one will ever forget the past, but at least we can begin to heal and start anew.

On the day time talk show 'The View', actor Laurence Fishburne said it best when he stated, "With racism comes shame. When people are ashamed of something, many times they're in denial and it's hard for them to come to terms with their shameful ways."

Well said sir.

2009 LA

Listen to Attorney Gen. Holder's words below

Paul Robeson (1898-1976)

Paul Robeson (seen above) was a star athlete, scholar, singer, actor, law school graduate, social activist and author. But he didn't stop there, Robeson was also Valedictorian of his class at Rutgers University, an All-American in football, and a Letterman in three other varsity sports. 

His class labeled him as a leader to lead the Black race in America, and he became the most prominent and respected African American man of the 1930's and 1940's from his academic achievements, acting, and singing.

Robeson at one point devoted himself entirely to singing, and became an international star. He sought to break barriers of ignorance by learning more then twenty languages, and was an outspoken advocate against racism.

Because Robeson supported Soviet Russia and admired their egalitarian ideals, he was blacklisted and denounced by mainstream America. Today, Paul Robeson is remembered as a prodigy, overachiever, and as a man who wore many hats.

I'm still trying to figure out how he had time to accomplish all this and learn over twenty languages!

2009 LA

Ex-Ku Klux Klan Member Apologizes to Congressman John Lewis for Beating Him Up

Two days ago, ex-Ku Klux Klan member Elwin Wilson of Rock Hill, decided to reach out to Democratic Congressman John Lewis whom he beat up at a bus station over 50 years ago.

Mr. Lewis being the humble man he is forgave Mr. Wilson, for his hateful actions back then. Lewis went on to say, "love should have the capacity to love" and that "love is much stronger then hate." 

I agree.

2009 LA

Watch the video footage below of the apology.

Blacks Still Pushing For Government Slavery Apology

Talks of an apology for the horrific act of slavery has made its way back to the surface. 

Last year during the summer of 2008 The White House, decided to give a formal apology for slavery from the 1870's - 1965, although slavery has existed since the early 1500's.

In 2007 this same issue was brought up in The White House, but President George W. Bush, chose not to entertain this topic. Then out of nowhere, The House decided to have a vote on a slavery apology. I guess since a black person is running for the presidency, it'd make sense to bring it up as to not look too racist? 

Unfortunately, the vote was carried out in a fashion that was unusual for votes to be carried out in The White House. The vote was passed on a voice vote and not in written format, and the resolution was non-binding meaning that the vote can be overturned at any time. 

This way of voting seemed odd to me, especially since it isn't the traditional way of voting. 

This was the first time a branch of the federal government EVER apologized for slavery, so you'd think they'd  want it to be a binding agreement so that it can't be overturned.

I didn't accept the fake apology last year and I never will until it's documented properly, made a binding agreement, and well overdue reparations are distributed. Hopefully, President-Elect Obama will make those necessary changes.

Several states have already jumped on the bandwagon issuing and documenting formal apologies for the act of slavery: Florida, Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia. 

Two days ago the Chairman of Georgia's Black Caucus, Rep. Al Williams, re-introduced a resolution in a letter asking for the state of Georgia's official apology. And back in 2007, Mr. Williams tried sending a letter to the Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue, asking for an apology. 

Governor Perdue simply responded, "Those of us in public office today, I think we’re called to live our lives and inspire our citizens to live their lives so that our children and grandchildren have nothing to apologize for." 

What Gov. Perdue said had absolutely NOTHING to do with an apology for slavery. His response was an awful cop out, and to this day he still refuses to join the other six states with a formal apology.

Records from the 19th century at the University of Georgia, prove that Georgia owned and sold slaves so why doesn't Perdue acknowledge this fact? But what can you expect from a state that still hangs the confederate flag high for all to see? Maybe Perdue is scared that the more states to apologize -- than sooner or later reparations won't be to far behind?

2009 LA