Portside

Quote of the Day - Michelle Alexander: Dr. King was speaking out against the Vietnam War, condemning America's militarism and imperialism; Reader's Comments: March on Washington; Black Unionists; Full Employment; Bradley Manning; Syria; Wal-Mart Workers Winning; U.S.'s 1 Percent So Much Richer; Visualization of Every Protest Since 1979; Announcement - Memorial for Margrit Pittman - New York - Oct. 6

Long overshadowed by Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, A. Philip Randolph's opening address to the March on Washington should be known by all.

In so many respects, progress in race relations has been eroded, and even reversed, by the growing economic divides afflicting the entire country.

What would Martin Luther King say if he could return to contemplate what his country has become since his death? What if he could see how the terror and slaughter brought to bear upon New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, had turned his people into a fearful, vengeful nation, ready to stop dreaming, ready to abridge their own freedoms in order to be secure?

Reader Comments: Chelsea Manning Sentencing; Egypt; Koch Bros.; Kerry and the Mideast Peace Process; Petition to Hold Kerry Accountable; False History; Labor Unions At Another Crossroad-Exchange (Martin Morand & Bill Fletcher); Dawkins Dresses Up Bigotry; Announcement: Encore-The Blacklisting of Hope Foye - Los Angeles-Aug 24 Resources: The Unfinished Dream - The March on Washington & the Radical Legacy of Martin Luther King

The `new majority' of youth, minority, gay and lesbian, women, labor, and immigrant voters is the foundation of a new March on Washington coalition. A contemporary civil rights movement that incorporates immigrant rights, climate justice, reproductive rights, & marriage equality may converge with a revitalized labor movement committed to organizing low-wage, youth, and immigrant workers - to once again bring pressure from below to usher in a new era of progressive reform

Reader comments: Prisons; Labor Unions; Banning Russia from the Olympics - a Very Bad Idea; Remembering Viola Liuzzo; Bayard Rustin & '63 March on Washington; American Jews & Israeli Racism; Student Debt; Announcements: FREEDOM '63 REMIXED - Legacies of the March on Washington - Aug 16 -New York; The Forgotten History of the March on Washington, Aug 22 -Washington, DC - two events; Walmart Workers are Standing Up!; CCDS 7th Convention; Useful graphic on Climate Change

Viola Liuzzo was the only white female protester to die in the civil rights movement.

David McReynolds, co-worker with March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin, in the War Resisters League, remembers the march, the country and Washington, D.C. in 1963. The slogan was "Jobs and Freedom." The link was very deliberate - for what was freedom without a job? He is also critical of Rustin's rightward turn after the march and his support of the war in Vietnam.