Friday Nite Videos -- Feb 21, 2014
Portside
The Oklahoma legislature may consider a bill to end government licensing of marriage entirely. The bill, which is part of a broader strategy to avoid same-sex unions throughout the state, calls to mind efforts by lawmakers in the 1950s to undermine federally-mandated desegregation by shutting down public schools in the American South.
Pete Seeger marched and performed at hundreds of rallies for different unions over the years. "Pete has always had an interest in the labor movement and has been associated with unions," said, Henry Foner, who had known Seeger for more than 60 years. "Whenever there was a problem that a union had, Pete was always available."
This interview was filmed four months prior to the launch of the Moral Monday movement, on Jan 3, 2013 in Durham, NC by Annabel Park & Eric Byler of Story of America. Rev. Dr. William Barber provides a seven minute reframing of American history that is surprisingly, even shockingly timely in the context of America's present-day battle over voting rights.
If we understood the important role that our government played in segregating our nation, we would feel a greater obligation to press our government to integrate it. But if we believe that segregation was an unintended byproduct of private forces, it is too easy to say there is little now that can be done about it.
Reader Comments - More on the AFL-CIO; NFL Bullying; Vets and Peace; Seattle Socialists Win; Obamacare; Babies;
Announcements - Organizing Walmart & Fast Food Industry - New York - Nov 19; Fighting Back Against Wall St. - NYC - Nov 25; Mark Rogovin To Be Inducted Into the Illinois Labor History Society's Labor Hall of Honor; 'Spies Of Mississippi' preview - NYC - Dec 15; Audio available -The Hidden History of Workplace Resistance: U.S. Autoworkers Speak Out;
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