Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich
Movie Monday
Well, not quite. This is a national holiday in the USA which means we have a day off to honor Martin Luther King. Unfortunately, being the USA, this holiday is unofficially called the Martin Luther King Shopping Holiday for while state and federal offices are closed and politicians attend ceremonies to pontificate about how they honor this man (some do, some don't), the rest of the country will be gobbling up store sales.
So I thought this would be a good time to bring a book to you; in fact three books: Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge. All about Martin Luther King and his times, written brilliantly by the whitest-looking white man, Taylor Branch.
I hate the term "must read" but it definitely applies to these books. Here for the first time, I learned that Rosa Parks was a active member of the civil rights movement which planned the now-famous confrontation on the bus when Parks refused to move to the back. This was not a spontaneous incident of a tired black woman just refusing to move but a well-thought out plan. (It's interesting that the "myth" of this incident makes it just a serendipitous occasion while the truth of it portrays blacks as smart and savvy about their plight.) In keeping with this incident and its true genesis, I learned that Parks was not the first choice but that was the young girl who became unmarried pregnant and the movement didn't want any such distraction/controversy - smart move.
This incident is just one illustration why these books are must-reads. I know that when truth and myth clash, myth wins. But we must keep trying to get it right. Branch, in his Pulitzer Prize works, plays an important role in trying to do just that.
Below is a link to the first book on Amazon and you can get to the other two from this page. However, I'm sure they are available in most libraries across the country.
So I thought this would be a good time to bring a book to you; in fact three books: Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge. All about Martin Luther King and his times, written brilliantly by the whitest-looking white man, Taylor Branch.
I hate the term "must read" but it definitely applies to these books. Here for the first time, I learned that Rosa Parks was a active member of the civil rights movement which planned the now-famous confrontation on the bus when Parks refused to move to the back. This was not a spontaneous incident of a tired black woman just refusing to move but a well-thought out plan. (It's interesting that the "myth" of this incident makes it just a serendipitous occasion while the truth of it portrays blacks as smart and savvy about their plight.) In keeping with this incident and its true genesis, I learned that Parks was not the first choice but that was the young girl who became unmarried pregnant and the movement didn't want any such distraction/controversy - smart move.
This incident is just one illustration why these books are must-reads. I know that when truth and myth clash, myth wins. But we must keep trying to get it right. Branch, in his Pulitzer Prize works, plays an important role in trying to do just that.
Below is a link to the first book on Amazon and you can get to the other two from this page. However, I'm sure they are available in most libraries across the country.
http://www.amazon.com/Parting-Waters-America-Years-1954-63/dp/0671687425/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326716838&sr=8-2
And finally, on a day the USA remembers a man who played such an important role in the civil rights movement (but, of course, not the only role), I'm wondering if racial hatred has finally succumbed in this country. Hell, no! Haters seem to have discovered new "hatees" to join their old favorites. Visceral hatred is tough to eradicate. Maybe we can never do it; it may be bred in the bone for many. But this is a good day to remember it's a goal worth trying to reach.
See you next Monday with that review of Valentin.
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