My father’s final speech, given the evening before he was assassinated, 53 years ago today.
“I may not get there with you.”
‘I’ve Been To The Mountaintop’ #MLK
April 3, 1968 (the evening before he was assassinated)
Full speech:
“Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal...We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles.” #Mountaintop
“We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here to say to you that you're not treating His children right.” #Mountaintop#MLK
“And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment where God's children are concerned. Now if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."” #MLK
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
This week, I joined with @AmbAndrewYoung, John-Miles Lewis (son of Congressman #JohnLewis), and Al Vivian (son of Rev. #CTVivian) to send a letter to CEOs of #Georgia-based corporations calling upon them to oppose anti-#voter legislation; to use their influence...
with Georgia state legislators to deter any and all bills that include #VoterSuppression and would restrict voting access, particularly for Black communities; and to urge action that would ensure our state moves forward and not back to the era of Jim Crow politics.
We also called upon these CEOs to divest from politicians who continue to suppress Georgia's voters.
White supremacist cries for “Law and Order!” are about maintaining a thing-oriented, not a people-oriented, society.
Dismantling unjust systems includes confronting the gross capitalistic spirit and the role it plays in racism, war and poverty.
“We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When...profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” #MLK
We need to examine and reckon with what my father called the Triple Evils: Racism, War and Poverty.
Clearly, my tweet about capitalism had nothing to do with supporting “rioting.” But many people would rather talk about “rioting” than about eradicating racism.
#AhmaudArbery could have been jogging from church wearing a ‘Jesus Saves’ shirt and some people would still justify him being accosted by white men with rifles, shot and killed.
#TamirRice could have been 2 years-old with a purple toy gun.
Thread: The Manifestations of Racism in the Killing of #AhmaudArbery
1. Conditioning
-White supremacist ideology conditions people with a desire for White power and territory and creates the illusion of superiority (“I’m entitled to chase and confront a Black man running through MY neighborhood”)
2. Culture
-White supremacist ideology creates a culture of control that’s evident in the language, biases and actions of those who cultivate the culture (“The Black man has to stop and answer me simply because I say so. Even his subtle refusal bucks my authority.”)