Thread by @AriBerman

50 years ago today greatest civil rights leader in history of US was assassinated. We must honor MLK’s struggle for civil rights, nonviolence & economic justice with actions not just words

The most important civil right for Martin Luther King was right to vote. He called it civil right #1 timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1…

In 1957, at 28, King gave his first major speech about voting rights to 25,000 at Lincoln Memorial called “Give Us the Ballot.”

“The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition” he said

In 1964 Andrew Goodman, James Chaney & Mickey Schwerner murdered by KKK in Mississippi. MLK helps lead effort to sit integrated Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party at DNC

In 1965 MLK led 5-day march from Selma to Montgomery with @repjohnlewis. 5 months later LBJ signed Voting Rights Act

After passage of Voting Rights Act King broadened fight for civil rights to include economic justice & anti-militarism. You won’t hear that King in Dodge commercials

In 1966 King moved into tenement in Chicago to call for fair housing. He called it the movement to end slums

In 1967 King delivered major speech against Vietnam War exactly a year before his was assasinated, denouncing "the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism & militarism.” His words were eerily prescient

In 1968, before his death, King was organizing Poor People’s Campaign. “There must be a radical redistribution of economic and political power” he said. Never forget he died while supporting striking sanitation workers

Bobby Kennedy announced MLK’s death during remarkable speech in Indianapolis. John Lewis was with RFK that night. 2 months later he was dead

This is Albert Turner, who led MLK's funeral procession. Jeff Sessions prosecuted him for helping black people vote

We can honor MLK's legacy by fighting for everyone to have right to vote:

automatic + election day registration

restore Voting Rights Act

end felon disenfranchisement

independent redistricting

overturn Citizens United

fair 2020 Census