(Source: freshdotdaily)

thefreedomblues:

Martin Luther King Jr. pulls up a cross that was burned on his lawn as his son stands next to him (1960)

(Source: , via tyece)

contemporarynegro:

King had too much Swag!

Shouts to Eric on this great find!

(via glovesinthesummertime)

sugahsrevolution:

I’m not even sure what to say.

janersm:

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE

Fundamental tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence described in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. The six principles include:

1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is a positive force confronting the forces of injustice, and utilizes the righteous indignation and the spiritual, emotional and intellectual capabilities of people as the vital force for change and reconciliation.
2. The Beloved Community is the framework for the future. The nonviolent concept is an overall effort to achieve a reconciled world by raising the level of relationships among people to a height where justice prevails and persons attain their full human potential.
3. Attack forces of evil, not persons doing evil. The nonviolent approach helps one analyze the fundamental conditions, policies and practices of the conflict rather than reacting to one’s opponents or their personalities.
4. Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal. Self-chosen suffering is redemptive and helps the movement grow in a spiritual as well as a humanitarian dimension. The moral authority of voluntary suffering for a goal communicates the concern to one’s own friends and community as well as to the opponent.
5. Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence. The nonviolent attitude permeates all aspects of the campaign. It provides mirror type reflection of the reality of the condition to one’s opponent and the community at large. Specific activities must be designed to help maintain a high level of spirit and morale during a nonviolent campaign.
6. The universe is on the side of justice. Truth is universal and human society and each human being is oriented to the just sense of order of the universe. The fundamental values in all of the world’s great religious include the concept that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice. For the nonviolent practitioner, nonviolence introduces a new moral context in which nonviolence is both the means and the end.

SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE

A sequential process of nonviolent conflict-resolution and social change based on Dr. King’s teachings. The Six Steps of Nonviolence developed by The King Center include:

1. Information Gathering – The way you determine the facts, the optiosn for change, and the timing of pressure for raising the issue is a collective process.
2. Education – The process for developing articulate leaders, who are knowledgeable about the issues. It is directed toward the community through all forms of media about the real issues and human consequences of an unjust situation.
3. Personal Commitment – Means looking at your internal and external involvement in the nonviolent campaign and preparing yourself for long-term as well as short-term action.
4. Negotiation – Is the art of bringing together your views and those of your opponent to arrive at a just conclusion or clarify the unresolved issues, at which point, the conflict is formalized.
5. Direct Action – Occurs when negotiations have broken down or failed to produce a just response to the contested issues and conditions.
6. Reconciliation – Is the mandatory closing step of a campaign, when the opponents and proponents celebrate the victory and provide joint leadership to implement change.

We often view the Six Steps as a phases or cycles of a campaign rather than steps because each of them embodies a cluster or series of activities related to each of the other five elements.

afro-art-chick:

Former first lady Jackie Kennedy (whose husband President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963) and Coretta Scott King at Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 funeral. /Moneta Sleet Jr/Ebony Collection

(via rustle-like-the-wind)

kaipieknowledge:

sankofa1214:

Happy Birthday Maya Angelou!!! April, 4 1928.

Maya Angelou’s birth date coincides with the anniversary of King’s assassination in 1968. For years she didn’t celebrate her birthday. She and Coretta Scott King would meet or send each other flowers on April 4.

Awesome irony…

(via safiyahrenee)

feministslut:

desidinero:

Martin Luther Pool Hustling King

I like this picture. Pictures of him not giving a speech rarely pop up on my dash. 

Brothaman gonna work it out. Play on playa play on.

(Source: fyeahblackhistory, via electropussyshock)

loveandother4-letterwords:

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase” (Martin Luther King Jr.”

(Source: dempow, via mikaelsplayground)

(via negritabonita)

thechocolatebrigade:

King said in an interview that this photograph was taken as he tried to explain to his daughter Yolanda why she could not go to Funtown, a whites-only amusement park in Atlanta. King claims to have been tongue-tied when speaking to her. “One of the most painful experiences I have ever faced was to see her tears when I told her Funtown was closed to colored children, for I realized the first dark cloud of inferiority had floated into her little mental sky.”

(via thechocolatebrigade-deactivated)

apsies:

In this photograph, Coretta is upset with her husband, who had been attacked the night before by a disturbed white racist but had not defended himself. Though the police urged King to press charges, he refused. “The system we live under creates people such as this youth,” he said. “I’m not interested in pressing charges. I’m interested in changing the kind of system that produces such men.”

(via arbitrarily)