Dr. King Paid the Ultimate Price for Us; What Will You Do for Him Today?
By Chinta Strausberg
It was 50-years ago that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and hundreds of black and white supporters on a three-day march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to dramatize the barriers blacks face when trying to register and vote in the South.
They were accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, but their presence didn’t stop segregationists from attacking the marchers.
Yes, in 1964, a year before the Selma march took place and the same year Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became the law of the land forbidding any discrimination of blacks or anyone else from voting, but that didn’t stop those in the south who didn’t want African Americans to vote.
A lot had happened in Alabama in 1965 like on February 18, 1965 when 27-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was an unarmed civil rights activist and a deacon, was beaten by James Bonard Fowler, an Alabama state trooper. Jackson died a few days later, but his death was the catalyst of the Selma to Montgomery marches in March of 1965. Fowler was indicted and received a six-months sentence.
Alarmed over Jackson’s death, Dr. King along with the SCLC planned the 54-mile Selma to Montgomery march.
Led by activist John Lewis, SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) who is now a congressman, a reported 600 activists began the Selma to Washington March on the now infamous date of Sunday, March 7, 1965 better known as ‘Bloody Sunday.’ This march was televised for the world to see.
When they arrived at the Edmund Pettis Bridge, they were met by Alabama state troopers who attacked Lewis. When told to leave, the protesters refused—an act that triggered violence on the part of the troopers who beat them with Billy clubs until they were literally bloody. The police tear-gassed them s well.
Bowing to pressure from some activists, Dr. King held a second march on March 9, 1965 but turned back his followers at the same Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Determined to hold the march and getting more pressure from SNCC, accompanied by federalized troops, Dr. King held a third Selma to Montgomery march on March 21, 1965, which was successful. On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965.
So, I ask you today, how will you celebrate Dr. King’s 86th birthday? What have you done to help keep his dream of a nation of equal rights alive?
Is it asking too much to call for a moratorium on crime and violence on Dr. King’s birthday?
Would it be asking too much to ask our youth to NOT wear their pants halfway their behinds? When 14-year-old Emmett Till was killed on August 28, 1955 in Money, Mississippi, the first thing the two white men did after they dragged them out of his great uncle’s Moses Wright) house was to removed his clothes. Young Till, who was born in Chicago and was spending time with his relatives in Mississippi, always dressed well.
But, in the south, some whites didn’t like blacks who dressed “uppity,†and they became targets of racial hatred. Till, accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a clerk in a store he visited, was killed on August 28, 1955 by her husband, Roy Bryant and his half brother, J.W. Milam. After beating him, they took his body to the Tallahatchie River, shot him in the head and tied a metal fan around his body then dumped him into the river.
I have interviewed his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, many times, and I will never forget what she told me each time when she referred to the decision to hold an open casket funeral at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, 4021 South State Street, Chicago, Ill., headed by Rev. Isaiah Roberts. She decided to hold an open casket funeral “so the world could see the face of racism.†Bishop Louis H. Ford from St. Paul Church of God in Christ gave the eulogy. Thousands attended the funeral.
That was 60-years ago, but today racism is a little more discrete like the redistricting plans not just in the south but right here in Chicago. The Second Ward, which has traditionally been a black historic ward, has been so diluted and the lines stretched into white areas that do not reflect the original makeup of this community. In the south, the black vote has been diluted and the lines drawn to favor whites.
Many have died, black and white, fighting for the right to vote. In Chicago, will soon be celebrating Dr. King’s 86th birthday, and on February 24, 2015, we will once again elect a mayor and 50 aldermen.
Are you registered to vote? If not, please goggle the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and on its front page click on “register to vote,†and remember Early voting for the February 24th municipal election will be held from Monday, February 9th through Saturday, February 21st. All 51 Early Voting sites will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday hours will be offered at five regional sites that are listed on the board’s website.
So, armed with this information, are YOU ready to help make a change in Chicago? Will you exercise your legal right to vote, or will you do as so many have done in the past and just “go fishing� If you choose the latter, you have no right to complain about rights being diminished, programs abolished or diluted…. Be a part of the solution and VOTE. Do it in memory of the man who paid the ultimate price for us—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.
