We have so many problems we must address- I do not want to be sad anymore over the horrors of the 60’s. My city burned and never recovered, great brilliant saintly people were killed - famous and not famous. Today I look around with such joy at the number of interracial marriages and children accepted by society - friends, co-workers, neighbors, opportunity and education !! We still have a long way to go, but I do see how far we have come and I love it! Yet I see such stirrings of old hurts with Obama’s campaign, pastor and speech. I am not sure this is truly good for us. I was taught not to feel sorry for myself when I was a kid - no one would pay attention when I did this. Positive constructive actions - yes. Let’s address the family, crime, high school drop out rates , and HIV. Let’s not dredge up the “typical white person - my grandmother” saying 30 years ago that she feared black men on the street. Rev. Wright if he is dwelling on hurts from 50 years ago needs therapy- not the sympathy of an entire nation that has moved on. Let’s not coddle anyone who cannot forgive and move on taking advantage of the new day and new opportunities. Many many have and are thriving.

The day Dr. King died, the president of our university, Dr. Robert G. Bone, personally lowered the flag to half staff in the middle of the quad. Some local yokels came and raised it. This went on for a bit, as students, faculty, and local townspeople quietly gathered in a circle around the flag. Eventually, the confrontation became explosive enough that Dr. Bone ordered the university vehicles circled around the flag, and he personally lowered the flag again, standing there until the Illinois National Guard came to ring the vehicles to hold the banner at half-staff. Through the night, it was protected, not only by the Illinois Guard, but by a candle-light vigil of the student body, staff, and faculty of Illinois State who believed in Dr. King and his message. It was one of the most moving group behaviors I’ve ever been a part of. Our memorial at the field house was one of the largest gatherings ever at that university. What I truly remember is Dr. Bone’s simple courage and insistance on respect for Dr. King, willingness to risk harm to stand by what he believed in. 1968 were dangerous times for those of us who were against the war. I personally had rocks thrown at me for my distribution of Dr. King’s speech against the war, and other activities of the ilk, along with many of my friends. It was not easy (although powered by my sense of urgency and self-righteous, much of which has not abated to this day), but it was so beautifully modeled by Dr. King and Joanie Baez and others, that we learned how to do this from them.

Much respect. ♥

Baci baci.

I will never forget the night Dr. Martin Luther King died. I was at a concert hall in Cleveland Ohio attending a piano concert by Van Cliburn. He walked on stage, turned to the audience and announced: “King as been shot and Washington DC is burning”. Then he sat down and played God Bless America. It was a moving moment of stillness. Everyone was in shock. The concert went on and not another word was said. We had about a hour’s bus ride back to college. I was terrified the entire night. My family lived in Washington DC. (We didn’t have cell phones back in those days!) I didn’t get back to college until late that night and not in time to call my parents. I waited until the next morning to call them to find out if they were OK.

Dr. King’s assassination was a pivotal moment in my life and in the life of this country. Much has been achieved since his life was ended and much has been lost. If the world lives long enough - it’s going to be a great place - not a place where people are color blind but where we can see people as they are and love them even when we don’t understand them.

This is such a beautiful story. Simple actions can achieve so much. Reaching out. Joining. Acceptance. Mourning. Together!!

Peggy: Thank you for sharing this poignant American moment. Here’s my witness. My father picked my sister and I up from boarding school early morning the following day, for Easter vacation and because we were the only African-American children at our school — and home for us was a very disturbed Harlem, New York. We were driving uptown from the Midtown Tunnel and as we crossed 110th Street, it was very clear something AWFUL has occurred. You culd feel it in the air. Then, as we approached my grandfather’s restaurant to pick up my grandparents on 116th Street, we had to exit our car and run into the restaurant. Our car was literally turned over as we peered through the windows, curtains drawn. We made it home further uptown after dark. The rest of the Easter “vacation” was a blur, compounded by the Summer deaths of both RFK and my grandmother, who lived long enough to watch the arc of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s — and my sister and I preparing to attend colleges. Having been born in Mobile, AL in the early 20th Century and migrating alone to NYC to a married brother, at 15 years old — she intimately understood the FURY in the black communities. She was also confident of the American promise and committed to the black church’s peaceful mission to effect change that elevates us all. My grandparents NEVER stopped believing in the American promise and loved this Nation until the day they died. As I sit down near Union Square in the NYC they could not enjoy South of 96th Street — 40 years later — I validate their faith and love in our great Nation. I also validate those who struggled to force America to honor its promise.

Those of us who care about Dr. Martin Luther King’s non-violent message & concerns about social justice need to do what Peggy Noonan’s classmate, Kathy did - reach out to someone we know, who is of a different race, get to know her/him better, thereby helping to break the racial barriers that still exist. After attending a vigil on Amelia Island, FL, just before the pre-emptive strike on Iraq, I was still outraged at the thought of sending our servicemen/women into Iraq and outraged that non-violent forms of protest were being put down by the Bush administration. Thought we should stay on Obama’s tail in Afghanistan. More importantly, I remembered what Vietnam was like for my brother and friends…the paranoi…not knowing how to speak the language…not always knowing a Vietnamese soldier who was an ally from a Vietcong…dropping Agent Orange…not really understanding why they were involved in that war, etc. This led me to join the Democratic Club on AI, where I met kindred spirits. I met Verna Bell, an African American woman, who always carries Voter Registration forms and forms to get one’s rights back. Before going out to register voters w. Verna, I had to run into a local Wal-mart to get a visor. By the time I got out, Verna had already got someone registered in the parking lot. Going out to the rural area with Verna was an inspiring experience and an eye-opening experience for a Caucasian woman from the Bronx. Verna and I have become close friends. She is now undergoing chemo. At the hospital, the staff says, “Here comes Obama Bell,” when Verna goes in for her treatments. Of course, she has those registration forms with her, too. I have met many other African Americans, who I march with on Dr. King’s birthday, attend NAACP meetings with, work on projects with and socialize with. It has enriched my life and will continue to. So reach out or take the hand of someone who reaches out to you.

Somehow a revelation of Martin Luther King Jr., from the Eva Braun and midwife of the Raygun Revolution does not mean much to me. To me, her party appears the Republiklan party and most of them rely on and perpetuate institutional racism. You can bet that the Republiklan party will continue their Southern Strategy against whoever wins the Democratic nomination this fall. As a jewish person who has seen the politics of the Republiklan party since the 1960’s I cannot trust just about anything nice they say about Martin Luther King. John McCain, for example, fought having a holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. for the longest time. Peggy Noonan just doesn’t appear credible on this subject with her libertarian laissez faire economic views, in which she helped Raygun create the Grate Society. Oh and Reverend Wright appears correct to me. We do live in a country run by rich white men who have run a lot of people roughshod with their selfish use of power and cheap labor and in the 20th and 21st century it has come mostly from the Republiklan party. The last good Republican president in my view: Teddy Roosevelt and the other Abraham Lincoln. The rest: If they never served as President, life would have appeared better for millions. Peggy to me appears a modern day Ayn Rand, a person advocating a vile philosophy of life. I believe in capitalism but not the Republiklan party version of capitalism, where people get left on their own without the help of government which they want to strangle in the bathtub ala Grover Norquist.

Oops! I was horrified this morning to notice that in my response to the story/memory Peggy Noonan shared, I said, “Thought we should stay on Obama’s tail in Afghanistan.” I meant to say “Osama’s” tail. Guess I shouldn’t type and listen to Charlie Rose at the same time. I voted for Barak Obama in the Florida primary and hope he becomes our next president. If that error could be corrected, I would appreciate it. PS It was great to see some of the key women of www.wowOwow.com on The Charlie Rose Show last night.

My husband and I moved into our first house in 1966. He was several years older than I and had a bit of a head start, so it was not the typical starter house. The neighborhood had large lawns, winding roads, mature trees. I’d been brought up in a Christian family, my husband Jewish. We thought we had moved into a neighborhood where people were open and accepting and we might form life-long friendships. When we heard that Martin Luther King had been assassinated, I felt like I could hardly breathe. I wanted to get outside to the fresh air. As soon as I went out the front door, my next-door neighbor came running with a glass of champagne and said “Come on over! I’ve called everybody. We’re having a celebration. Did you hear about the shooting?” And they did. The party went on, loud, through much of the night. I wish I could kick that memory out of my head, but I believe I will never forget that night, lying in bed hearing my neighbors celebrate while we were devastated by the loss of this great man. But I will always remember it; it changed my life and for the good.