Now is the time to declare racism a public health crisis
We are living in troubling times that require good people to speak out and take action.
In honor of Black History Month, I have been watching and listening to speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe there is much to learn from history and movement leaders like Dr. King that can motivate us to overcome barriers to progress.
Many of our core values here at People Power United are mentioned throughout Dr. King's speeches.
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and be afforded housing, healthcare, and education.
Regardless of whether you have a job or not. Regardless of your age, race, sex, or religion.
Additionally, we all deserve clean air and water and a community safe from gun violence.
I encourage you to enjoy this playlist (see below), as I have.
I am also re-upping this call-to-action in honor of Black History Month. We are calling on all elected leaders to declare racism a public health crisis and allocate resources to establish an Office of Racial Equity that would work to develop in all local, state, and federal agencies a Racial Equity Framework that provides guidelines for inclusive policies and practices that reduce racial inequities, promote racial equity, address individual, institutional, and structural racism, and establish goals and strategies to advance racial equity and address structural racism and racial inequities.
Thanks for taking action!
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches
(Compiled from 1954-1968. Reference of date, location, title, summary, duration)
February 28, 1954, Second Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. Martin Luther King Jr.' Rediscovering Lost Values', 30:25
December 5, 1955, Holt Street Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, Martin Luther King speech, Holt Street Baptist Church, 14:39
January 27, 1957, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, I heard the voice of Jesus!... | Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | 1956-68, 15:23
May 17, 1957, 'Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom' rally in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. - 'Give Us the Ballot' Speech - May 17, 1957, 22:21
February 11, 1958, Greensboro, N.C., The Bennet College Speech 1958, 1:21:25
1959, Saint Paul, MN, Martin Luther King Jr: The Lost 1959 Broadcast, 26:32
1961, Orange, CA, Martin Luther King's 1961 Chapman University speech (55 min.) - 2013-12-10, 55:42
June 6th, 1961, Lincoln University, PA, Martin Luther King, Jr., American Dream (1961 Version), 30:46
September 12, 1962, New York City, NY, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1962 Speech in NYC, 26:34
August 28, 1963, Washington, D.C, Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech, 17:28
December 10, 1964, Oslo, Sweden, Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 12:01
1967, New York City, NY, MLK: Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence, 56:48
1967, Stanford, CA, MLK: The Other America, 47:54
August 31, 1967, Chicago, IL, Martin Luther King The Three Evils of Society, 43:10
March 31, 1968, Washington DC, The Last Sunday Sermon of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 47:26
April 3, 1968, Memphis, TN, Martin Luther King Speaks! "I've Been to the Mountaintop", 43:07
*** List originally complied by Abdul Alkalimat, Prof Emeritus Dept of African American Studies and School of Information Sciences, Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and updated by People Power United.
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I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS/
Racism is a human right