[-V-]

On this Martin Luther King day we would be remiss if we did not pay our proper respects to one of the wisest, most courageous and admirable man this world has known.

But GreatLady, this thread is for you.

I wanted to give everyone a chance to say goodbye.

I enjoyed sharing this space with you in both the best and worst of times, in agreement and disagreement. But alas, the relationship has run its course and it is best that we parted ways.

Keep fighting. And may we both live long enough to see true democracy and honest politicians in this world.

[Jane of Arc]

Dear gratelady1,

Thank you very much for your input into this forum. I learned quite a few things from your posts and appreciated your bold approach.

I wish you all the best ... I sincerely do.

Take good care.

Jane of Arc
(the artist formerly known as What?)

[FDRfollower]

In honor of our recently departed warrior angel, Correta S. King, I'd like to post this poem in her memory. It made me cry, so get your hankies ready. For those who would like to hear a live recording of the late William Warfield reciting it, click here (http://wlym.com/mp3/20001021-warfield-1-01.mp3)

Weep not, weep not,
She is not dead;
She's resting in the bosom of Jesus.
Heart-broken husband — weep no more;
Left-lonesome daughter — weep no more;
Grief-stricken son — weep no more;
She's only just gone home.

Day before yesterday morning,
God was looking down from his great, high heaven,
Looking down on all his children,
And his eye fell on Sister Caroline,
Tossing on her bed of pain.
And God's big heart was touched with pity,
With the everlasting pity.

And God sat back on his throne,
And he commanded that tall, bright angel standing at his right hand:
Call me Death!
And that tall, bright angel cried in a voice
That broke like a clap of thunder:
Call Death! — Call Death!
And the echo sounded down the streets of heaven
Till it reached away back to that shadowy place,
Where Death waits with his pale, white horses.

And Death heard the summons,
And he leaped on his fastest horse,
Pale as a sheet in the moonlight
Up the golden street Death galloped,
And the hoof of his horse struck fire from the gold,
But they didn't make no sound.
Up Death rode to the Great White Throne,
And waited for God's command.

And. God said: Go down, Death go down,
Go down to Savannah, Georgia,
Down in Yamacraw,
And find Sister Caroline.
She's borne the burden and heat of the day,
She's labored long in my vineyard,
And she's tired —
She's weary —
Go Down Death, and bring her to me.

And Death didn't say a word,
But he loosed the reins on his pale, white horse,
And he clamped the spurs to his bloodless sides,
And out and down he rode,
Through heaven's pearly gates,
Past suns and moons and stars;
On Death rode,
And foam from his horse was like a comet in the sky;
On Death rode,
Leaving the lightning's flash behind;
Straight on down he came.

While we were watching round her bed,
She turned her eyes and looked away,
She saw what we couldn't see;
She saw Old Death. She saw Old Death
Coming like a falling star.
But Death didn't frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I'm going home.
And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,
And she lay in his icy arms,
But she didn't feel no chill.
And Death began to ride again --
Up beyond the evening star,
Out beyond the morning star,
Into the glittering light of glory,
On to the Great White Throne.
And there he laid Sister Caroline
On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus he took his own hand and wiped away her tears.
And he smoothed the furrows from her face,
And the angels sang a little song,
And Jesus rocked her in his arms,
And kept a-saying: Take your rest,
Take your rest, Take your rest.

Weep not — weep not,
She is not dead;
She's resting in the bosom of Jesus.

God's Trombone: Seven Negro Sermons In Verse
James Weldon Johnson
Penguin Books: 1955

[FDRfollower]

Just a comment.

NPR replayed some of the speeches at the King funeral.

Bush played the hypocrite, as usual. His old testament mantra was done in such a creepy way. For a guy who's done the most to piss on the "forgotten man", to speak at the funeral of someone who sacrificed the most for the posterity of the "forgotten man" was shameless. I wish someone had spoken like the Senator did during the Army-McCarthy hearings, "Have you no shame?"

They didn't play all of Clintons speech, but he did make a few sharp points.

The most bizarre, was Michael Savage, who I caught a little of when the classical station wasn't playing anything good. Going off on some pastors speech, he started SCREAMING about free health care, Cuba, and dirty linens. It reminded me of Haus' little post earlier, I had to really laugh!

[MAGI]

Coretta Scott King: Truly a Great Lady,


From The Progress Report:

"CIVIL RIGHTS
Funeral Fit For A King

Yesterday, the nation bid farewell to Coretta Scott King, the first lady of civil rights and social justice in America. Ten thousand mourners attended her funeral, which featured speakers encouraging the activism that characterized the life of King and her husband, the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. "You want to treat our friend Coretta like a role model? Then model her behavior," said President Bill Clinton during his remarks. Throughout her life, King fought with unyielding courage for equality, justice, and peace. "You cannot believe in peace at home and not believe in international peace," King once told her friends. As a nation, we must remember the whole legacy of King, not just the parts that are politically convenient. "We will now celebrate Coretta Scott King as though the civil rights movement is finished and the mission has been accomplished, but the work is not done," said Bruce Gordon, president of the NAACP. King never fell victim to complacency in the fight for progress.

THE PEACE ACTIVIST: King was an international figure with a lifelong commitment to nonviolence. Her anti-war views were rooted in her religious beliefs. King spoke at an anti-war rally in Madison Square Garden in 1965, before her husband took his public stand against the Vietnam War. In 1964, when Rev. King won the Nobel Peace Prize, King told her husband many times, "I think there is a role you must play in achieving world peace, and I will be so glad when the time comes when you can assume that role." Even after Rev. King's assassination, King continued to speak out for peace, voicing opposition in 2003 to the U.S. invasion of Iraq: "A war with Iraq will increase anti-American sentiment, create more terrorists, and drain as much as 200 billion taxpayer dollars, which should be invested in human development here in America." She urged President Bush to emulate her late husband's dedication to peace and nonviolence, instructing him that "war is a poor chisel for carving out peaceful tomorrows."

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: King's work on civil rights was closely tied to her international peace work. "She [King] was far more politically aware than her husband was at that time when they met," said Digby Diehl, a writer who collaborated with King on her memoirs. One month after Rev. King's murder, King joined Southern Christian Leadership Council officials at the Poor People's Campaign in Memphis, an event planned earlier by her husband. She was arrested for fighting South African apartheid in 1985, and well into her 70s, King traveled the globe speaking against injustice and advocating freedom, gay rights, opportunity, nuclear disarmament, and the fight against AIDS. "From the first, I had been determined to get ahead, not just for myself, but to do something for my people and for all people," wrote King in her 1969 autobiography.

HONORING KING'S IDEALS: Yesterday at King's funeral, Rev. Joseph Lowery -- the "dean of the civil rights movement" -- honored King's life by speaking out against war and poverty: "We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor." Lowery's remarks were greeted by a long standing ovation, but they made Bush "squirm in his seat." Former President Jimmy Carter added, "We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi" to know that inequality exists and that it "was difficult for them [the Kings] personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated, and they became the targets of secret government wiretapping and other surveillance." Both Lowery and Carter were sharply criticized by the right-wing, a group that would never mix politics and religion. The National Review's Kate O'Beirne said on MSBNC's Hardball last night, "Liberals don't seem to be able to keep politics away from funerals" and called Carter's remarks a "cheap political shot." Yet political activism is inextricably tied to King's legacy. The day before her husband was buried, King led a civil rights march of 50,000 people. Rev. King actually expected his political, civil rights, and peace work to be discussed at his funeral: "I'd like somebody to mention that day [at my funeral], that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. ... I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question." King's funeral yesterday was characterized by an activist spirit, which she had until the end of her life. "There are a lot of people who would love to relegate me to a symbolic figure," she said. "I have never been just a symbol of anything. I am a thinker. I have strong beliefs."

THE UNFINISHED FIGHT: As King knew all too well, her fight is not over. Social, economic, racial, and ethnic inequalities persist. Nationwide, African-Americans continue to have higher death rates from chronic diseases than any other U.S. racial or ethnic group. People with lower incomes continue to have worse health. Nearly 25 percent of African-Americans and 22 percent of Latinos live in poverty and states continue to enact laws that disenfranchise minority voters. "I'm concerned that people don't take her passing as an opportunity to further antique the causes that she [King] and her husband and others stood for,' said Theodore M. Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Anybody who thinks that work is over is either terribly ignorant or willfully blind.""

progress@americanprogressaction.org

[MAGI]

Coretta Scott King:

Truly One Great Lady,

From The Progress Report:

"CIVIL RIGHTS
Funeral Fit For A King

Yesterday, the nation bid farewell to Coretta Scott King, the first lady of civil rights and social justice in America. Ten thousand mourners attended her funeral, which featured speakers encouraging the activism that characterized the life of King and her husband, the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. "You want to treat our friend Coretta like a role model? Then model her behavior," said President Bill Clinton during his remarks. Throughout her life, King fought with unyielding courage for equality, justice, and peace. "You cannot believe in peace at home and not believe in international peace," King once told her friends. As a nation, we must remember the whole legacy of King, not just the parts that are politically convenient. "We will now celebrate Coretta Scott King as though the civil rights movement is finished and the mission has been accomplished, but the work is not done," said Bruce Gordon, president of the NAACP. King never fell victim to complacency in the fight for progress.

THE PEACE ACTIVIST: King was an international figure with a lifelong commitment to nonviolence. Her anti-war views were rooted in her religious beliefs. King spoke at an anti-war rally in Madison Square Garden in 1965, before her husband took his public stand against the Vietnam War. In 1964, when Rev. King won the Nobel Peace Prize, King told her husband many times, "I think there is a role you must play in achieving world peace, and I will be so glad when the time comes when you can assume that role." Even after Rev. King's assassination, King continued to speak out for peace, voicing opposition in 2003 to the U.S. invasion of Iraq: "A war with Iraq will increase anti-American sentiment, create more terrorists, and drain as much as 200 billion taxpayer dollars, which should be invested in human development here in America." She urged President Bush to emulate her late husband's dedication to peace and nonviolence, instructing him that "war is a poor chisel for carving out peaceful tomorrows."

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: King's work on civil rights was closely tied to her international peace work. "She [King] was far more politically aware than her husband was at that time when they met," said Digby Diehl, a writer who collaborated with King on her memoirs. One month after Rev. King's murder, King joined Southern Christian Leadership Council officials at the Poor People's Campaign in Memphis, an event planned earlier by her husband. She was arrested for fighting South African apartheid in 1985, and well into her 70s, King traveled the globe speaking against injustice and advocating freedom, gay rights, opportunity, nuclear disarmament, and the fight against AIDS. "From the first, I had been determined to get ahead, not just for myself, but to do something for my people and for all people," wrote King in her 1969 autobiography.

HONORING KING'S IDEALS: Yesterday at King's funeral, Rev. Joseph Lowery -- the "dean of the civil rights movement" -- honored King's life by speaking out against war and poverty: "We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor." Lowery's remarks were greeted by a long standing ovation, but they made Bush "squirm in his seat." Former President Jimmy Carter added, "We only have to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi" to know that inequality exists and that it "was difficult for them [the Kings] personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated, and they became the targets of secret government wiretapping and other surveillance." Both Lowery and Carter were sharply criticized by the right-wing, a group that would never mix politics and religion. The National Review's Kate O'Beirne said on MSBNC's Hardball last night, "Liberals don't seem to be able to keep politics away from funerals" and called Carter's remarks a "cheap political shot." Yet political activism is inextricably tied to King's legacy. The day before her husband was buried, King led a civil rights march of 50,000 people. Rev. King actually expected his political, civil rights, and peace work to be discussed at his funeral: "I'd like somebody to mention that day [at my funeral], that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. ... I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question." King's funeral yesterday was characterized by an activist spirit, which she had until the end of her life. "There are a lot of people who would love to relegate me to a symbolic figure," she said. "I have never been just a symbol of anything. I am a thinker. I have strong beliefs."

THE UNFINISHED FIGHT: As King knew all too well, her fight is not over. Social, economic, racial, and ethnic inequalities persist. Nationwide, African-Americans continue to have higher death rates from chronic diseases than any other U.S. racial or ethnic group. People with lower incomes continue to have worse health. Nearly 25 percent of African-Americans and 22 percent of Latinos live in poverty and states continue to enact laws that disenfranchise minority voters. "I'm concerned that people don't take her passing as an opportunity to further antique the causes that she [King] and her husband and others stood for,' said Theodore M. Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Anybody who thinks that work is over is either terribly ignorant or willfully blind.""

progress@americanprogressaction.org