recently we celebrated the birthday of dr martin luther king, jr.

last night i was reading a book that said that although doctor king's campaign to end racial inequality is well-known, less known today is his POOR PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN to end poverty by empowering the poor to organize and demand their rights for food, shelter, safety (in accord with 1948's declaration of human rights)...  dr king mobilized folks and marched on washington with this agenda, but was assassinated before he could do much with it...

the book suggested king might've been assassinated because he got too dangerous by questioning american democracy, a paradoxical system that promises equality to all but in execution produces inequality (it's an inherently hierarchical race for success, competition driven, with an unequal starting-line!)... interesting that malcolm x (el hajj malik el shabazz), after visiting mecca, returned to the u.s. with a similar desire to enlighten and uplift ALL persons, regardless of class or color, and then also was assassinated... (both also protested u.s. involvement in vietnam...)

anyway, i'm not going to get into conspiracy theories much because that's crazy-making and the question is, what can one do now? here are some links for your consideration:

Dr. King's Forgotten Speech on Peace: http://www.inmotionmagazine...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (signed by the U.S. Gov. as well as many other offenders)   http://www.un.org/Overview/...

Catholic Worker Movement: http://www.catholicworker.o... (chapters in LA and fresno, but not locally)

United Farm Workers: http://www.ufw.org/

Locals doing closest to Dr King's peace and anti-poverty work (if you know of more, please add to this list):

St. Vincent de Paul, 300 Baker St, 93305, 661-323-2941(they feed and clothe people without requiring them to attend church services; they also directly give needy people clothing and food, which organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army may not)

Bakersfield Food Not Bombs: http://www.geocities.com/ba...
Peace Bakersfield: http://www.geocities.com/ba...

Bakersfield Head Start http://www.capk.org/HSLOCAT...

Migrant Ed: CCC, Job Corps: http://migrant.kern.org/sto...

Bakersfield AmeriCorps: http://kcsos.kern.org/schco...

Clinica Sierra Vista: http://www.clinicasierravis...

what are you doing to help all americans, especially the poor and disadvantaged? i'm enough of a braggart & so will be mum on the subject, and i'm not what's important, anyway - the message is what's important. 

we who read this blog are likely lucky members of the middle class, the advantaged, those with food, shelter, and relative safety: we are the ones whose moral and human duty is to help those less fortunate, in other words. i hope that in 2007, more of us will stand together locally, with the ideas that combatting poverty and improving peace are important values that we each should support with positive and decisive action.