Today we remember the sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders in order to break the barriers of injustice and discrimination in the Americas. Their work cannot be in vain, however, and there remains much bigotry and prejudice in our modern society.
In the often-heated debate over immigration, immigrants’ rights groups have invoked Dr. King’s name for their cause. It is no coincidence, for example, that a naturalization ceremony was held on what would’ve been King’s 81st birthday in Atlanta.
Below is video of a speech given by Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar in honor of Dr. King. In his discourse, Huizar observes the parallels between King’s work and immigration:
Do you agree with Huizar? Are there ties between King’s legacy and the current immigrants’ rights movement? Is there a major disconnect between African-Americans and Latinos over immigration?
What do you think?
Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, YouTube
Thank you for posting my video. It was a true honor to speak on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Princeton.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment Councilman Huizar as well as your very thought-provoking speech.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, there are parallels between Dr. King's work and immigrants' rights movements. But, Dr. King was also very proud of being an American and worked for the equality of black people as equal citizens, so I think his views on immigrant rights, specifically illegal would be hard to pinpoint with certainty. That being the case I think it's a bit presumptuous to invoke his name, regarding an issue on which nobody really knows what his opinions would've have been.
ReplyDeleteHappy Martin Luther Kind Day 2011!
ReplyDeleteTime for change and for Huizar to go!
Please remove your Facebook photo with MLK as the backdrop of your photo. This is disgrace to the African Americans!