On April 4th 1968 a sniper shot Martin Luther King while he was standing on the balcony outside his room in the Motel he was staying in.
He had gone to Memphis to support striking sanitation workers. White workers received pay if conditions were poor but black workers did not. Consequently black workers were forced to labour in blizzards and other terrible conditions which had resulted in deaths.
Martin Luther King stood for equality in the face of hostility and death threats. He suffered abuse, physical attacks and lies from the media. It did not deter him. He was a brave man.
The white supremacists had assassinated many civil rights leaders and supporters. They still, in 1968, wanted segregation and viewed black people as inferior.
It takes a determined man to stand up in the face of death threats that you know have a foundation.
This is the building that the sniper was in. The shot that killed Martin Luther King came from here.
Behind the wreath if the balcony on which he was shot. His room can be seen behind that.
The Lorraine Motel has been turned into a museum/shrine for Martin Luther King. The room has been left as it was. Even the ashtrays. The cars are parked outside as they were on that night.
We have come a long way in our quest for equality. We still have a long way to go.
It is a journey best taken in love and friendship.
The magnificent Ken Loach is still going strong at 80 Years old! He is still fighting for social justice. An amazing man. Ken’s films are invariably thought provoking and focus on telling the story from the victims side – it’s all about social justice.
He came out of retirement to produce the new film – I, Daniel Blake – because he thought that it needed saying.
The film went on to win the Palme D’Or.
Read all about this and listen to what Ken has to say on the BBC. There is an interview with the great man.
One of my heroes!
https://voyageroffreedom.wordpress.com/
Plato who writes divine poetry, has a beautiful voice, does great jazz and is a genius :
and Rich and Lou who make sublime music both as a duo and in a band (The Electric Company), take brilliant award winning photos and grow auriculars!
These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!
They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.
Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97
Stanzas and Stances – £5.59
Poems and Peons – £4.33
Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98
Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60
Vice and Verse – £4.15
In Britain :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent
In America:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin
In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.
A History of Struggle
Within Britain we have achieved a level of social justice. Nobody should starve or go without a roof over their heads, though I’m sure some still do. There is a minimum wage and health and safety to ensure reasonable working conditions. We have education and health care. Even the poorest enjoy a reasonable standard of living.
But I cannot help thinking that we only get the minimum that the establishment think they can get away with. The fat cats at the top scoop off the profits in inordinate amounts.
If we look globally we see an even greater inequality. While the corporations run things for their own ends, to maximize their profits, billions are on the starvation level and the natural world is blitzed.
It is only ever through social struggle, paid for with blood, that we have ever wrested power, better conditions or better pay from the wealthy.
I do not believe the establishment cares a jot. They have no compassion. They will screw you if they can.
A History of Struggle
There is a history of struggle
Disguised
By a thin veneer
Of adequacy
That controls everyone
In a web of narrow
Expectation.
There’s a small trough of cream
And an endless desert
Of excrement.
As the few wet whiskers drip
While billions of parched throats
Croak
In futile hope.
Opher 30.10.2015
I always love great lyrics. For me in order to be brilliant a song requires some poetic words with meaning to get your teeth into.
War by Bob Marley is a favourite of mine. It was based on the address of King Haile Selassie of Ethiopia to the United Nations and sums up my feelings.
Until we as a race reach the point where we address the difference between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ we will have war and conflict. If you have nothing you have nothing to lose.
The disaffected in our country and throughout the world will cause trouble when they see the lifestyle of others who have so much from contributing so little.
For me the issues of social justice, the protection of the environment and population control are paramount. The religious fanaticism and social unrest are a product of these. They have to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Bob summed it up:
“War”
That until there no longer
First class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes –
Me say war.
That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race –
Dis a war.
That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never attained –
Now everywhere is war – war.
And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola,
In Mozambique,
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled,
Utterly destroyed –
Well, everywhere is war –
Me say war.
War in the east,
War in the west,
War up north,
War down south –
War – war –
Rumours of war.
And until that day,
The African continent
Will not know peace,
We Africans will fight – we find it necessary –
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil –
Good over evil, yeah! [fadeout]
Every word has a precise meaning but different people understand words differently. To comprehend what a person means you have to know where they are coming from.
When an American says Fanny they are referring to the back. When a Briton says Fanny they are referring to the front.
The Tories also have a different meaning for many words. I have tried to define certain words in common usage from the point of view of the Tory lexicon.
We’re                                    You
All                                          The common people
In                                             are up to your necks in
This                                         The mess we have created for you
Together                                And you alone will be made to pay!
Hence tax cuts for the rich. Inheritance tax cuts for the rich. 20% pay rises for the bosses. 11% pay rises for the MPs. Slashed pensions for the public servants. Worse conditions for the public servants. Four years of pay freeze and austerity for the poor!
It is easy to understand once you have mastered the definition of the words used!
It is not that politicians are lying bastards just that they define words differently.