What Educators Can Do Now To Honor MLK Besides Post Quotes [On #MLKNow]
Yesterday, I had the fortune – the privilege – of attending MLK Now 2017, sponsored by Blackout for Human Rights / United Blackout and the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA). Needless to say, the star power in the building was enough to fill the pews with people of all generations. The target audience felt like a cross-section of the social-media connected young activists and their well-storied and still-energized elders. Lala Anthony’s rendition of a Muhammad Ali screed and Uzo Aduba’s flips between serious and ebullient Nigerian accents as she read from Nelson Mandela speech were everything.
— Jose Vilson (@TheJLV) January 16, 2017
At some point in the program, a video of congressman and legend John Lewis was projected on the screen to plenty of applause and adulation. A young lady, no older than 20, who only ran into my section to get a picture of Michelle Williams tapped me on the shoulder and asked “Who is he?”
I think I scrunched my face and clutched my chest. For 48 hours prior, I had the right-wing troll brigade explain to me and other folks of color how the Orange Is The New President would be better for “the blacks” than any civil rights leader. The furor over the fuhrer over the last few days put me on high alert for bald eagles and social media handles with improper uses of America. But after analyzing my own actions, I took a step back and said, “Well, if she’s gonna hear it from someone What Educators Can Do Now To Honor MLK Besides Post Quotes [On #MLKNow] | The Jose Vilson: