Summary
Forty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Memphis before striking sanitation workers and described what the struggle against starvation wages, the struggle for justice and the struggle for equality meant for America's present and future. He had come to Memphis to support the sanitation workers who were struggling to, get a union. King knew an economic struggle for equality was key to the success of the civil rights movement. In 1961, he told the AFL-CIO convent tion that "when the Negro wins, labor wins." That is just as true now as then.
Since King's death, we've seen the Civil Rights Act implemented, schools desegregated and a march toward equality. There's no question that America in 2008 is in a whole different place for racial equality than when King was shot in 1968. Yet we have a long way to go to achieve King's dream of equality. Today's generation faces new struggles for social justice and economic equality. And while a less-than-fair economy impacts all working people struggling to make ends meet, people of color are particularly hard hit.Among African Americans, the news is worse. African Americans are more than twice as likely to die of diabetes and 25 percent more likely to die of cancer than white Americans. And President Bush's repeated vetoes of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is even more offensive when we consider this: African Americans are more likely to be covered through public health insurance programs like SCHIP.Forty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Memphis before striking sanitation workers and described what the struggle against starvation wages, the struggle for justice and the struggle for equality meant for America's present and future. African Americans are more likely to be covered through public health insurance programs like SCHIP.See the full content of this document
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Commentary
Forty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Memphis before striking sanitation workers and described what the struggle against starvation wages, the struggle for justice and the struggle for equality meant for Am...
See the full content of this document
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