Martin Luther King Jr., and the Age of Obama

I wrote a commentary for the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s holiday commemoration, for the Progressive Media Project. The commentary, which basically stated that the United States was not "post-racial" yet, and needed to work to be "post-poverty," was picked up by 31 newspapers around the country. This was over 2 million potential readers all around the country, In states such as Texas, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and even North Dakota, the article appeared in small to medium sized local papers, just the kind of papers I personally love and are the backbone of our system of a free and independent press.

The fact that the commentary was picked up by so many newspapers is again a testament to the enduring and universal message of Dr. King. Dr. King's words resonate today. The selection of the commentary also again highlighted the importance of our media system and the editors which make that system work. The Progressive Media Project simply provides the commentary; it is up to the editors to select the particular commentary for distribution. The fact that a progressive opinion service got the word out was a great thing.

I am proud to have been able to contribute a small bit of discussion to continue the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To a certain extent, in the age of Obama, many of us have gotten complacent about King's legacy on race and poverty. The U.S. is a deeply unequal country with millions of poor people, millions of people out of work (who want to work), and millions without health care. Millions also go hungry each day. No one has taken up Dr. King's cause since his death to the extent that he did during his life. He asked before he died: where do we go from here? We know but no one is moving anywhere.