Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan chair in ethics and political values and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a professor of history. He is the author of several books, most recently"The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr." The views expressed here are his. View more opinion articles on CNN.
What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as the"promise of American democracy" at the 1963 March On Washington is receding against the twin burdens of a highly racialized pandemic and anti-government sentiment -- fueled by no less than the president of the United States -- that apes the"states' rights" rhetoric of the Civil War.
Peniel JosephKing's dedication to achieving black citizenship went hand-in-hand with Malcolm X's quest for black dignity. Despite ideological differences over tactics and strategies, the two leaders found a shared symmetry in speaking truth to power. Their words proved oracular: they became the two biggest critics of white supremacy, racial inequality, war and poverty in American history.
Opinion
Opinion GOD CURSED OF THE CENTURY !! GOD CURSED OF THE CENTURY !!
Opinion There are countless federal and state programs available for people of all races and cultures to take advantage of to improve their status in life. I participated in none, but worked my tail off to obtain an education and secure a meaningful career. Folks should try that path.
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Opinion The Democrats’ big-government Welfare State, which has enslaved people of color on the left-wing government plantation, is killing Americans. Liberate people of color by firing Democrat politicians.
Opinion But I thought Obama was gonna take care of the black communities? Where are all these vocal billionaire celebrities that like to speak up about this? They can easily pool their money to better these neighborhoods.
Opinion What the black community is experiencing is the handing over of a trillion dollars of yearly buying power to support products made by other cultures who don't care now that the same people need help. Buy Black Only.