martin luther king Archives - Rolling Out

Social media is looking askance at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in death after a mountain of evidence proves the agency tried mightily to destroy King while he was alive. History buffs will recall that during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s J. Edgar Hoover, the former FBI…

Many A-list celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and music understand the monumental importance of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. Hollywood heavyweight Will Smith took his son, Jaden, and his mother to MLK’s birthday celebration in Atlanta over the weekend. King would have been 91 years old today.…

The Rev. Clay Evans, a beloved civil rights leader, gospel singer and pastor, died on Nov. 27, 2019. He was 94. The Rev. Charles Jenkins posted news of Evans’ death on his social media platforms. Jenkins, who will be retiring as pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side of Chicago, succeeded Evans…

Melody maker Patti LaBelle has been thriving in the music game for so long that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were still alive when she got started. During her more than half-century of belting out tunes, there’s no question that LaBelle, 75, has a large library of anecdotes and memories. And she’s about to…

Round 3 of the Mo’Nique-Steve Harvey heavyweight verbal smackdown has commenced. The Oscar-winning comedienne and her husband-manager Sidney Hicks said some head-scratching utterances on their podcast in the aftermath of their much talked about appearance on Steve Harvey’s eponymously-titled television show last week. “When her and Steve got a chance to discuss it, you got a…

Some detractors may be wondering what they are sprinkling on Bill Cosby‘s prison meals. Not only did the legendary comedian characterize his cramped quarters behind bars as an “amazing experience,” but he also said he is absent of remorse and calls himself a “political prisoner,” like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The toppled TV titan,…

There was a time when the narratives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement’s heroes belonged to us, Black people. After Dr. King’s stock went public in 1986, the first year of the national holiday, that all changed. If you want to witness the fruits of White supremacy’s labor, pay close…

A television meteorologist is out of a job the day after uttering a racial slur during a live broadcast. During a WHEC weather forecast in Rochester, New York, on Friday which showed a live shot of the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Jeremy Kappell referred to it as “Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Park.”…

Martin Luther King Jr. had many dreams during his historic and groundbreaking life, which fundamentally transformed America. But his dream surely did not include someone using of his personal shortcomings to justify someone else’s serial infidelity. That was precisely the case with the meteorically rising rap raven Cardi B. Some people believe that Cardi B has…

Yolanda Renee King, 9, is the daughter of Martin Luther King, III and Andrea Waters. Young Yolanda is the only grandchild of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. On Saturday, March 24, 2018, she delivered an impassioned speech at March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. She exclaimed from the podium, “I…

The lengths to which some members of the King family will go to misuse, misappropriate and monetize his legendary legacy is almost criminal. Here is another grotesque example. MLK’s niece, Alveda King, has a soft spot in her heart for the Donald Trump administration, and Vice President Mike Pence in particular, and she has even…

The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is one biggest days in the NBA’s regular season. A day full of marquee matchups and tributes to the civil rights icon is always a must-watch event every season and here are the top five things to look forward to this season. DeMar DeRozan The Toronto Raptors guard is currently on…

The Rev. Bernice King, the daughter of Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., was outraged by a Newsweek social media photo of a dead MLK laying in his casket. The magazine later deleted the photo and apologized after the enormous backlash. The original tweet had accompanied an article titled, “Has Anybody Here Seen My Old…

It is hard to understand why there are so many documents on the Rev. Martin Luther King contained in the assassination files of President John F. Kennedy. You would think there would be much more information on Robert F. Kennedy, the former attorney general; he was, after all, the president’s brother. But there is more…

Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, is rolling up his sleeves and putting on his walking shoes all for a good cause. This year, Thompson is the Ambassador for the 2017 AIDS Walk South Dallas, Saturday, March 25, 2017, hosted by Dallas’ Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. This year’s theme…

At a young age, African Americans are encouraged to speak, dress and think like White Americans, preferably White Christian Americans. This road of assimilation is paved with smiles, rewards and pats on the back. The purpose of these accolades and kind words is to convince African Americans that assimilation leads to safety and success.

The progressive movements that ended slavery; secured a woman’s right to vote; vanquished Jim Crow; and legalized marriage equality were neither led nor organized by nationally elected politicians. Those victories were made possible by activists, everyday Americans frustrated by immorality and injustice

“From oppressive and crippling surroundings, George Washington Carver lifted his searching, creative mind to the ordinary peanut, and found therein extraordinary possibilities for goods and products unthinkable by minds of the past, and left for succeeding generations an inspiring example of how an individual could rise above the paralyzing conditions of circumstance.” –Dr. Martin Luther…

UGA presents 2016 President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award As part of the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast sponsored by the University of Georgia, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and the Clarke County School District, in Georgia, presented three awards to Athens and university community members for exemplary community service. The breakfast commemorates the…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is America’s most important holiday. It is the only holiday in which America is forced to honestly assess its racial history. Dr. King’s life is a microcosm of how America deals with race. Because when you celebrate Dr. King’s fight for freedom and justice, it removes America’s cloak of moral…