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Books by
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Strength to Love /
The Measure of a Man /
Why We Can't Wait
A Testament of Hope /
A Knock at Midnight /
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1948-1963
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community /
Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story
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Edward M.
Kennedy
U.S. Senator (D. Mass.)
"What Martin Luther King Means To
Me"
Martin Luther King Jr. will go down in
history as one of the greatest Americans of them all. He
dedicated his life to completing the unfinished business of the
American Revolution and the Civil War. he helped us to see the
discrimination in our midst and to accept the fundamental
principal of equality, not just in words under glass in the
constitution, but in the reality of our daily lives.
The real genius of Dr. King enabled America
to embrace and advance the cause of equality through peaceful
and nonviolent means, and he richly deserved the extraordinary
honor -- bestowed only on Christopher Columbus and George
Washington before -- of a national holiday in his name.
The recognition of Dr. King is especially
timely now, when the fundamental rights for which he fought are
so at risk today. We must redouble our efforts to preserve the
right to equal job opportunity and affirmative action, the right
to a decent education and a fair paycheck, the right to a
Justice Department that is truly a department of justice, and to
a Supreme Court that is truly committed to the "equal
protection of the laws."
In the difficult struggles of this era, let
us recall the words of Dr. king, anticipating the victory he
knew would come: "However difficult a moment, however
frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed
to earth will rise again."
In his address the day before his death, Dr.
King said that he had been "to the mountaintop." He
spoke of his vision that true freedom for all people could be
achieved -- not just in the United States, but in all the world.
in honoring Dr. King, we bring that vision closer to reality; we
foster a greater national awareness of the unique achievement of
his life; and, finally, we generate a stronger national
commitment to the fulfillment of his dream -- which is the
American dream.
Source: Ebony, January, 1986* * *
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Edward Moore "Ted"
Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was a
United States Senator from
Massachusetts and a member of the
Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the
second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is
the
fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history. For
many years the most prominent living member of the
Kennedy family, he was the last surviving son of
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; the youngest brother of President
John F. Kennedy and Senator
Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassination, and
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., killed in action in World War II;
and the father of Congressman
Patrick J. Kennedy.
Kennedy entered the Senate
in a
November 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by
his brother John. He was elected to a full six-year term in
1964 and was reelected seven more times before his death.
The controversial
Chappaquiddick incident on July 18, 1969, resulted in the
death of his automobile passenger
Mary Jo Kopechne; Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of
leaving the scene of an accident, and the incident significantly
damaged his chances of ever becoming
President of the United States. His one attempt, in the
1980 presidential election, resulted in a Democratic primary
campaign loss to incumbent President
Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy was known for his
charisma and oratorical skills. His 1968 eulogy for his brother
Robert and his
1980 rallying cry for
modern American liberalism were among his best-known
speeches. He became recognized as "The Lion of the Senate"
through his long tenure and influence. More than 300 bills that
Kennedy and his staff wrote were enacted into law. Unabashedly
liberal, Kennedy championed an interventionist government
emphasizing
economic and
social justice, but was also known for working with
Republicans to find compromises between senators with disparate
views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many laws,
including laws addressing
immigration,
cancer research,
health insurance,
apartheid,
disability discrimination,
AIDS care,
civil rights,
mental health benefits,
children's health insurance,
education and
volunteering. In the 2000s, he led several unsuccessful
immigration reform efforts. Over the course of his Senate
career and continuing into the
Obama administration, Kennedy continued his efforts to enact
universal health care, which he called the "cause of my
life."
In May 2008, Kennedy was
diagnosed with a
malignant
brain tumor which limited his appearances in the Senate. He
died on August 25, 2009, in his
Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
home. By the time of his death, he had come to be viewed as
a major figure and spokesman for
American progressivism.— Wikipedia
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Blacks in Hispanic Literature: Critical Essays
Edited by
Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Blacks in Hispanic Literature is a
collection of fourteen essays by scholars and
creative writers from Africa and the Americas.
Called one of two significant critical works on
Afro-Hispanic literature to appear in the late
1970s, it includes the pioneering studies of
Carter G. Woodson and
Valaurez B. Spratlin, published in the 1930s, as
well as the essays of scholars whose interpretations
were shaped by the Black aesthetic. The early
essays, primarily of the Black-as-subject in Spanish
medieval and Golden Age literature, provide an
historical context for understanding 20th-century
creative works by African-descended, Hispanophone
writers, such as Cuban
Nicolás Guillén and Ecuadorean poet, novelist,
and scholar
Adalberto Ortiz, whose essay analyzes the
significance of Negritude in Latin America. This
collaborative text set the tone for later
conferences in which writers and scholars worked
together to promote, disseminate, and critique the
literature of Spanish-speaking people of African
descent. . . .
Cited by a
literary critic in 2004 as "the seminal study in the
field of Afro-Hispanic Literature . . . on which
most scholars in the field 'cut their teeth'."
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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updated 28 July 2008
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