By April Ryan

The Media Panel at the National Action Network Convention in the NYC

“What would Martin do?” asked Mary Francis Berry, the former head of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Berry was a college student when the news reports were delivered that Dr King was assassinated. More than half a century ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support striking African-American sanitation workers upset over poor working conditions and low pay. At his death, King also organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address poverty and economic inequality. Almost 60 years later, African Americans are withholding their dollars from companies like Target that have rolled back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. Target’s stock has dropped drastically, and it is reported that the company has lost billions of dollars from this action. On a related note, the National Urban League says that Black America’s buying power is close to $2 trillion. Major rallies around the nation, the majority of which are white-led, are protesting a new rollback in rights and freedoms created by the Trump agenda.

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Thursday, in New York City, at the National Action Network convention during the media panel, the crowd in the packed ballroom stood to their feet, pumping their fists and shouting, “he’s a racist, “directing their ire at President Donald Trump. Freedom to protest in this country during difficult times is a blueprint Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his lieutenants left during the civil rights era. Berry remembers consulting with Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and wondering what the civil rights icon would do whenever they started a protest like the “Free South Africa” movement and protests against the “unfair treatment of Haitians” and the “LGBTQ+ people and whatever.” The “checklist” of items to confirm this is what Dr. King would support is included in his book Where Do We Go From Here? The questions are: “Is it safe? Is it political? Is it popular? Is it right?” Protests and boycotts abound in this nation, and a significant protest is slated for this Saturday in Washington, D.C. 1000,000 people are expected to show up and protest against the MAGA and Project 2025 agenda Donald Trump follows. Berry reminds us that Dr. King supported peaceful protests and economic boycotts. At age 26, King led a nonviolent protest against segregated bus seating in Montgomery, Alabama, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement.

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