Jesse Jackson on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Jackson spoke about Dr. King and how the historic “I have a
dream” speech has been too oftem reduced to that quote.
But, said Jackson, “His speech was about broken promises.” About how
Lincoln promised emancipation. About how Congress promised civil
rights through the 14th Amendment. About how Blacks and other people
of color still don’t have the federal right to vote, but that voting
rights is a states rights issue. (See Congressman Jackson’s article
here: http://www.house.gov/jackson/VotingAmendment.htm)
Running Into Folks
I decided to skip the Bill Moyers plenary and visit the exhibits. Found a lot of new and familiar interesting organizations…
Ran into a bunch of familiar faces: Ivan Roman and Joe Torres of the Nat’l Assoc of Hispanic Journalists (their national convention is in San Jose this year); Jen Soriano of the Youth Media Council; Ludovic Blain of the New Progressive Coalition; Lark Corbeil of Public News Service; Tracy Van Slyke and Joel Bleifuss of In These Times magazine; and Syracuse law professor LaVonda Reed-Huff (in the cab on the way over).
Next: Rev. Jackson’s plenary.
Media Reform Conference Day One, Part One
It’s a wet day here in Memphis. And surprisingly not that cold.
I’m on my way to the conference. Bill Moyers and Rev. Jackson will
deliver the initial plenaries.
Danny Glover is being interviewed on local station WREG about the media reform conference. “We have to be responsible in what we report,” says Glover, “in order to allow people to be better citizens.” Free Press executive director Josh Silver was apparently on the same morning show yesterday.
Why We Need a Conference on Media Reform
Activist David Swanson, who along with EJS board member John Bonifaz started After Downing Street, answers that question:
“The media will not ask or try to answer what Bush means when he says ‘victory.’ The media will not raise the question of what this war is being fought for.
“The media will depict the anti-war movement as striving ultimately only for a rejection of the ‘surge.’ No mention will be made of efforts to de-escalate and end the war. And the media will continue to call the “surge” a surge, gradually dropping the quotation marks.
“The media will not show us the Iraqi people killed and injured by our war.”
National Conference for Media Reform Starts Friday
I’ll be attending the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, Tenn. The conference is for anyone who is concerned about the state of our media and committed to working for change. “This energizing weekend will present ideas and strategies for winning the fight for better media and connect you with thousands of media reformers from across the nation,” says the website.
I just downloaded the conference program and will be looking for sessions that deal with the intersection of media reform and civil rights, as well as any panels that cover using new media in activism.