�[The corporations] take necessities away from the many to give luxuries to the few...� Dr. King's memory is honored at 'Hope In An Age of Crisis'
Thousands of people assembled January 19, 2014, at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 8235 S. South Shore Dr., to celebrate �Hope in an Age of Crisis� Reclaiming Dr. King�s Radical Vision for Economic Equality." The event was organized and sponsored by Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation and IIRON. IIRON, according to its� website, is a grassroots not- for- profit organization devoted to social, economic and racial justice and the creation of a more democratic society."
Part of the crowd at "Hope In An Age of Crisis." Substance photo by Jean Schwab.The celebration was opened by Mr. George Goehl, Executive Director, and National People�s Action. Goehl stated that a masterful 40-year plan hatched by CEOs and right- wing politicians to aggregate power to expand profit, privatize and take power from the people. "They have been carrying this out by privatizing, restrictions on voting, destroying wages and deregulating everything possible,� he told the huge crowd from the front of the church.
Toby Chow, SOUL, The People�s Lobby, stated that two-thirds of corporations are not paying Illinois State income taxes and quoted Dr. King saying they �take necessities away from the many to give luxuries to the few.�
Illinois State Representative Christian Mitchell stated that corporations do not pay Illinois State taxes, �while using public resources such as employees educated in public schools, cops, firefighters, and public transportation� to make their profits.
Another speaker said, �Corporations believe that the market is a solution to everything. The market does not care whether you get an education or whether you go to jail. We need to take out politicians who don�t agree with our goal. �
The keynote speaker was Rev. Dwight Gardner, President of IIRON. He schooled the crowd in the actual history of Dr. King's work.
"We will not lift up the toothless, scrubbed and anesthetized Dr. King given to us by the media," he said. "In l963 during the March on Washington, King stated, 'America has written the Negro a bad check that had come back stamped insufficient funds..' To paint him with only the hope that we could all just get along does his legacy a disservice and confuses Dr. King with Rodney King." Others have been noting that the corporate media was denouncing the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize by 1967, when he came out forcefully against the U.S. War in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr. was, along with Muhammad Ali, one of the leading opponents of the war that continued for seven years after Dr. King's first speeches against it. His work against the war resulted in his being called, effectively, a "Commie Dupe" by most mainstream media in the USA during the year before his assassination.
King also said, � We are not here to tear up Washington -- but to make a demand for jobs and income.�
Speakers continued mining the rich legacy of Dr. King's actual life and words. King said, �You can�t solve the problems of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars... You can�t talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums... You�re really tampering and getting on dangerous ground then... You are messing with captains of industry. Now something is wrong with capitalism... There must be better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism. If we can�t take the profit out of the slums, we can�t eradicate the slums�.
�There is something wrong with capitalism," Gardner said. "We must have equal distribution of wealth. Segregation and racism are profitable to the 1%. As long as we keep scapegoating each other, we will not come together to solve our problems. You know that the 99% is you. There is a profit in jails and privatizing. Our wages have been stagnant for 30 years. Trillions of dollars which could be used for building society are spent on bombs and weapons. A new economy with radical equality would reject the position that the market can save everything. A new economy would have sustainability and new jobs. The youth will be educated (equally) and there would be care for the elderly. There would be education from kindergarten to graduation.�
Rev. Marlan Branch, SOUL and IIRON stated that incarceration is robbing our communities of their most precious resource -- our people. "The wealthiest can afford to post bond," she added. "Poor people cannot do this.�
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle stated that ,�We incarcerate 80% of our black and brown men in jail. Ninety percent are awaiting trial in jail. Seventy percent are non-violent crimes such as shop lifting.
The groups put forward "Goals for a New Economy...�
Everyday People Controlling the Economy
An End to Structural Racism,
Corporations Serving the Common Good
True Democracy- People in, Money Out
Ecological Sustainability
The Aldermen present:
Robert Fioretti (Ward 2)
Pat Dowell (Ward 3)
William Burns (Ward 4)
Lesley Hairston (Ward 5)
Rodrick Sawyer (Ward 6)
Illinois Legislature (House of Representatives)
Barbara Flynn Currie (D- Chicago)
Marcus Evans (D- Chicago)
William Davis (D- Homewood)
Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston)
Christian Mitchell (D- Chicago)
Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President
Preckwinkle talked about decreasing the number of non-violent prisoners in jail.
