Group 3 - PROPOSAL Final.doc

 

Jenell has been working on our introduction discussing the importance of our research and why we should be funded. I have highlighted several examples of our research and connected their work to King’s legacy. Finally, Kim will end our project with one specific example and combine it with a visual component. Kim and I have also supplied Jenell with ideas and contributions for our PowerPoint presentation she is preparing.

All,

A few quick updates and requests:

1. I need the final titles of the group projects from groups 2, 3, 5, and 6. Please e-mail them to me ASAP.

2. In the interest of fairness, we have moved up the deadline for hard copy submission of final projects to the beginning of the April 28 class.

3. We will hand back final project grades during the May 5 class. After filling out student evaluations, we will then devote the remainder of class to a YouTube/Ipod/DVD/CD party. Everyone should plan on playing a short video or audio clip or two that relates to the class and that you find particularly moving or inspiring. We will also have a taco bar and beer and wine to fuel the festivities.

All the best,

Tyler

April 13, 2008

 

“I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.  We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society.  When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. 

 

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of man of our past and present policies.  On the one hand we are called to play the good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act.  One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway.  True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial.  It comes to see that edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”[1]

 Why does King signify on the parable of the good Samaritan?  This Biblical story occurs in the Gospel of Luke; Chapter 10 verses 25-37.  At the conclusion of King’s argument against the war in Vietnam, he denounces the “giant triplets,” known overtly as the things of racism, materialism, and militarism.  He calls America to shift to a “person-oriented” society.  And then, out of nowhere, King’s carefully crafted speech turns to the Bible.  King assumes that this stock of stories holds some mysterious power for Americans.  It is quoted here to bolster the authority of King’s message.  However, he flips this story on its head.  Not only are Americans not being good Samaritans.  What’s more it is good to be a good Samaritan.  But is it not enough?  King’s answer is no.  King signifies on this parable by suggesting that we need to look at the underlying causes at why the Jericho road keeps getting folks robbed and beaten.  The analogy should not be missed: the systemic violence of America needs major restructuring.  America needs to open their eyes to its deeply unjust societal structures.  Why does King signify on the parable of the good Samaritan?  All religious language is hyperbole.  Religious language is one way that humans register their deepest pains and anguish.  King masters this language world and uses the Bible to voice the cries of the marginalized. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I truly enjoyed Dr. Clayborne Carson's, "Passages of Martin Luther King" as it allowed me to see the relationship that Dr. King had with his wife, Correta Scott King and his father.  It was interesting to see how Dr. King gave so much of himself to the world that in some cases his wife felt like she wasn't getting enough of his time and attention. Yet, she understood his need to work for social equality an supported him in all his efforts.  I enjoyed the humor that the actors used to portray Dr. Kings life throughout the years.

 Kamau Daaood and An Army of Healers truly showed the many ways that music can be played with the use of so many instruments. They really set up a mood for thinking about the life of Dr. King through their music, which very much enjoyed. In addition, the spoken-word poetry readings offered a cotemporary Hip-Hop component that raised key issues, espcially in neighborhoods such as Los Angeles.  For someone who was raised in Los Angeles I was able to identify with some of the poetry because I felt like they were speaking my language, since I could recognize many of the things they brought up in their poetry.

The whole night was filled with different ways of reminiscing on Dr. King's legacy and yet it was done through several different forms; songs, musical instruments, acting, and poetry, so I found that to be very interesting and enjoyed the symposium throuroughly! 

When you all get a chance, please go to http://conversation.cgu.edu/tndy3465/files/ and download the file entitled KIRKPATRICK_KING_01.20.06.doc and read it before the next class. It is a highly personal piece that is full of personal anecdotes about exchanges between Dr. King, Dr. Maguire and his family. Reading it will help make King the man more accessible.

All best,
TR

All,

Be sure to check out the article posted at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/05/8101/
Grace Lee Boggs is in her 90s and still going strong.

Also, I hope that you are all making good progress on your final group projects. Even-numbered groups (2,4,6) will present on April 21 and odd-numbered groups (1,2,3) will present on April 28. Each group should practice their presentation to be sure the total presentation does not exceed 30 minutes. Each group will also get a 10-minute Q&A period after their presentation. We have to stick to this schedule otherwise we won’t have enough time for everyone to present. Hard copy final projects are due on the same day as the assigned presentation. Graded final projects will be distributed on the last day of class (May 5). We will devote the last hour and a half of the next class to group work. Valorie, John Maguire and I will be on hand to answer any questions.

Lastly, for those of you who missed the April 7 class, please go to http://conversation.cgu.edu/tndy3465/files/ and download the file entitled W_LEE_FOUNDAY_ADD_12.13.07.doc and read it before the next class; doing so will make John Maguire’s guest lecture that much more meaningful.

All the best,

Tyler 

Group 3-NQ DRAFT Final Project.doc

Good morning GROUP #3,

Here is my contribution to our final project.  I tried to condense the information to a five page section.  I look forward to hearing your insights.

Are we still meeting on Thursday at the Library?  Let me know.  Talk to you all soon.

This particular speech seemed incredibly interesting, especially in light of current global politics. However, I was struck by some comparisons that King mentioned which have manifested themselves differently in today’s society. In his speech, King discussed seeing white and black boys dying next to each other even when they are not allowed to eat in the same restaurant. He also mentioned the idea that blacks were fighting for a freedom in Southeast Asia that they did not enjoy in their own country. In many ways, I think that similar themes are seen in today. The military heavily recruits in low-income communities, knowing that these communities are typically in desperate need of employment and are less likely to enroll in college. Additionally, many low-income students will join the military or reserves as a means to paying for college. In this respect, I wonder how much we have progressed in the area of equitable military service: we continue to see low-income men and women die in war or serve in the military to defend freedom, democracy, and various rhetorical phrases referencing American ideals. I just wonder how close we are to practicing our own ideals on the home front when these soldiers are fairly limited in the socio-economic groups represented in large numbers.

 

I think that in many ways, the rhetoric of King in this speech – referencing the colonization of another country and its contemporary imperialism, the civilian casualties in human life and social consequences, etc. – mirrors that of the current War in Iraq. While this war has not been resolved, I think that the arguments of King would be overwhelmingly echoed should he comment on America’s current situation. The war has become an intensely politicized issue showcasing the costs and benefits of such acts. However, there is less public commentary on the social issues that are highlighted in this war which reflect the inequities seen in our own country (rural whites, low income men and women, minorities). Is there currently a voice as strong and public as King’s to bring the cost-benefit analysis to include the domestic picture in a way that does not dwell on merely the financial and political, but social issues involved?

In Beyond Vietnam, Dr. King beckons to a giant in the American psyche - our desire to have/own/dominate.  He is so candid and forthcoming so much that he was becoming (by U.S. standards) an "enemy of the state."  He challenged the hegemonic position of the most "powerful" nation:  "The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just."  He beckons on those present and those who might hear/read his speech - common, intellectual, poor, rich, civilian, military.  Dr. King is insistent on the revolution of values.  He walks the listener through what he actually means as if realizing that what he is proposing is so far fetched that it needs clarity:  "A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional.  Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalties to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies."  Dr. King is proposing an individual revolution of choice but pleading for a collective unity in the the choice to be a revolutionary.

Otto Rene Castillo was a Guatemalan revolutionary, a guerilla fighter, and a poet.  After the 1954 CIA sponsored coup in Guatemala which overthrew Arbenz (which Dr. King references in his speech), Castillo went into exile in El Salvador.  In 1967, he returned to Guatemala to support the guerilla in Zacapa.  He was capture, tortured and killed that same year.  He wrote the following:

Apolitical Intellectuals

 One day

the apolitical

intellectuals

of my country will be interrogated

by the simplest

of our people

. . .

"What did you do when the poor

suffered, when tenderness

and life

burned out of them?

 

Apolitical intellectuals

of my swee country,

you will not be able to answer.

 

A vulture of silence

will eat your gut.

 

Your own misery

will pick at your soul.

 

And you will be mute in your shame.

 

Castillo and King beckon the same apolitical intellectuals.

 

NOTE:  The event on Friday was great in many ways.  My kids specially enjoyed the jazz section of the program.  They wanted more - and so did I.