I did not quite finish my commentary on Chapter 3 yesterday (Tues. 2/24), so below is the remainder of what I planned to say. This will bring us up to Chapter 4 of Sitkoff's book, which is where we will start tomorrow.
P. It was SNCC that involved King in the Albany, Georgia campaign which did not succeed, despite how thoroughly segregated Albany was and the substantial local support they had. Chief of Police, Laurie Pritchett, outsmarted them by keeping his handling of the protests low-key, and even bailing King out of jail on one occasion so he would not draw too much critical attention. Pritchett even read King's book on Montgomery and some of Gandhi's essays.
1. But the SNCC students resented King for coming in and stealing the spotlight and agreeing to a deal which fell through and left segregation pretty much untouched. They began to refer to him as "De Lawd."
2. SNCC blasted King for agreeing to abide by an injunction against protests handed down by a federal judge (a segregationist who had been appointed by Kennedy). King realized he needed the federal government on his side and he did not want to piss them off. But the students regarded him as a "bougeois coward."
a.) After the injunction was lifted, King promised to lead a march, but 2,000 angry Albany blacks beat him to it -- they threw stones and bottles at the police. King went out afterward to urge them not to resort to violence.
3. King left Albany with not a whole lot to show for his efforts, with the possible exception of the new courage and self-respect among the black folk of Albany.
Q. What went wrong? Reasons for the failure of Albany:
1. Pritchett's skillful opposition.
2. Unity of white segregationists -- and how they used the black middle class (who had something to lose) to question King's tactics and besmirch his reputation.
3. Internal dissension between NAACP, SNCC, King.
4. King pointed to an overly broad list of grievances and demands -- need to target one aspect of segregation. And in this context King said they made a mistake in attacking the political power structure instead of the economic -- they had no leverage with politicians in terms of votes.
R. Then there was also the unwillingness of the Kennedy administration to get involved.
1. The JFK administration preferred public order over racial justice. Robert Kennedy actually phoned the mayor to congratulate him on the orderly manner of arrests and maintaining peace.
2. King criticized the FBI for siding with Albany segregationists. The FBI was quick to target blacks for wrong-doing but not white police officers for brutality. (Hoover, the FBI, refused to investigate police brutality cases. They were reluctantly dragged into the murder case in Mississippi -- the subject of the film "Mississippi Burning," which falsely portrays how they got involved.)
a.) King's public criticism of the FBI led Hoover to redouble his efforts to discredit King -- sending memos to Robert Kennedy about his association with Levison and how Levison was a dupe of the Soviets (for which they had no proof).
That brings us to Chapter 4. I'll have your papers back tomorrow and we'll have our first two textual commentaries.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Remaining Commentary on Chapter 2 & the Beginning of Chapter 3
Below are the points I had planned to make in class on the remainder of Chapter 2 and a bit of Chapter 3 of Sitkoff's book. Be sure to either copy or print this out and insert it in your notes. Remember, anything I cover in class or on this blog is fair game to make up questions from for the final exam.
At the very end of class I noted how King came to see Gandhi through the example of Jesus, and it was also a good fit with the Personalist philosophical views he picked up at Boston University. Sitkoff says:
"It fit King's exhortations that blacks must protest in a manner that sought reconciliation, that won the hearts and minds of whites, that paved the way for interracial amity and harmony. It placed blame on the system of segregation, not on the individual segregationists." (p. 46)
1. So, King came to see nonviolent resistance as not only a MORAL approach, but also a PRAGMATIC approach to overturning the unjust laws in the Deep South.
2. Glenn Smiley would organize workshops on non-violent direct action and passive resistance (which would become a staple of later campaigns).
J. Sitkoff nicely summarizes what all went into the developing philosophy of the movement King led. See middle two paragraphs, p. 47. (One might say in this regard, it took someone like King, with his background and intellect, to pull off the integration of these views.)
K. As the boycott dragged on and the bus company continued to lose money, they tried to work a deal, but they were overridden by the politicians.
L. King's stature was rising but the stress of being on the road and the anonymous threats took their toll. He sought help from an organization called "In Friendship" which Rustin ran with a couple other great figures -- Ella Baker and Stanley Levison.
1. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, collaboration with Stanley Levison. (See pp. 208-209 from Parting the Waters, which I handed out for more on Levison)
M. On June 5th (1956), a federal appeals court ruled the segregated bus seating unconstitutional. But that ruling was then appealed to the Supreme Court. (any sensible person or politician should have been able to predict what the Supreme Court would rule, so why not save the expense and work out a deal then?) The Supreme Court did finally rule unanimously that bus segregation was unconstitutional on Nov. 13, 1956, the final order not coming out until Dec. 20th. A KKK effort to intimidate blacks in Montgomery fizzled.
N. Although the MIA, in conjunction with the Black Churches, took on the task of educating blacks on how to handle themselves respectfully and be sensitive to whites' discomfort with this ruling, NOT A SINGLE WHITE GROUP OR CHURCH WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PREPARING THE WHITE COMMUNITY.
1. Violence ensued. Gun shots shattered King's front door. Sniper fire hit some buses; a teenage African-American girl was assaulted at a bus stop. Etc.
O. Beyond the victory of ending bus segregation in Montgomery, this protest had a much greater significance, which is why it is often regarded as the first great campaign of the modern civil rights struggle. Sitkoff says:
"Montgomery provided a model of the courageous 'new Negro,' King emphasized. 'He had thrust off his stagnant passivity and deadening complacency, and emerged with a new sense of somebodyness and self-respect, and had a new determination to achieve freedom and self-respect, and had a new determination to achieve freedom and human dignity no matter what the cost.' The Montgomery bus boycott became 'God's proving ground.' It forged new tactics and strategies, demonstrated the strength of black alliances and networks, and provided a language and vision that would generate and sustain a decade of nonviolent resistance, of peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws." (p. 54)
Chapter 3: These Humble Children of God, 1957-62
A. As you recall from the video presentation "King, from Montgomery to Memphis," it largely skipped over this period. Sitkoff suggests King was floundering for much of this period -- no clear sense of direction, beset by threats, travel demands, etc. I like the way Sitkoff opens the chapter: "What rabbits could he pull out of his hat next?..."(p. 57)
1. As we will see, others took the initiative. Eg., the student-led sit-ins, perhaps the most famous of which took place in Greensboro, NC on Feb. 1, 1960, which was really the beginning of SNCC.
2. King sought advice and counsel from Rustin, Levison (behind the scenes), and Ella Baker.
B. Sent out a "call" to 60 Southern black ministers to meet at his father's church in Atlanta. Followed up on Feb. 14 (1957) in New Orleans where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed and King elected its first president.
1. Note they purposely did NOT invite anyone from the NAACP (which focused on a litigation strategy).
2. The majority of black ministers steered clear of this organization.
3. The motto was, "To Redeem the Soul of America," which gave it a Christian emphasis to make it more palatable to whites, also steer clear of any taint of being leftist (communist) or un-American.
That's all for now. On Tuesday, we'll pick up early in Chapter 3. And remember we'll have three textual commentaries on Chapter 4 for Thursday. If for some reason you did not turn your first writing assignment in yesterday, get it in ASAP. I should have these back by next Thursday at the latest.
At the very end of class I noted how King came to see Gandhi through the example of Jesus, and it was also a good fit with the Personalist philosophical views he picked up at Boston University. Sitkoff says:
"It fit King's exhortations that blacks must protest in a manner that sought reconciliation, that won the hearts and minds of whites, that paved the way for interracial amity and harmony. It placed blame on the system of segregation, not on the individual segregationists." (p. 46)
1. So, King came to see nonviolent resistance as not only a MORAL approach, but also a PRAGMATIC approach to overturning the unjust laws in the Deep South.
2. Glenn Smiley would organize workshops on non-violent direct action and passive resistance (which would become a staple of later campaigns).
J. Sitkoff nicely summarizes what all went into the developing philosophy of the movement King led. See middle two paragraphs, p. 47. (One might say in this regard, it took someone like King, with his background and intellect, to pull off the integration of these views.)
K. As the boycott dragged on and the bus company continued to lose money, they tried to work a deal, but they were overridden by the politicians.
L. King's stature was rising but the stress of being on the road and the anonymous threats took their toll. He sought help from an organization called "In Friendship" which Rustin ran with a couple other great figures -- Ella Baker and Stanley Levison.
1. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, collaboration with Stanley Levison. (See pp. 208-209 from Parting the Waters, which I handed out for more on Levison)
M. On June 5th (1956), a federal appeals court ruled the segregated bus seating unconstitutional. But that ruling was then appealed to the Supreme Court. (any sensible person or politician should have been able to predict what the Supreme Court would rule, so why not save the expense and work out a deal then?) The Supreme Court did finally rule unanimously that bus segregation was unconstitutional on Nov. 13, 1956, the final order not coming out until Dec. 20th. A KKK effort to intimidate blacks in Montgomery fizzled.
N. Although the MIA, in conjunction with the Black Churches, took on the task of educating blacks on how to handle themselves respectfully and be sensitive to whites' discomfort with this ruling, NOT A SINGLE WHITE GROUP OR CHURCH WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PREPARING THE WHITE COMMUNITY.
1. Violence ensued. Gun shots shattered King's front door. Sniper fire hit some buses; a teenage African-American girl was assaulted at a bus stop. Etc.
O. Beyond the victory of ending bus segregation in Montgomery, this protest had a much greater significance, which is why it is often regarded as the first great campaign of the modern civil rights struggle. Sitkoff says:
"Montgomery provided a model of the courageous 'new Negro,' King emphasized. 'He had thrust off his stagnant passivity and deadening complacency, and emerged with a new sense of somebodyness and self-respect, and had a new determination to achieve freedom and self-respect, and had a new determination to achieve freedom and human dignity no matter what the cost.' The Montgomery bus boycott became 'God's proving ground.' It forged new tactics and strategies, demonstrated the strength of black alliances and networks, and provided a language and vision that would generate and sustain a decade of nonviolent resistance, of peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws." (p. 54)
Chapter 3: These Humble Children of God, 1957-62
A. As you recall from the video presentation "King, from Montgomery to Memphis," it largely skipped over this period. Sitkoff suggests King was floundering for much of this period -- no clear sense of direction, beset by threats, travel demands, etc. I like the way Sitkoff opens the chapter: "What rabbits could he pull out of his hat next?..."(p. 57)
1. As we will see, others took the initiative. Eg., the student-led sit-ins, perhaps the most famous of which took place in Greensboro, NC on Feb. 1, 1960, which was really the beginning of SNCC.
2. King sought advice and counsel from Rustin, Levison (behind the scenes), and Ella Baker.
B. Sent out a "call" to 60 Southern black ministers to meet at his father's church in Atlanta. Followed up on Feb. 14 (1957) in New Orleans where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed and King elected its first president.
1. Note they purposely did NOT invite anyone from the NAACP (which focused on a litigation strategy).
2. The majority of black ministers steered clear of this organization.
3. The motto was, "To Redeem the Soul of America," which gave it a Christian emphasis to make it more palatable to whites, also steer clear of any taint of being leftist (communist) or un-American.
That's all for now. On Tuesday, we'll pick up early in Chapter 3. And remember we'll have three textual commentaries on Chapter 4 for Thursday. If for some reason you did not turn your first writing assignment in yesterday, get it in ASAP. I should have these back by next Thursday at the latest.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Follow-up on King and Buddhism
I had the feeling that my comments comparing King's wisdom to the notion of wisdom in Buddhism were superficial and not very clear. You may disregard that passage I quoted about the final words of the Buddha. At the same time, I would insist there is a connection. It is not only the notion of mindfulness living, but the Buddhists also believe in what they call "interbeing" which stresses the interrelationship of all living things. You see this reflected in some of King's later writings when he talks in his last book about "The World House." For example, King said the following:
"In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality."
Now, I would be the first to admit, such a view of reality has sources other than Buddhism, but nonetheless it reflects a fundamental Buddhist belief.
King did have a personal relationship with that Vietnamese monk, whose name I put on the board, Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh said in an essay he wrote after King's death that his followers considered King a "bodhisattva," or Buddhist "saint". And King did nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, I just picked up Thich Nhat Hanh's latest book, "no death, no fear," and on the back cover is a quote from Dr. King from the letter he wrote nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. King said:
"Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity."
That's all for now. Remember the extra credit opportunity described in the previous blog post for next Tuesday 2/17, and don't forget the first writing assignment due next Thursday 2/19.
"In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality."
Now, I would be the first to admit, such a view of reality has sources other than Buddhism, but nonetheless it reflects a fundamental Buddhist belief.
King did have a personal relationship with that Vietnamese monk, whose name I put on the board, Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh said in an essay he wrote after King's death that his followers considered King a "bodhisattva," or Buddhist "saint". And King did nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, I just picked up Thich Nhat Hanh's latest book, "no death, no fear," and on the back cover is a quote from Dr. King from the letter he wrote nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. King said:
"Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity."
That's all for now. Remember the extra credit opportunity described in the previous blog post for next Tuesday 2/17, and don't forget the first writing assignment due next Thursday 2/19.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Reminder & Extra Credit Opportunity
There are a few people who have not yet posted a comment for The First Individual Exercise (posted Feb. 3, 2009). You need to do so ASAP. I am going to set a deadline of FRIDAY, FEB. 13TH. If you have not posted your comment by then you will NOT earn the five points for this exercise.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: You may earn 3 points extra credit by attending the Black History Month Convocation next Tuesday, Feb. 17th at 11AM. "One of America's leading Hip-Hop generation intellectuals," Dr. Marc Lamont Hill will be speaking about "the intersections of Hip-Hop culture, race, politics, and civic engagement." To earn the three points you must attend of course and post a one- or two-paragraph reflection as a comment on this blog post. In your reflection, I want you to consider the relevance of his remarks for the kind of civic engagement and politics Dr. King practiced during what we might call the "Motown era."
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: You may earn 3 points extra credit by attending the Black History Month Convocation next Tuesday, Feb. 17th at 11AM. "One of America's leading Hip-Hop generation intellectuals," Dr. Marc Lamont Hill will be speaking about "the intersections of Hip-Hop culture, race, politics, and civic engagement." To earn the three points you must attend of course and post a one- or two-paragraph reflection as a comment on this blog post. In your reflection, I want you to consider the relevance of his remarks for the kind of civic engagement and politics Dr. King practiced during what we might call the "Motown era."
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
First Individual Exercise
On Thursday (2/5) we will be seeing a documentary on King's public career as a civil rights leader, "King, From Montgomery to Memphis." Following this I want you to identify and briefly discuss (one paragraph) the relevance of any aspect of this documentary (OTHER THAN THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON AND "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH) for our first African American President, Barack Obama, and the challenges he faces. Post your comments on this blog no later than next Tuesday, 2/10. This exercise is worth 5 points.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Welcome
Dear MLK students, Welcome to this course blog that I have set up for Sociology 305: The Sociological Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr. I will be using this blog throughout the semester for various individual and group activities and exercises, as well as to post lecture notes on occasion if I get behind, and for review, especially for the final exam. You can anticipate the first exercise to be posted in the next day or two.
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