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Martin Luther King Jr. is, with little doubt, one of the more notable figures in the annals of Black history, and his sacrifice for the greater good of all maintains its resonance in modern times. In the wake of the transition of power within the White House on January 20, Hip-Hop Wired is electing to honor Martin Luther King Jr. instead and will share ways to uphold the great leader’s lasting legacy.
Hip-Hop Wired and the entire Urban One family for years have highlighted the incredible accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., and the sting of his light being snuffed out in 1968 nearly upended the Civil Rights Movement as over 100 cities rioted after his assassination in Memphis, Tenn. At just 39 years of age at the time, King was close to achieving the impossible feat of unifying the country and wisely highlighted the true divide in America of race and class. And in the decades since King’s passing, Black people in America achieved incredible feats in the face of insurmountable odds only to conquer those barricades admirably.
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Check out a portion NewsOne’s profile and recognition of Martin Luther King Jr,’s 96th birthday below:
In 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed following the efforts and response to the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” in 1955. Rosa Parks jump-started the Civil Rights Movement that same year, after refusing to give up her seat to a White person. Dr. King and several other leaders joined the boycott, creating the SCLC.
With the help of the Quakers, Dr. King traveled to India in 1959 to visit with Gandhi. The trip was the necessary push needed to galvanize Dr. King’s desire to employ a similar approach with non-violent disobedience protests Stateside. SCLC activist Bayard Rustin, also a student of Gandhi’s teaching, served as King’s right hand in planning the 1963 “March On Washington” and was a trusted ally.
Releasing just a handful of books during his lifetime, Dr. King’s written work contained nearly the entire scope of his personal and academic pursuits. “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story” was released in 1958. His last work, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos Or Community,” saw a 1967 release.
Please read the entire profile here.
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One of the most viable ways one can engage the world using the philosophies of King comes by way of The King Center, helmed by Dr. Bernice A. King, the leader’s youngest child. Dr. King has enacted the training and education module Nonviolence365™️, which aids in the practice of nonviolent social activism. We could not think of another way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. other than pointing directly to all of the amazing efforts and activations sparked by The King Center.
Learn more by visiting The King Center website and check out the variety of resources there.
Adding to this, MLK Day is largely seen as a day of service. In that regard, search your local community organizations and volunteer to be in service of your neighbors, including the disabled and elderly. This can also include working in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or your local houses of worship. A gripping cold has taken over much of the country and several groups could use all hands on deck to bring warmth and comfort to the less fortunate.
On X, Martin Luther King Jr. is trending and we’ve gathered some replies to share with our readers below.
An urgent need… #MLK #MLKDay #KingHoliday pic.twitter.com/aP41uBs5ol
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) January 19, 2025
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Photo: Getty
Lauren Jauregui is speaking out against Amy Schumer, months after a video clip posted by the comedian on social media, in which Martin Luther King Jr. is seen denouncing antisemitism and expressing Israel‘s “right to exist.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I want all you passive genocidal […]
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Source: Boston Globe / Getty/ MLK
A moment meant to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, became nothing but pure jokes on social media.
Friday, Jan.13, “The Embrace,” a 20-foot tall, 40-foot wide monument, made its debut on Boston Common, where King gave his speech on April 23, 1965, to a crowd of 22,000.
The statue, which Brooklyn-based conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas designed, drew inspiration from a photo of King and Scott King hugging each other after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
The headless monument only features the couple’s arms embracing each other, and it has drawn tremendous amounts of criticism from folks on Twitter and some members of the King’s family.
Many people call the statue hideous, while others point out that it looks like a sexual act is going down.
Scott King’s causing, Seneca Scott said the monument was insulting speaking to CNN and, in an essay published by Compact Magazine, called it a “masturbatory metal homage.”
Yikes.
“If you can look at it from all angles, and it’s probably two people hugging each other, it’s four hands. It’s not the missing heads that’s the atrocity that other people clamp onto that; it’s a stump that looked like a penis. That’s a joke,” Scott said to CNN.
Martin Luther King III Likes The MLK Statue
On the other hand, the civil rights activist’s son, Martin Luther King III, said he was grateful for the statue that represents his parents’ love story and partnership, telling CNN’s Don Lemon he liked the monument.
“I think that’s a huge representation of bringing people together,” King told CNN. “I think the artist did a great job. I’m satisfied. Yeah, it didn’t have my mom and dad’s images, but it represents something that brings people together.”
“And in this time, day and age, when there’s so much division, we need symbols that talk about bringing us together,” he continued.
The Artist Defends His Work
During an appearance on CNN This Morning, Hill defended his work, saying his goal was to capture “the feeling of love” from the King’s relationship and has no plans of changing the statue.
“This is a piece that was selected by the people of Boston. This is not Hank just came and put something. Thousands of people worked on this, thousands of people actually put it together, and no one saw this, I would say, perverse perspective,” Thomas said.
He also points out that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Washington Monument were not instant hits, and “The Embrace” is another one of those situations.
Twitter is not trying to hear it and has let the jokes fly. You can see the reactions to the monument in the gallery below.
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Photo: Boston Globe / Getty
1. A thread breaking it all down
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