Guest Host Monique Pressley speaks with Rev. Dr. William Barber II on the resonance of King’s speech and what lessons can be applied to today’s political and social landscape
WASHINGTON, D.C. — APRIL 4, 2017 — This morning on NewsOne Now, guest host Monique Pressley spoke with Rev. Dr. William Barber II, President of the North Carolina NAACP and pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in North Carolina about the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s delivery of his “Beyond Vietnam” speech at Riverside Church in New York City. Given exactly one year before his assassination, King publicly denounced the Vietnam War and marked a definitive turning point in sealing his legacy. Barber honored King and his speech on Sunday, April 2 by delivering his sermon, “When Silence Is Not An Option,” at the same location.
“Dr. King, in that speech, took on the ‘isms’: he took on racism, materialism, and militarism. And in our culture right now we have persons literally who want to lead and run and who are elected for office who promote modern day systemic racism by refusing to address the issue of voter suppression, for instance, and by lying about voter fraud,” Barber said. “We see poverty at an all-time high. There are people that are willing to deny living wages and attack the poor,” he said. “And then we look at militarism. We’re talking about [adding] $54 billion dollars to an already bloated military budget. And what could we do with $54 billion dollars? We could end child poverty in America, we could provide everybody with health care. We are in a moral crisis, just like Dr. King said then. We need a moral resolution of values. We need a moral revival.”
(courtesy credit: TV One/NewsOne Now)
Pressley also spoke with former NAACP General Counsel and Secretary Kim Keenan about the speech, reflecting on its theme of inconsideration for those fighting the battle.
“He could have written this speech yesterday. Now, there’s no more party, really, there’s just people fighting against red and blue and they’re not worried about the people,” said Keenan. “I just feel like they’re not on the side of the people- they’re so caught up in ‘We have to win because we’re the Dems’ or ‘We have to win because we’re the Republicans’ and nobody’s worried about where they’re leaving the people in these arguments that leave us with racism, militarism, and poverty.”
(courtesy credit: TV One/NewsOne Now)
For more information about NewsOne Now and Roland S. Martin, visit www.tvone.tv , and check out TV One’s YouTube Channel. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using #NewsOneNow and engage with Martin daily via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Periscope (@rolandsmartin). Viewers are now able to listen to NewsOne Now by live streaming on www.newsone.com.
ABOUT NEWSONE NOW:
Emanating from the heart of Washington D.C. in a state-of-the-art studio that offers a stunning view of the Capitol building, NewsOne Now airs Monday through Friday on TV One from 7-8 a.m. ET. NewsOne Now is hosted by Roland S. Martin, the 2013 National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year and former host of TV One’s long-running, award-winning weekly news program, Washington Watch with Roland Martin. Each morning, Martin – who also serves as the program’s managing editor – sifts through the headlines of the day to spotlight matters that greatly impact the African American community. In addition to television, NewsOne Now reaches audiences 24/7 with exclusive program content and extended editorial on NewsOne.com and the NewsOne mobile app. NewsOne Now is an evolution of Interactive One’s award-winning digital brand NewsOne.com that launched in 2008 and reaches millions of African Americans each month. Susan Henry is executive producer of NewsOne Now. D’Angela Proctor is TV One’s head of original programming and production.
ABOUT TV ONE:
Launched in January 2004, TV One serves more than 60 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction, Hollywood Divas and The NAACP Image Awards. In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster drama Empire, and NewsOne Now, the only live daily news program dedicated to black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, www.radio-one.com], the largest African-American owned multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban audiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment