Listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream," the deep house mix

[the_borderer]

Marc Smith used to play the speech during his bouncy techno/UK hardcore DJ sets, I assume for the PLUR association.

I find it hard to listen to now, because I realised that MLKs vision is far from being achieved.

Selected text from another topic:

@the_borderer

One of the things that depresses me on a daily basis is that MLKs vision still hasn’t happened 50 years after his murder.

@anon50609448

“We cannot be satisfied as long as:”

• Black Americans are the victims of police brutality
• Black Americans can’t stay in hotels
• Black Americans’ basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one
• There are still “For Whites Only” signs
• Black Americans in Mississippi cannot vote
• Black Americans in New York believe they have nothing for which to vote

That’s the part of the speech I always remember. The specific hotels issue was dealt with in legislation, but anyone who is quoting MLK and who is not speaking out about police brutality is doing it wrong.

(I do have to say that the last one about people feeling they have nothing for which to vote… I get it has a specific historical context and is a racial issue, but there’s a part of me that always thinks… oh boy, that’s a tall order)

@MalevolentPixy

Bold = my commentary

• Black Americans are the victims of police brutality – hasn’t changed a whit.
• Black Americans can’t stay in hotels – Just claim they’re loitering and have the cops harass them.
• Black Americans’ basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one – We have done something about this: gentrified the ghetto so they don’t even have that, or any sense of community.
• There are still “For Whites Only” signs – give it a minute. We’ll be seeing them
• Black Americans in Mississippi cannot vote – no, they certainly cannot. See: felon disenfranchisement and discriminatory police & court system
• Black Americans in New York believe they have nothing for which to vote – yup. Still going strong

Anyone who can seriously look at that list and think we’re even close to achieving Dr. King’s dream has enormous powers of self-delusion. Like superpowered levels. We haven’t even started. We’re still having coffee and bitching that the snacks aren’t up to standard.

I still have hope, but we need to fight hard to make it happen.