Wednesday, March 26, 2008

MECAWI to Host Conference on the 40th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 5

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory

Event: Conference on the 40th Anniversary of the Martyrdom
of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., April 5, 2008
Location: Dr. Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American
History, Orientation Theater, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
315 E. Warren, Between John R. & Brush
Sponsors: Michigan Emergency Committee Against War &
Injustice (MECAWI)
Contact: 313.671.3715
E-mail: ac6123@wayne.edu
URL: http://www.mecawi
Admission: Free and Open to the Public

MECAWI to Host Conference Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 5

April 4, 2008 will represent the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the civil rights and peace activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 5, MECAWI will host an historic conference examining the true legacy of the most well-known and championed leader of a popular movement for social change to develop during the 20th century in the United States.

At the time of his assassination Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee supporting a sanitation workers' strike where over 1,500 African-American men were seeking recognition as a bargaining unit through the AFSCME trade union. If he had lived, Dr. King would have also led a Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. demanding the eradication of poverty inside the country. One year prior to his assassination, Dr. King had come out strongly against the United States involvement in Vietnam.

Some four decades later, unfortunately, the United States has still not solved the problems of militarism, poverty and social inequality. In order to assess the legacy of Dr. King and to discuss the current state of the struggle for social justice, peace and self-determination, MECAWI is inviting the general public to participate in an afternoon of lectures, a video and discussions reviewing the history of the civil rights movement and what lies ahead in the ongoing fight to end poverty, racism, sexism and all other forms of biogtry and injustice.

Some of the issues discussed will be as follows:
-MLK and the Vietnam War
-Women and the Civil Rights Movement
-Nonviolence and armed self-defense from MLK to the BPP
-The US Counterintelligence Program and MLK
-A rare video of MLK speaking on the Vietnam War
-From civil rights to economic justice

Guest speaker Larry Hales, a Denver, Colorado activist and writer, will be a special guest at this conference. Hales is a member of the Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST) youth organization.

This event is free and open to the general public. For additional information just contact the number, website and e-mail listed above.

Abayomi Azikiwe,
Media Liason
313.671.3715

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