Pacifica's Peace Watch
Tues. Jan. 1, 2003
Today's Stories:
Half a Million March on Washington to Oppose War with Iraq
Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
Colman McCarthy On the King Legacy
Non Violence Innovator: The Reverend Dr. James (Jim) M. Lawson,
Jr.
Representative John Conyers Speaks on Dr. King
William Pepper: King Was More than a Dreamer
Poet Nikki Giovanni on Dr. King
Sweet Honey In The Rock: Letter To Martin
The audio of today's show is posted at http://www.radio4all.net/
Safe Haven Tracking Saddam
Sunday, the three highest ranking members of the Bush administration,
Condelisa Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell all made
the rounds of the network TV news shows announcing an apparently
softer stance on Iraq.
War rhetoric was momentarily diminished with the administration
proposing that Saddam Hussein go into exile, signaling according
to the Washington Post - that a bargain might be in the offing.
Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld said that “some provision
could be made so that senior leadership in Iraq could be provided
haven in some other country”. He added that the 'decision
on Iraq' would have to be made “in a matter of weeks,
not in months or years” and all three officials, in
careful coordination termed the option of Hussein's exile
as extremely remote.
With the tremendous gatherings in Washington and San Francisco
this weekend, and Europe wide protests against a possible
war in Iraq slated for mid-February, opposition is mounting
to the Bush administration's plans for Iraq. Saturday a Time-CNN
poll indicated that President Bush's approval rating is at
its lowest, 53 percent, since September 11.
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Story: Half a Million March on Washington to Oppose
War with Iraq
It can’t be missed that the talk of exile for Saddam
Hussein comes on the heels of one of the largest anti-war
protests in Washington since the Vietnam war.
It’s estimated that between 200,000-5hundred thousand
protestors rallied this weekend on the mall in Washington
DC, while president bush retired to Camp David. Speaker after
speaker took to the podium in temperatures hovering in the
teens; hoping to make the case for peace and insisting the
president has not yet made his case for war.
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Story: Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia Cynthia McKinney addressed
the throng.
Tape: Former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney.
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Story: Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
Presidential candidate and long time civil rights activist
Al Sharpton recalled the aspects of Dr. King’s teachings
that spoke directly to the issues of war and peace. He has
stood firm in the fight for civil rights for several decades.
Tape: Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the national action
network
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Story: Colman McCarthy On the King Legacy
The legacy of Dr. King as defined by the mainstream media
has long emphasized his self appointed title as a drum major
for peace, but those who had the opportunity to meet Dr. King
speak of his fierce opposition to war and global hegemony
on the part of the U.S. government. Colman McCarthy is a former
columnist for the Washington Post his new book is titled:
I’d rather teach peace, and he does at universities
and schools throughout the Washington area….McCarthy
remembers a man in dr. King, far more complex than he’s
been portrayed by some.
Tape: Author and former Washington Post columnist Colman
McCarthy
Tape: The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King “ Why I
opposed the war in Vietnam” delivered at the Riverside
Church in New York City on April 4th 1967, one year to the
day before he was assassinated.
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Story: Non Violence Innovator: The Reverend Dr. James
(Jim) M. Lawson, Jr.
This weekend, while hundreds of thousands rallied on the
mall invoking the spirit of Dr. King…a man whom King
hired to direct strategies for direct action during the infancy
stages of The Movement, delivered an address one block
away - - - at The Smithsonian National Museum of American
History.
Dr. James m. Lawson was a draft resister during the Korean
war and was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing
to fight. After being paroled from prison he went to India
as a missionary and studied with Ghandi. When Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat on the bus in 1955, he returned home to
the U.S. and joined Dr. King in the struggle. Peacewatch editor
Lona Alias captured his remarks on tape.
Tape: Dr. James M. Lawson who developed direct action non-violence
strategies for Dr. King.
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Story: Representative John Conyers Speaks on Dr.
King
There are nearly 40 members of the congressional black caucus
and virtually all of their lives have been touched by the
teachings of Dr. King. But it was U.S. Representative John
Conyers of Michigan who wrote the bill making King’s
birthday a holiday.
Tape: U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan.
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Story: William Pepper: King Was More than a Dreamer
Martin Luther King is usually remembered for his March on
Washington speech, but he also devoted much of the end of
his life to Poor People’s Campaign and I opposition
to the Vietnam War. Larry Bensky of Pacifica’s Sunady
Salon program spoke with William Pepper, author of An Act
of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, about the response
Dr. King receive.
Tape: William Pepper by Larry Bensky of Pacifica’s
Sunday Salon program
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Story: Poet Nikki Giovanni on Dr. King
During times of crisis in our history, artists and writers
often serve as the conscience of the people. One of the voices
of defiance that has been resonating for several decades is
poet and activist Nikki Giovanni. She dropped into our peace
watch studio last weekend and recalled her meeting with Dr.
King and the influence he had on her life as an activist and
poet. Dr. Nikki Giovanni is the recipient of 16 honorary doctorate
degrees and is presently teaching at Virginia Tech University
Tape: Dr. Nikki Giovanni
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Story: Sweet Honey In The Rock: Letter To Martin
Poet and activist Sonya Sanchez wrote a letter to Dr. King
updating him on all that had transpired since his death. This
poem was to put music by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Grammy
award winning acapella singing group, Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Tape: Sweet Honey In The Rock
Credits
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For a copy of today's show, please contact Pacifica
Radio Archives at 800 735 0230.
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