Has anybody here seen……….

In 1968 the folk singer Dion asked has anybody seen Abraham, Martin, John and Bobby.
“They freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young.”
They were dreamers, they were leaders, they were believers.
And they made us believe too.

We might sing the same question today. We might ask, are the dreamers gone? Is the dream gone?

Dr King was killed in Memphis where he was supporting a sanitation workers strike. He saw the Civil Rights movement and the Labor movement as intertwined, as one.
And so they are.

While in Memphis, Dr King said, “Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights. And so just as I said, we aren’t going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around. We aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.”

Today we face incredibly rich and powerful dream killers.
Income inequality is greater than ever in our country.
20% of our children live below the poverty level.
The rich pay a smaller percentage of taxes than those working 2 jobs to make ends meet.

If Dr King were alive today, what would he think, what would his message to us be?

This morning Labor, Faith groups, citizen advocacy groups and civil rights groups came together in Bloomfield Connecticut and committed to a solidarity pledge.
I think the pledge captured the message of Dr King and I think our actions keep his dream, the dream of Abraham, John, and Bobby, and our dream, alive:

“We recognize that the struggle for a more just, inclusive, and democratic society is one struggle, and that we can move forward only if we do so together.”

“We are going on.”

Originally published at backusunited-john.blogspot.com on January 17, 2016.