"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated on this day in 1968 in Memphis, TN.
Dr. King fought passionately for civil rights and voting rights, knowing that it put his life in constant jeopardy. The segregationist and racist forces that were arrayed against him in the '60s have reemerged in the Republican Party. They don't wear Klan robes now, preferring business suits, blow-dried hairstyles, and code words. But in Georgia, as in Texas, Arizona and other states, they're working mightily to restore those days as they cling to power through voter suppression, gerrymandering, and other anti-democratic actions. Had he lived to this day, you can be certain that to the extent a 92- year- old man could, he would be in front of efforts to stop the new Republican Jim Crow laws. He would never be silent about denying voting rights, this "thing that matters," and neither should we.
(photo: Aides point in the direction of the assassin's shot. Joseph Louw via Getty Images)
