What would Martin Luther King, Jr. think ...

Boulder Creek CA

Description

...of today’s limits on free speech? As America celebrates the life and work of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is important to remember all of the work MLK did for free speech. The day before his assassination in 1968, King delivered a speech in which he highlighted the importance of First Amendment rights in the civil rights movement: “All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper. If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they haven’t committed themselves to that over there. But 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 right. And so just as I say we aren’t going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around.” Today, people are faced with increasing barriers – both legal and societal – to expressing themselves freely. That’s bad news for those who want to make their views heard.