[nabs-l] Stop Blaming the Economy & MLK JR. Rememberence & His View of the U.S. Economy

[Sandra Gayer]

Hello Joe,
I'm an African woman and I'm a blind person. What you said was most
eloquently expressed.

Very best wishes,
Sandra.

On 1/20/14, Joe <jsoro620 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Anyone who thinks the struggles of the collective blind are remotely
> similar
> to the struggles of African-Americans is severely misguided. It is true
> that
> blind people are discriminated for being perceived as helpless, but
> African-Americans face, and in some cases continue to face, discrimination
> for being thought of as less than human. I think Martin Luther King would
> have appreciated laws that would have protected his people from employment
> discrimination. I think he would have loved laws that intercede in the
> interest of a child's equal educational opportunities. We may not have
> always counted on Braille bathroom labels, but we have certainly enjoyed
> equal access to them. Similarly, we may not count on these laws and
> policies
> always working, but the privileges we enjoy have always surpassed the
> disadvantages of a lot of other underserved and vulnerable populations. And
> yet, despite the challenges African-Americans faced, MLK used this very
> same
> speech you share to promote the hard work African-Americans were doing to
> build housing and create jobs throughout a troubled region traditionally
> rallied against them. If anything, you prove the point that it can be done.
> It seems grossly incompetent to pretend the challenges of a population that
> can receive monthly checks, special transportation, special hiring
> authorities, and in some cases free college tuition are anything like the
> struggles of our African-American peers.
>
> Joe
>
> --
> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>
> Visit my blog:
> http://joeorozco.com/blog
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robin [mailto:robin-melvin at comcast.net]
> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 12:38 AM
> To: jsoro620 at gmail.com; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Stop Blaming the Economy & MLK JR. Rememberence & His
> View of the U.S. Economy
>
> In the words of the GREAT Martin luther King JR.
> (MLK JR.), I give you this as my response to your EMAIL post. Read it.
>
>
> you are always telling us to
>
> lift ourselves by our own bootstraps, and yet we are being robbed every
> day.
> Put something back in the ghetto." So along with our demand for jobs, we
> said,
>
> "We also demand that you put money in the Negro savings and loan
> association
> and that you take ads, advertise, in the Cleveland Call & Post, the Negro
>
> newspaper." So along with the new jobs, Sealtest has now deposited
> thousands
> of dollars in the Negro bank of Cleveland and has already started taking
> ads
>
> in the Negro newspaper in that city. This is the power of Operation
> Breadbasket. [applause]
>
>
>
> Now, for fear that you may feel that it's limited
> to Chicago and Cleveland, let me say to you that
> we've gotten even more than that. In Atlanta, Georgia,
>
> Breadbasket has been equally successful in the
> South. Here the emphasis has been divided between
> governmental employment and private industry. And while
>
> I do not have time to go into the details, I want
> to commend the men who have been working with it
> here: the Reverend Bennett, the Reverend Joe Boone,
>
> the Reverend J. C. Ward, Reverend Dorsey,
> Reverend Greer, and I could go on down the line,
> and they have stood up along with all of the other ministers.
>
> But here is the story that's not printed in the
> newspapers in Atlanta: as a result of Operation
> Breadbasket, over the last three years, we have added about
>
> twenty-five million dollars of new income to the
> Negro community every year. [applause]
>
>
>
> Now as you know, Operation Breadbasket has now
> gone national in the sense that we had a national
> conference in Chicago and agreed to launch a nationwide
>
> program, which you will hear more about.
>
>
>
> Finally, SCLC has entered the field of housing.
> Under the leadership of attorney James Robinson,
> we have already contracted to build 152 units of low-income
>
> housing with apartments for the elderly on a
> choice downtown Atlanta site under the
> sponsorship of Ebenezer Baptist Church. This is the first project
> [applause],
>
> this is the first project of a proposed southwide
> Housing Development Corporation which we hope to
> develop in conjunction with SCLC, and through this corporation
>
> we hope to build housing from Mississippi to
> North Carolina using Negro workmen, Negro
> architects, Negro attorneys, and Negro financial institutions throughout.
>
> And it is our feeling that in the next two or
> three years, we can build right here in the South
> forty million dollars worth of new housing for Negroes,
>
> and with millions and millions of dollars in
> income coming to the Negro community. [applause]
>
>
>
> Now there are many other things that I could tell
> you, but time is passing. This, in short, is an
> account of SCLC's work over the last year. It is a record
>
> of which we can all be proud.
>
>
>
> With all the struggle and all the achievements,
> we must face the fact, however, that the Negro
> still lives in the basement of the Great Society. He is
>
> still at the bottom, despite the few who have
> penetrated to slightly higher levels. Even where
> the door has been forced partially open, mobility for the
>
> Negro is still sharply restricted. There is often
> no bottom at which to start, and when there is
> there's almost no room at the top. In consequence, Negroes
>
> are still impoverished aliens in an affluent
> society. They are too poor even to rise with the
> society, too impoverished by the ages to be able to ascend
>
> by using their own resources. And the Negro did
> not do this himself; it was done to him. For more
> than half of his American history, he was enslaved. Yet,
>
> he built the spanning bridges and the grand
> mansions, the sturdy docks and stout factories of
> the South. His unpaid labor made cotton "King" and established
>
> America as a significant nation in international
> commerce. Even after his release from chattel
> slavery, the nation grew over him, submerging him. It became
>
> the richest, most powerful society in the history
> of man, but it left the Negro far behind.
>
>
>
> And so we still have a long, long way to go
> before we reach the promised land of freedom.
> Yes, we have left the dusty soils of Egypt, and we have crossed
>
> a Red Sea that had for years been hardened by a
> long and piercing winter of massive resistance,
> but before we reach the majestic shores of the promised
>
> land, there will still be gigantic mountains of
> opposition ahead and prodigious hilltops of
> injustice. (Yes, That's right) We still need some Paul Revere
>
> of conscience to alert every hamlet and every
> village of America that revolution is still at
> hand. Yes, we need a chart; we need a compass; indeed, we
>
> need some North Star to guide us into a future
> shrouded with impenetrable uncertainties.
>
>
>
> Now, in order to answer the question, "Where do
> we go from here?" which is our theme, we must
> first honestly recognize where we are now. When the Constitution
>
> was written, a strange formula to determine taxes
> and representation declared that the Negro was
> sixty percent of a person. Today another curious formula
>
> seems to declare he is fifty percent of a person.
> Of the good things in life, the Negro has
> approximately one half those of whites. Of the bad things of
>
> life, he has twice those of whites. Thus, half of
> all Negroes live in substandard housing. And
> Negroes have half the income of whites. When we turn to
>
> the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a
> double share: There are twice as many unemployed;
> the rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double
>
> that of whites; and there are twice as many
> Negroes dying in Vietnam as whites in proportion
> to their size in the population. (Yes) [applause]
>
>
>
> In other spheres, the figures are equally
> alarming. In elementary schools, Negroes lag one
> to three years behind whites, and their segregated schools (Yeah)
>
> receive substantially less money per student than
> the white schools. (Those schools) One-twentieth
> as many Negroes as whites attend college. Of employed
>
> Negroes, seventy-five percent hold menial jobs. This is where we are.
>
>
>
> Where do we go from here? First, we must
> massively assert our dignity and worth. We must
> stand up amid a system that still oppresses us and develop an
>
> unassailable and majestic sense of values. We
> must no longer be ashamed of being black. (All
> right) The job of arousing manhood within a people that have
>
> been taught for so many centuries that they are nobody is not easy.
>
>
>
> Even semantics have conspired to make that which
> is black seem ugly and degrading. (Yes) In
> Roget's Thesaurus there are some 120 synonyms for blackness
>
> and at least sixty of them are offensive, such
> words as blot, soot, grim, devil, and foul. And
> there are some 134 synonyms for whiteness and all are favorable,
>
> expressed in such words as purity, cleanliness,
> chastity, and innocence. A white lie is better
> than a black lie. (Yes) The most degenerate member of a
>
> family is the "black sheep." (Yes) Ossie Davis
> has suggested that maybe the English language
> should be reconstructed so that teachers will not be forced
>
> to teach the Negro child sixty ways to despise
> himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense
> of inferiority, and the white child 134 ways to adore himself,
>
> and thereby perpetuate his false sense of
> superiority. [applause] The tendency to ignore
> the Negro's contribution to American life and strip him of his
>
> personhood is as old as the earliest history
> books and as contemporary as the morning's newspaper. (Yes)
>
>
>
> To offset this cultural homicide, the Negro must
> rise up with an affirmation of his own Olympian
> manhood. (Yes) Any movement for the Negro's freedom that
>
> overlooks this necessity is only waiting to be
> buried. (Yes) As long as the mind is enslaved,
> the body can never be free. (Yes) Psychological freedom,
>
> a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful
> weapon against the long night of physical
> slavery. No Lincolnian Emancipation Proclamation, no Johnsonian
>
> civil rights bill can totally bring this kind of
> freedom. The Negro will only be free when he
> reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs
>
> with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own
> emancipation proclamation. And with a spirit
> straining toward true self-esteem, the Negro must boldly
>
> throw off the manacles of self-abnegation and say
> to himself and to the world, "I am somebody. (Oh
> yeah) I am a person. I am a man with dignity and honor.
>
> (Go ahead) I have a rich and noble history,
> however painful and exploited that history has
> been. Yes, I was a slave through my foreparents (That's right),
>
> and now I'm not ashamed of that. I'm ashamed of
> the people who were so sinful to make me a
> slave." (Yes sir) Yes [applause], yes, we must stand up and
>
> say, "I'm black (Yes sir), but I'm black and
> beautiful." (Yes) This [applause], this
> self-affirmation is the black man's need, made compelling (All right)
>
> by the white man's crimes against him. (Yes)
>
>
>
> Now another basic challenge is to discover how to
> organize our strength in to economic and
> political power. Now no one can deny that the Negro is in dire
>
> need of this kind of legitimate power. Indeed,
> one of the great problems that the Negro
> confronts is his lack of power. From the old plantations of the
>
> South to the newer ghettos of the North, the
> Negro has been confined to a life of
> voicelessness (That's true) and powerlessness. (So true) Stripped of
>
> the right to make decisions concerning his life
> and destiny he has been subject to the
> authoritarian and sometimes whimsical decisions of the white power
>
> structure. The plantation and the ghetto were
> created by those who had power, both to confine
> those who had no power and to perpetuate their powerlessness.
>
> Now the problem of transforming the ghetto,
> therefore, is a problem of power, a confrontation
> between the forces of power demanding change and the forces
>
> of power dedicated to the preserving of the
> status quo. Now, power properly understood is
> nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength
>
> required to bring about social, political, and
> economic change. Walter Reuther defined power one
> day. He said, "Power is the ability of a labor union like
>
> UAW to make the most powerful corporation in the
> world, General Motors, say, 'Yes' when it wants
> to say 'No.' That's power." [applause]
>
>
>
> Now a lot of us are preachers, and all of us have
> our moral convictions and concerns, and so often
> we have problems with power. But there is nothing wrong
>
> with power if power is used correctly.
>
>
>
> You see, what happened is that some of our
> philosophers got off base. And one of the great
> problems of history is that the concepts of love and power have
>
> usually been contrasted as opposites, polar
> opposites, so that love is identified with a
> resignation of power, and power with a denial of love. It was
>
> this misinterpretation that caused the
> philosopher Nietzsche, who was a philosopher of
> the will to power, to reject the Christian concept of love. It was
>
> this same misinterpretation which induced
> Christian theologians to reject Nietzsche's
> philosophy of the will to power in the name of the Christian idea
>
> of love.
>
>
>
> Now, we got to get this thing right. What is
> needed is a realization that power without love
> is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental
>
> and anemic. (Yes) Power at its best [applause],
> power at its best is love (Yes) implementing the
> demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting
>
> everything that stands against love. (Speak) And
> this is what we must see as we move on.
>
>
>
> Now what has happened is that we've had it wrong
> and mixed up in our country, and this has led
> Negro Americans in the past to seek their goals through
>
> love and moral suasion devoid of power, and white
> Americans to seek their goals through power
> devoid of love and conscience. It is leading a few extremists
>
> today to advocate for Negroes the same
> destructive and conscienceless power that they
> have justly abhorred in whites. It is precisely this collision of
>
> immoral power with powerless morality which
> constitutes the major crisis of our times. (Yes)
>
>
>
> Now we must develop progress, or rather, a
> program-and I can't stay on this long-that will
> drive the nation to a guaranteed annual income. Now, early in
>
> the century this proposal would have been greeted
> with ridicule and denunciation as destructive of
> initiative and responsibility. At that time economic
>
> status was considered the measure of the
> individual's abilities and talents. And in the
> thinking of that day, the absence of worldly goods indicated a
>
> want of industrious habits and moral fiber. We've
> come a long way in our understanding of human
> motivation and of the blind operation of our economic system.
>
> Now we realize that dislocations in the market
> operation of our economy and the prevalence of
> discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them
>
> in constant or frequent unemployment against
> their will. The poor are less often dismissed, I
> hope, from our conscience today by being branded as inferior
>
> and incompetent. We also know that no matter how
> dynamically the economy develops and expands, it
> does not eliminate all poverty.
>
>
>
> The problem indicates that our emphasis must be
> twofold: We must create full employment, or we
> must create incomes. People must be made consumers by one
>
> method or the other. Once they are placed in this
> position, we need to be concerned that the
> potential of the individual is not wasted. New forms of work
>
> that enhance the social good will have to be
> devised for those for whom traditional jobs are
> not available. In 1879 Henry George anticipated this state
>
> of affairs when he wrote in Progress and Poverty:
>
>
>
> The fact is that the work which improves the
> condition of mankind, the work which extends
> knowledge and increases power and enriches literature and elevates
>
> thought, is not done to secure a living. It is
> not the work of slaves driven to their tasks
> either by the, that of a taskmaster or by animal necessities.
>
> It is the work of men who somehow find a form of
> work that brings a security for its own sake and
> a state of society where want is abolished.
>
>
>
> Work of this sort could be enormously increased,
> and we are likely to find that the problem of
> housing, education, instead of preceding the elimination
>
> of poverty, will themselves be affected if
> poverty is first abolished. The poor, transformed
> into purchasers, will do a great deal on their own to alter
>
> housing decay. Negroes, who have a double
> disability, will have a greater effect on
> discrimination when they have the additional weapon of cash to use
>
> in their struggle.
>
>
>
> Beyond these advantages, a host of positive
> psychological changes inevitably will result from
> widespread economic security. The dignity of the individual
>
> will flourish when the decisions concerning his
> life are in his own hands, when he has the
> assurance that his income is stable and certain, and when he
>
> knows that he has the means to seek
> self-improvement. Personal conflicts between
> husband, wife, and children will diminish when the unjust measurement
>
> of human worth on a scale of dollars is eliminated.
>
>
>
> Now, our country can do this. John Kenneth
> Galbraith said that a guaranteed annual income
> could be done for about twenty billion dollars a year. And I
>
> say to you today, that if our nation can spend
> thirty-five billion dollars a year to fight an
> unjust, evil war in Vietnam, and twenty billion dollars to
>
> put a man on the moon, it can spend billions of
> dollars to put God's children on their own two
> feet right here on earth. [applause]
>
>
>
> Now, let me rush on to say we must reaffirm our
> commitment to nonviolence. And I want to stress
> this. The futility of violence in the struggle for racial
>
> justice has been tragically etched in all the
> recent Negro riots. Now, yesterday, I tried to
> analyze the riots and deal with the causes for them. Today
>
> I want to give the other side. There is something
> painfully sad about a riot. One sees screaming
> youngsters and angry adults fighting hopelessly and aimlessly
>
> against impossible odds. (Yeah) And deep down
> within them, you perceive a desire for
> self-destruction, a kind of suicidal longing. (Yes)
>
>
>
> Occasionally, Negroes contend that the 1965 Watts
> riot and the other riots in various cities
> represented effective civil rights action. But those who express
>
> this view always end up with stumbling words when
> asked what concrete gains have been won as a
> result. At best, the riots have produced a little additional
>
> anti-poverty money allotted by frightened
> government officials and a few water sprinklers
> to cool the children of the ghettos. It is something like improving
>
> the food in the prison while the people remain
> securely incarcerated behind bars. (That's right)
> Nowhere have the riots won any concrete improvement such
>
> as have the organized protest demonstrations.
>
>
>
> And when one tries to pin down advocates of
> violence as to what acts would be effective, the
> answers are blatantly illogical. Sometimes they talk of overthrowing
>
> racist state and local governments and they talk
> about guerrilla warfare. They fail to see that no
> internal revolution has ever succeeded in overthrowing
>
> a government by violence unless the government
> had already lost the allegiance and effective
> control of its armed forces. Anyone in his right mind knows
>
> that this will not happen in the United States.
> In a violent racial situation, the power
> structure has the local police, the state troopers, the National
>
> Guard, and finally, the army to call on, all of
> which are predominantly white. (Yes) Furthermore,
> few, if any, violent revolutions have been successful
>
> unless the violent minority had the sympathy and
> support of the non-resisting majority. Castro may
> have had only a few Cubans actually fighting with him
>
> and up in the hills (Yes), but he would have
> never overthrown the Batista regime unless he had
> had the sympathy of the vast majority of Cuban people. It
>
> is perfectly clear that a violent revolution on
> the part of American blacks would find no
> sympathy and support from the white population and very little
>
> from the majority of the Negroes themselves.
>
>
>
> This is no time for romantic illusions and empty
> philosophical debates about freedom. This is a
> time for action. (All right) What is needed is a strategy
>
> for change, a tactical program that will bring
> the Negro into the mainstream of American life as
> quickly as possible. So far, this has only been offered
>
> by the nonviolent movement. Without recognizing
> this we will end up with solutions that don't
> solve, answers that don't answer, and explanations that don't
>
> explain. [applause]
>
>
>
> And so I say to you today that I still stand by
> nonviolence. (Yes) And I am still convinced
> [applause], and I'm still convinced that it is the most potent
>
> weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for justice in this country.
>
>
>
> And the other thing is, I'm concerned about a
> better world. I'm concerned about justice; I'm
> concerned about brotherhood; I'm concerned about truth. (That's
>
> right) And when one is concerned about that, he
> can never advocate violence. For through violence
> you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder.
>
> (Yes) Through violence you may murder a liar, but
> you can't establish truth. (That's right) Through
> violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder
>
> hate through violence. (All right, That's right)
> Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that. [applause]
>
>
>
> And I say to you, I have also decided to stick
> with love, for I know that love is ultimately the
> only answer to mankind's problems. (Yes) And I'm going
>
> to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't
> popular to talk about it in some circles today.
> (No) And I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I
>
> talk about love; I'm talking about a strong,
> demanding love. (Yes) For I have seen too much
> hate. (Yes) I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs
>
> in the South. (Yeah) I've seen hate on the faces
> of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens
> Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because
>
> every time I see it, I know that it does
> something to their faces and their personalities,
> and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear.
>
> (Yes, That's right) I have decided to love.
> [applause] If you are seeking the highest good, I
> think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing
>
> is that we aren't moving wrong when we do it,
> because John was right, God is love. (Yes) He who
> hates does not know God, but he who loves has the key that
>
> unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality.
>
>
>
> And so I say to you today, my friends, that you
> may be able to speak with the tongues of men and
> angels (All right); you may have the eloquence of articulate
>
> speech; but if you have not love, it means
> nothing. (That's right) Yes, you may have the
> gift of prophecy; you may have the gift of scientific prediction
>
> (Yes sir) and understand the behavior of
> molecules (All right); you may break into the
> storehouse of nature (Yes sir) and bring forth many new insights;
>
> yes, you may ascend to the heights of academic
> achievement (Yes sir) so that you have all
> knowledge (Yes sir, Yes); and you may boast of your great institutions
>
> of learning and the boundless extent of your
> degrees; but if you have not love, all of these
> mean absolutely nothing. (Yes) You may even give your goods
>
> to feed the poor (Yes sir); you may bestow great
> gifts to charity (Speak); and you may tower high
> in philanthropy; but if you have not love, your charity
>
> means nothing. (Yes sir) You may even give your
> body to be burned and die the death of a martyr,
> and your spilt blood may be a symbol of honor for generations
>
> yet unborn, and thousands may praise you as one
> of history's greatest heroes; but if you have not
> love (Yes, All right), your blood was spilt in vain.
>
> What I'm trying to get you to see this morning is
> that a man may be self-centered in his
> self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. His generosity
>
> may feed his ego, and his piety may feed his
> pride. (Speak) So without love, benevolence
> becomes egotism, and martyrdom becomes spiritual pride.
>
>
>
> I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion,
> as we talk about "Where do we go from here?" that
> we must honestly face the fact that the movement must
>
> address itself to the question of restructuring
> the whole of American society. (Yes) There are
> forty million poor people here, and one day we must ask
>
> the question, "Why are there forty million poor
> people in America?" And when you begin to ask
> that question, you are raising a question about the economic
>
> system, about a broader distribution of wealth.
> When you ask that question, you begin to question
> the capitalistic economy. (Yes) And I'm simply saying
>
> that more and more, we've got to begin to ask
> questions about the whole society. We are called
> upon to help the discouraged beggars in life's marketplace.
>
> (Yes) But one day we must come to see that an
> edifice which produces beggars needs
> restructuring. (All right) It means that questions must be raised. And
>
> you see, my friends, when you deal with this you
> begin to ask the question, "Who owns the oil?"
> (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Who owns the iron
>
> ore?" (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Why
> is it that people have to pay water bills in a
> world that's two-thirds water?" (All right) These are words
>
> that must be said. (All right)
>
>
>
> Now, don't think you have me in a bind today. I'm
> not talking about communism. What I'm talking
> about is far beyond communism. (Yeah) My inspiration didn't
>
> come from Karl Marx (Speak); my inspiration
> didn't come from Engels; my inspiration didn't
> come from Trotsky; my inspiration didn't come from Lenin. Yes,
>
> I read Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital a long
> time ago (Well), and I saw that maybe Marx didn't
> follow Hegel enough. (All right) He took his dialectics,
>
> but he left out his idealism and his
> spiritualism. And he went over to a German
> philosopher by the name of Feuerbach, and took his materialism and made
>
> it into a system that he called "dialectical
> materialism." (Speak) I have to reject that.
>
>
>
> What I'm saying to you this morning is communism
> forgets that life is individual. (Yes) Capitalism
> forgets that life is social. (Yes, Go ahead) And the
>
> kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the
> thesis of communism nor the antithesis of
> capitalism, but in a higher synthesis. (Speak) [applause] It is
>
> found in a higher synthesis (Come on) that
> combines the truths of both. (Yes) Now, when I
> say questioning the whole society, it means ultimately coming
>
> to see that the problem of racism, the problem of
> economic exploitation, and the problem of war are
> all tied together. (All right) These are the triple
>
> evils that are interrelated.
>
>
>
> And if you will let me be a preacher just a
> little bit. (Speak) One day [applause], one
> night, a juror came to Jesus (Yes sir) and he wanted to know what
>
> he could do to be saved. (Yeah) Jesus didn't get
> bogged down on the kind of isolated approach of
> what you shouldn't do. Jesus didn't say, "Now Nicodemus,
>
> you must stop lying." (Oh yeah) He didn't say,
> "Nicodemus, now you must not commit adultery." He
> didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop cheating if
>
> you are doing that." He didn't say, "Nicodemus,
> you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing
> that excessively." He said something altogether different,
>
> because Jesus realized something basic (Yes):
> that if a man will lie, he will steal. (Yes) And
> if a man will steal, he will kill. (Yes) So instead of just
>
> getting bogged down on one thing, Jesus looked at
> him and said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again." [applause]
>
>
>
> In other words, "Your whole structure (Yes) must
> be changed." [applause] A nation that will keep
> people in slavery for 244 years will "thingify" them and
>
> make them things. (Speak) And therefore, they
> will exploit them and poor people generally
> economically. (Yes) And a nation that will exploit economically
>
> will have to have foreign investments and
> everything else, and it will have to use its
> military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together.
>
> (Yes) [applause]
>
>
>
> What I'm saying today is that we must go from
> this convention and say, "America, you must be born again!" [applause] (Oh
> yes)
>
>
>
> And so, I conclude by saying today that we have a
> task, and let us go out with a divine dissatisfaction. (Yes)
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied until America will no
> longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. (All
> right)
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the tragic
> walls that separate the outer city of wealth and
> comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall
>
> be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. (Yes sir)
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until those who live
> on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until slums are cast
> into the junk heaps of history (Yes), and every
> family will live in a decent, sanitary home.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the dark
> yesterdays of segregated schools will be
> transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not
> seen as a problem but as an opportunity to
> participate in the beauty of diversity.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (All right) until men and
> women, however black they may be, will be judged
> on the basis of the content of their character, not on
>
> the basis of the color of their skin. (Yeah) Let us be dissatisfied.
> [applause]
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Well) until every state
> capitol (Yes) will be housed by a governor who
> will do justly, who will love mercy, and who will walk humbly
>
> with his God.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied [applause] until from
> every city hall, justice will roll down like
> waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes)
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until that day when
> the lion and the lamb shall lie down together
> (Yes), and every man will sit under his own vine and fig
>
> tree, and none shall be afraid.
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied (Yes), and men will
> recognize that out of one blood (Yes) God made
> all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. (Speak sir)
>
>
>
> Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody
> will shout, "White Power!" when nobody will
> shout, "Black Power!" but everybody will talk about God's
>
> power and human power. [applause]
>
>
>
> And I must confess, my friends (Yes sir), that
> the road ahead will not always be smooth. (Yes)
> There will still be rocky places of frustration (Yes) and
>
> meandering points of bewilderment. There will be
> inevitable setbacks here and there. (Yes) And
> there will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will
>
> be transformed into the fatigue of despair.
> (Well) Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and
> our ethereal hopes blasted. (Yes) We may again, with tear-drenched
>
> eyes, have to stand before the bier of some
> courageous civil rights worker whose life will be
> snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. (Well)
>
> But difficult and painful as it is (Well), we
> must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious
> faith in the future. (Well) And as we continue our charted
>
> course, we may gain consolation from the words so
> nobly left by that great black bard, who was also
> a great freedom fighter of yesterday, James Weldon
>
> Johnson (Yes):
>
>
>
> Stony the road we trod (Yes),
>
> Bitter the chastening rod
>
> Felt in the days
>
> When hope unborn had died. (Yes)
>
> Yet with a steady beat,
>
> Have not our weary feet
>
> Come to the place
>
> For which our fathers sighed?
>
> We have come over a way
>
> That with tears has been watered. (Well)
>
> We have come treading our paths
>
> Through the blood of the slaughtered.
>
> Out from the gloomy past,
>
> Till now we stand at last (Yes)
>
> Where the bright gleam
>
> Of our bright star is cast.
>
>
>
> Let this affirmation be our ringing cry. (Well)
> It will give us the courage to face the
> uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength
>
> as we continue our forward stride toward the city
> of freedom. (Yes) When our days become dreary
> with low-hovering clouds of despair (Well), and when our
>
> nights become darker than a thousand midnights
> (Well), let us remember (Yes) that there is a
> creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic
>
> mountains of evil (Well), a power that is able to
> make a way out of no way (Yes) and transform dark
> yesterdays into bright tomorrows. (Speak)
>
>
>
> Let us realize that the arc of the moral universe
> is long, but it bends toward justice. Let us
> realize that William Cullen Bryant is right: "Truth, crushed
>
> to earth, will rise again." Let us go out
> realizing that the Bible is right: "Be not
> deceived. God is not mocked. (Oh yeah) Whatsoever a man soweth (Yes),
>
> that (Yes) shall he also reap." This is our hope
> for the future, and with this faith we will be
> able to sing in some not too distant tomorrow, with a cosmic
>
> past tense, "We have overcome! (Yes) We have
> overcome! Deep in my heart, I did believe (Yes) we would overcome."
> [applause]
>
> At 03:12 PM 11/17/2013, you wrote:
>>Tyler,
>>
>>Are you saying my position in the government is comfortable because you
>>think they hire anything off the street or because they bend backward to
>>give you anything you need? You'd be sorely mistaken on both counts. It
> took
>>me years to get into an agency that only hires a couple hundred for every
>>few thousand who apply, and as for accommodations, I had far better luck
>> in
>>the private sector getting what I need than I've gotten in the federal
>>government. You'd think government would be the most disability-friendly
>>employer. That's a knee slapper.
>>
>>I'm not sure why you would pretend to know my work history. I have in fact
>>worked, and still work with, the same major corporations and shoe string
>>businesses you reference. I honestly don't see where you were headed with
>>that line of thinking. I've encountered the same biases and prejudices at
>>employers large and small. I've even had experiences where I show up for
>> an
>>interview after being vetted and got turned away upon discovering I was
>>blind. I could have developed some sort of a record for taking some of
> these
>>places to court, but instead I went back home and began working on the
>> next
>>batch of applications. The irony is that even now when I want to provide
>>services for free as a philanthropic gesture, there are places that do not
>>want the volunteer service. I keep looking, because there are ten other
>>places that will gladly accept the free labor.
>>
>>You claim my bootstraps ideal is very, very flawed but give no compelling
>>evidence proving it. You did not answer my direct question in the other
> post
>>about what alternative advice you would provide. I am left to assume that
>>you have no answer, and that's okay. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm left
>>to  gather you are young, still in school and can therefore not give
>>concrete evidence to what it is like to be unemployed, truly unemployed,
>>something I have been and can testify to the feeling of overbearing
>>frustration it conjures.
>>
>>If some of us alumni come back to the list, it's to try to give you a
>>glimpse of what waits for you and dispense proven advice that will help
>> you
>>get around the inevitable challenges. If my way of thinking does not suit
>>you, I totally respect that, but don't fight the benefit my logic could
> have
>>on others. After all, I began this thread in direct response to references
>>in the training center discussion to graduates who could not find jobs on
>>account of the economy. That's one quick way to give up on looking for
>> jobs
>>and giving up on oneself. The suggestion that my style of thinking is an
>>idealistic notion is laughable. Idealistic is putting faith in a
>> government
>>system that will not be able to sustain social benefits forever. Social
>>Security is just one example of a benefit our generation will more than
>>likely not be able to enjoy when we need it, and that's not ideology,
> that's
>>economics.
>>
>>I would argue the more you teach yourself to pull yourself up by your own
>>bootstraps, the less dependent you will be on the whims of Congress, an
>>employer, or your family. That's real independence.
>>
>>And, to those who are not doing what they can to help blind people find
>>jobs, point me to them so's I can smack them about a bit! It's a
>> disservice
>>not to do what we can to help each other out, but I'll say this much
>>speaking for myself, I only put my own neck out for people committed to
> hard
>>work. I've already been burned by someone I helped put into a good
> position.
>>It severely backfired and destroyed my reputation with that employer.
>> Never
>>again.
>>
>>Joe
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Littlefield, Tyler [mailto:tyler at tysdomain.com]
>>Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 12:08 PM
>>To: jsoro620 at gmail.com; National Association of Blind Students mailing
>> list
>>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Stop Blaming the Economy
>>
>>Joe:
>>Through this thread, my point hasn't been to say that blind people are not
>>capable of working. In fact, if that were my stance I wouldn't be working
>>through college right now, taking out loans to cover what scholarships do
>>not. My point is to say that your conservative "I have a job and so should
>>you--just pull yourself up by the bootstraps" ideal is very very flawed.
> You
>>began this thread initially complaining about people who blame the
>> economy,
>>to which I agreed partially and said that while there are some people who
>>do, the economy makes it a lot harder to get jobs. It increases the
>>difficulty for us as blind applicants because we already have other
>> hurtles
>>in the way--assistive technology, accomadations, etc etc. Basically I'm
>>saying it's not quite as easy as you make it sound, while boasting about
>>yourself and skills at the same time. Most people looking for jobs (even
>>sighted people) will agree here. You hold a pretty comfortable position
>>within the government, which I dare say is not really the same as applying
>>to a huge corporation or even a smaller business with minimal resources.
>>
>>On 11/15/2013 11:15 PM, Joe wrote:
>> > Tyler,
>> >
>> > The difficulty in finding clients for your web development skills is a
>> > marketing issue, not a general employment concern. I'm not belittling
>> > your frustration of finding customers, but hustling for clients is
>> > part of the nature of an entrepreneur, regardless of whether you set
>> > up a full business or just sell yourself. Outside of Craigslist, which
>> > I would never recommend because of their general decline where service
>> > advertisement is concerned, I would look into Elance and Odesk. You'll
>> > need to be careful with clients interested in low bids over top
>> > talent, but that's going to be true no matter what website forum you
>> > set up shop. You'll need to advertise across social networks, pick up
>> > the phone and make cold calls, and yes, in some cases you'll need to
>> > volunteer at first to prove your worth before someone hires you.
>> > That's how I picked up Serotek as a client. The crazy thing is that
>> > even after you secure new business, you still need to devote time to
>> > marketing for more, because you never know when the safety net will
>> > drop
>>out from under you.
>> >
>> > I see you've set up a website, but it does nothing to motivate me to
>> > hire you as a developer. That's not a personal slam. It's candid
>> > feedback from a prospective customer.
>> >
>> > Finding business is a full-time job, and I understand if balancing
>> > that with school is problematic at this stage of your life. But,
>> > especially in your high demand field, more skill really does mean more
>> > job opportunities. Don't let the stupid media landscape of grim job
>> > statistics discourage you from pushing the kind of service you say
>> > you're qualified to deliver. It's not what the rest of the economy is
>> > up to. It's about what Tyler can specifically help my company do
>> > better.
>> >
>> > Remember, blind people were finding and keeping jobs long before we
>> > had today's technological conveniences. The NFB operation began with a
>> > dozen blind people working with far less at our disposal, and while
>> > some would argue the NFB is different because it's a social cause,
>> > it's because it was a social cause that it took grit and elbow grease
>> > to make it get off the ground. A nonprofit is a business like any
>> > other, and if our past leaders had just crossed their arms and said,
>> > "Well, crap, I guess that's that," we would have never seen the
>>organization we have today.
>> >
>> > Before I move onto Bridgit, let me ask you something in all sincerity.
>> > I've now written half a dozen posts with optimistic encouragement and
>> > suggestions. You may not like my viewpoint, but I think I've done a
>> > fair job of backing up my assertions. What's your alternative? All
>> > I've read from you is that the economy sucks, that jobs are too hard
>> > to get and that I'm basically delusional for thinking anything
>> > different. Never mind that I and many others are the evidence that
>> > disprove your gloom and doom way of thinking. Surely you are not
>> > suggesting we are anomalies. So, tell us, what would you suggest to
>> > the struggling unemployed person who is desperate for a job? Are you
>> > basically saying to give up and it sucks to be you? If you offer no
>> > alternative, you're basically advocating for the status quo, and
>> > you've already said the status quo is no good. So, I am genuinely
> confused
>>by your logic.
>> >
>> > Bridgit,
>> >
>> > First, let's touch on the point about the number of jobs. It would be
>> > great if all the jobs we wanted were available where we live. I think
>> > we have to reach a point where it makes sense to question whether the
>> > area we live in is open to the kind of qualifications I can bring to
>> > the market. For example, I would not live in Maine and hope to easily
>> > break into screen writing, nor would it be as feasible for me to be a
>> > rising star on Wall Street while living in Oklahoma. Is it possible?
>> > Anything's possible, but certain regions of the country are better
> suited
>>for my skills than others.
>> > Grant writing is one service I offer as part of my side business, and
>> > I live in the perfect place for it given the highest concentration of
>> > nonprofits in the country. The persistent evolution of the Internet of
>> > things will help bridge some of these gaps, but until our generation
>> > fully takes over the job market, we will still have to fight against
>> > outdated views that people need to be in a traditional office to get
>> > the
>>work done.
>> >
>> > Second, to your point about qualifications, it makes sense to think
>> > through what it is we're studying in school before investing in it.
>> > Liberal arts aren't going to make people that marketable outside of
>> > academic circles, and that's coming from a guy who may as well have
>> > graduated with a liberal arts degree. If the qualifications are
>> > severely restricting the kind of jobs I can get, something's wrong
>> > with what I studied. That's why I'm a big proponent of taking a gap
>> > year to figure out yourself and what it is you're really passionate
>> > about before spending thousands of dollars in a very expensive
>> > education
>>program.
>> >
>> > Next, employers are humans just like we are. Their reactions are going
>> > to run a diverse range, but job hunting is a numbers game. There's
>> > nothing we can do to eliminate people who take a dim view of blind
>> > people, and let's be honest. Their views would not change even if the
>> > economy was booming. If they did not discriminate against me for being
>> > blind, they might discriminate against me for being Hispanic, male,
>> > immigrant, tall, etc. The only cold comfort I can offer is keep
>> > applying or move to an area with more open minds.
>> >
>> > Finding a job after spending years as a stay-at-home parent is not
>> > easy, nor is it fair. A stay-at-home mom knows more about running a
>> > company than the CEO given her responsibilities of time management,
>> > budgeting, planning and executing, but you know, the more I think
>> > about these qualities, the more they could make for a compelling
>> > resume. You're a great writer. Something tells me you more than others
>> > will find creative ways of conveying your talents. Not every employer
>> > will bite, but the one that does will be an awesome match.
>> >
>> > And, generally speaking to the list, I guess that's all I have. There
>> > is such a thing is diminishing returns for people who refuse to listen
>> > to something other than the tired arguments that it's the fault of the
>> > economy or my disability or the next-door neighbor. I am accused of
>> > being too idealistic, but when real unemployment strikes, it's very
>> > easy to begin questioning your self-worth. When I'm down in the dumps
>> > and wondering if I stumbled down the wrong path in life, I would
>> > personally rather here of how I might just make my passion work
>> > instead of constant reminders that we have it so bad for being blind
>> > and for having to compete against so many applicants.
>> >
>> > To each his own. Me, there's a company I've been eager to work for
>> > these past few years. I believe next year I'll make a resolution to
>> > get off my ass and earn at least a part-time  contract there.
>> > Statistics be damned. They'd be lucky to have me working for them.
>> > Arrogant? Absolutely, but it's one of many possible ways to separating
>> > the great from the good. The key is figuring out the approach that
>> > makes
>>you better.
>> >
>> > To your success,
>> >
>> > Joe
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > nabs-l mailing list
>> > nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>nabs-l:
>> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/tyler%40tysdomain.
>> > com
>>
>>
>>--
>>Take care,
>>Ty
>>http://tds-solutions.net
>>He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he
> that
>>dares not reason is a slave.
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>nabs-l mailing list
>>nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
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> net
>
>
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