Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It should be a national holiday in the United States, but it isn't. If Public Enemy is to be believed (and I have no reason to doubt Chuck D, Flavor Flav maybe, but not Chuck D) then:
"The powers that be in the states of Arizona and New Hampshire have found psychological discomfort with paying tribute to a black man who tried to teach white people the meaning of civilization."
--Sister Souljah, intro to "By the Time I Get to Arizona"
Some opponents to a national MLK holiday contend that students should be in school on Martin Luther King Day learning about Dr. King. There are two major fallacies to this argument. First, it assumes that schools will teach lessons about Dr. King. We all know the saying, when you assume you make an ass out of yourself (don't drag me down with you, you ass). There is no guarantee that a school will teach anything about Dr. King's significance and legacy. In an extreme instance, a racist school would be in session on MLK Day and the students wouldn't learn anything about the man. Second, why can't students learn about Dr. King on the Tuesday after the holiday? Students should be taught of Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of the core academic curriculum, not just one day a year.
With my day off, I'm going to read articles on MLK and watch Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. The Criterion Collection edition of this film is fuckin' sweet. Lee got robbed of an Academy Award. Do the Right Thing wasn't even nominated and Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture? WTF? At least Denzel took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1990.
And welcome to Bloody Knee Jerk.
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