{"id":116027,"date":"2008-04-04T01:00:35","date_gmt":"2008-04-04T05:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/black-unity-family-commemorates-king-assassination-with-letter-to-fellow-americans\/"},"modified":"2008-04-04T01:00:35","modified_gmt":"2008-04-04T05:00:35","slug":"black-unity-family-commemorates-king-assassination-with-letter-to-fellow-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/black-unity-family-commemorates-king-assassination-with-letter-to-fellow-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Unity Family Commemorates King Assassination with Letter to Fellow Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWS SOURCE: National Coalition on Black Civic Participation<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Black Unity Family, a diverse, nonpartisan coalition of groups and individuals co-convened by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and Melanie L. Campbell, released the following “Letter to Fellow Americans:” <\/p>\n

Where Do We Go From Here?<\/p>\n

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly…. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy….” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/p>\n

Dear Fellow Americans:<\/p>\n

On this, the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we, a diverse, nonpartisan, intergenerational coalition of African-American groups and individuals, have come together so that our voices will be clearly heard.<\/p>\n

Our community has a great stake in this presidential election, and issues that we are most concerned about must be addressed.<\/p>\n

We share with all Americans a call for the prompt ending of the war in Iraq, universal health care, access to quality education, affordable housing free from predatory lenders, quality jobs and economic stability.<\/p>\n

Our particular domestic and global priorities include: re-creating a high-wage economy, transforming underserved schools, increasing funding for historically Black colleges and universities, restoring communities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, reconstructing a Supreme Court committed to justice for all, sustaining strong enforcement of civil rights laws and rebuilding urban and rural infrastructures.<\/p>\n

We also call for expanding HIV\/AIDS research, the recognition of workers’ rights to organize, entrepreneurial opportunity, environmental justice, criminal justice reform, the reduction of disproportionately high incarceration rates, and support for the growth and development of Caribbean and African nations. These are critical human rights issues.<\/p>\n

Our churches have been our moral foundation and prophetic witness for justice and equality since slavery, holding up a mirror on areas where the nation falls short of these virtues.<\/p>\n

We strongly uphold the right to religious freedom of expression as reflected in our churches and other faith institutions.<\/p>\n

Our unpaid labor, creativity, blood, sweat and tears helped build America. Today, we seek to work with Americans of all faiths, races and ethnic backgrounds to heal long-standing wounds in our nation.<\/p>\n

Let us all join together to realize Dr. King’s vision of social, racial and economic justice for all – for the love of our children and for future generations.<\/p>\n

The Black Unity Family<\/strong> (Partial list. For a full list go to www.ncbcp.org<\/a> )<\/p>\n

\tMaya Angelou
\tBarbara Arnwine
\tVanita Banks
\tCora Masters Barry
\tLezli Baskerville
\tJulian Bond
\tDonna Brazile
\tClayola Brown
\tKhephra Burns
\tMelanie Campbell
\tRev. Suzan Johnson Cook
\tJohnnetta B. Cole
\tProf. Kimberly Crenshaw
\tFelicia Davis
\tAl Dotson
\tThomas W. Dortch
\tRev. Gerald Durley
\tMichael Eric Dyson
\tHazel Edney
\tDeAnna Evans
\tRalph Everett
\tIsaac Farris
\tDanny Glover
\tDennis Hayes
\tHon. Glenda Hatchett
\tDr. Dorothy I. Height
\tGerald Hudson
\tRev. Jesse Jackson
\tBenjamin Jealous
\tKeith Jennings
\tJeff Johnson
\tOscar Joyner
\tMaulana Karenga
\tMartin Luther King, III
\tBishop Eddie Long
\tEvelyn Lowery
\tRev. Joseph Lowery
\tWilliam Lucy
\tJulianne Malveaux
\tDarryl Matthews.
\tBishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr.
\tTerry McMillan
\tBarbara McKinzie
\tBishop Vashti McKenzie
\tBrenda Girton Mitchell
\tRev. Judith C. Moore
\tMarc Morial
\tConstance Newman
\tCharles Ogletree
\tKevin Parker
\tRev. Tyrone S. Pitts
\tSteve Phillips
\tKevin Powell
\tLois A. Rice
\tElsie Scott
\tRev. Al Sharpton
\tBeverly Guy-Shefthall
\tYvonne Scruggs-Leftwich
\tBev Smith
\tJane E. Smith
\tRev. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr.
\tHon. Calvin Smyre
\tCharles Steele
\tBeverly Daniel Tatum
\tSusan L. Taylor
\tRev. Regena Thomas
\tCicely Tyson
\tIyanla Vanzant
\tRev. C. T. Vivian
\tLaKimba DeSadier-Walker
\tRonald Walters
\tShelley Wynter
\tRev. Barbara Williams-Skinner
\tTerrie Williams
\tRichard Womack
\tHon. Andrew Young<\/p>\n

NOTE TO MEDIA: The following BUF representatives are available for interview. Contact Edrea at edmedia @dogonvillage.com:<\/p>\n

\tSusan L. Taylor
\tMelanie Campbell
\tProfessor Charles Ogletree
\tBarbara Arnwine, Esq.
\tDr. Joseph E. Lowery
\tWilliam “Bill” Lucy
\tKevin Powell <\/p>\n

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation \/ Black Unity Family<\/p>\n

News issued by: National Coalition on Black Civic Participation<\/p>\n

\"National<\/p>\n

Original Image: https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/08-0101-Send2Press_72dpi.jpg<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

# # # <\/p>\n

Original Story ID: (3828) :: 2008-04-0403-006<\/small><\/p>\n

Original Keywords: National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Black Unity Family, commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., nonpartisan, intergenerational coalition of African-American groups and individuals, black PR, wire, Jazzmyne PR National Coalition on Black Civic Participation <\/small><\/p>\n

NEWS SOURCE: National Coalition on Black Civic Participation<\/strong> | Published: 2008-04-04 01:00:35<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Black Unity Family, a diverse, nonpartisan coalition of groups and individuals co-convened by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and Melanie L. Campbell, released the following ‘Letter to Fellow Americans:’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9780,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"singles-wide.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19937],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases-archive","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":456,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9780"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}