Martin Luther King Jr.

ABC’s Tahman Bradley: Beck Rally’s ‘Crowd Was Almost All White, Giving Critics an Open Door’
By Brad Wilmouth | August 30, 2010 | 3:21 AM EDT

On Sunday’s Good Morning America, during a report which focused on FNC host Glenn Beck’s "Restoring Honor" rally and the negative reaction from civil rights activists like the Reverend Al Sharpton, ABC correspondent Tahman Bradley declared that "the crowd was almost all white, giving critics an open door."

It was after recounting that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece – Dr. Alveda King – was a speaker at the rally, Bradley noted the racial makeup of Beck’s event:

TAHMAN BRADLEY: Dr. King's own niece, Alveda King, spoke.

DR. ALVEDA KING, NIECE OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: We need to rebuild America.

BRADLEY: An obvious effort to try to show inclusion on this historic day, but the crowd was almost all white, giving critics an open door.

REVEREND AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We're not giving them this day. This is our day, and we ain't giving it away.

And similar to reports on the rally that aired on GMA on Friday and Saturday, ABC used such labels as "controversial" and "conservative" to label Beck or his followers, but did not use ideological labels to refer to Sharpton, nor was the left-wing activist’s own controversial history mentioned.  For example, in the opening teaser, substitute host Ron Claiborne asserted that the rally was "led by controversial conservatives Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin."

ABC's Claiborne Presses MLK Niece to ‘Understand, At Least, How Some’ See Beck Rally as ‘Affront’ to Civil Rights Movement
By Brad Wilmouth | August 30, 2010 | 2:26 AM EDT

On Saturday’s Good Morning America on ABC, during an interview with Dr. Alveda King – a niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. known for her pro-life activism – substitute host Ron Claiborne challenged her to defend her participation in conservative talker Glenn Beck’s "Restoring Honor" rally in two out of the three questions he posed to her. The ABC host asked if she was "comfortable aligning yourself" with Beck – considered "inflammatory and divisive" by "many people." After failing to get Dr. King to criticize the conservative talker, Claiborne seemed to appeal to her to "understand at least" why some agree with Democratic Congressman John Lewis’s assessment of the Beck rally as an "affront" to the Civil Rights Movement. Claiborne's second and third questions:

Many people call Glenn Beck's political views and style inflammatory and divisive. Are you comfortable, are you comfortable aligning yourself with someone who once called President Obama a racist?

Well, Congressman John Lewis, who, of course, stood beside your uncle 47 years ago and marched many times for civil rights, has said that Beck's rally is an affront to what the Civil Rights Movement stood for. When you hear that kind of talk, can you understand, at least, how some people could interpret it that way?

The interview with Dr. King came right after a report filed by correspondent Claire Shipman which, similarly to her report from Friday’s GMA, assigned such labels at "right-wing" and "controversial" to Beck, while the Reverend Al Sharpton’s own controversial history was not mentioned, nor was his liberal ideology.

Chris Matthews' 'Nightmare': 'Right-wing Boys and Girls Singing Praise for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin'
By Noel Sheppard | August 28, 2010 | 2:48 PM EDT

The hatred for Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Americans that don't agree with the current direction of this nation was dripping from Chris Matthews' lips Friday evening.

In a show filled with falsehoods and anti-Conservative rants that should even embarrass folks at MSNBC, the "Hardball" host concluded by once again attacking one of the most popular radio and television personalities in the country along with the former governor of Alaska.

Of the "Restoring Honor" rally to be held in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Matthews asked, "Can we imagine if [Martin Luther] King were physically here tomorrow, today, were he to reappear tomorrow on the very steps of the Lincoln Memorial?"

The MSNBCer disgustingly answered his own question, "I have a nightmare that one day a right-wing talk show host will come to this spot, his people`s lips dripping with the words 'interposition' and 'nullification.'"

Matthews continued practically seething venom, "Little right-wing boys and little right-wing girls joining hands and singing their praise for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. I have a nightmare" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Beck 'On Crack, Taking Stupid Pills' Say Mika, Joe
By Mark Finkelstein | August 27, 2010 | 7:53 AM EDT
When Joe Scarborough wondered out loud "how many times can you set your hair on fire?" before viewers stop being shocked, you might have thought he was talking about Keith Olbermann, the man whose scenery-chewing soliloquies inspired an instant-classic Saturday Night Live skit.

But no, Joe was speaking of Glenn Beck.  Perhaps the shot Scarborough took at Ed Schultz a couple weeks ago exhausted his monthly quota of internecine MSNBC insults.

On today's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski and Joe took turns ripping Beck's promotion of the rally at the Lincoln Memorial he's staging Saturday on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  Riffing off a Colbert Show segment showing clips of Beck, Mika claimed he sounded like a drama student "on crack."  Scarborough, suggesting Mika might have gone too far, surmised Beck might merely have taken "stupid pills."
Bill Press: Glenn Beck Rally at Lincoln Memorial 'Like Granting Al Qaeda Permission to Hold a Rally on Sept. 11 at Ground Zero'
By Jeff Poor | June 26, 2010 | 9:55 PM EDT

It's well known liberals don't particularly care for Fox News host Glenn Beck, but wouldn't be comparing him to al Qaeda be a bit much?

On Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center claimed the lives of over 2,700 people. So what does that have to do with Glenn Beck? Well according to liberal talker Bill Press, Beck's plans to hold a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28 are somehow akin to al Qaeda's worldview. Press demanded the National Park Service revoke permission for Beck to hold a rally where Martin Luther King had given his "I have a dream" speech 47 years earlier. (h/t Outside the Beltway)

"In a slap at both President Lincoln and Dr. King, not to mention the American people, the National Park Service has given Glenn Beck permission to hold a Tea Party rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28 - 47 years to the day after Martin Luther King gave his magnificent ‘I Have A Dream' speech," Press wrote in a June 16 post on his blog. "If you ask me, that's like granting al Qaeda permission to hold a rally on September 11 - at Ground Zero. What the hell were those bureaucrats at the Park Service thinking?"

Increasingly Erratic Schultz Mangles MLK's Best-Known Quote
By Jack Coleman | November 4, 2008 | 1:54 PM EST

Lefty radio talker Ed Schultz ended his "Voices of America" tour in Asheville, N.C., last week by distorting a universally known quotation from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. far greater that Sarah Palin's skewing of a remark by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Salon: Palin Church One of the Most Extreme, But Jeremiah Wright Not Radical
By Rusty Weiss | September 10, 2008 | 11:41 PM EDT
Jeremiah WrightFile this one under ‘Are you serious?'

Salon writer Sarah Posner offers a scathing commentary on Sarah Palin's former church, the Wasilla Assembly of God.  In fact, the sub-title itself spells out her opinion in plain language.

The church where Sarah Palin grew up and was baptized preaches some of the most extreme religious views in the nation.

Yet it was only a few months ago that Posner ran an interview she conducted with Jonathan L. Walton, an ordained minister, in which the two derive comparisons between the Theology of Jeremiah Wright and that of Martin Luther King Jr.

The contrasting pieces leave you wondering if Ms. Posner completely grasps the definition of the word ‘extreme.' 

CBS ‘Early Show’ Gushes: ‘History Being Made in Denver’
By Kyle Drennen | August 28, 2008 | 4:39 PM EDT

Harry Smith, CBS At the top of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith set the tone for the show’s coverage of Barack Obama’s upcoming nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic convention: "First, history being made in Denver today." While Obama being the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party is historic, the Early Show went far beyond the other network morning shows, doing three stories on Obama being the first black Democratic nominee, with numerous comparisons to Martin Luther King and the 45th anniversary of King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.

Meanwhile, NBC’s Today made no comparisons between Obama and King. On ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host Robin Roberts made only one brief reference to King’s 1963 speech at the end of a segment on preparations for Obama’s speech at Invesco Field. Speaking to editor-at-large for ‘O’ Magazine, Gayle King, Roberts asked: "And as we stood in the enormous empty stadium I couldn't help but feel the sweeping hand of history. I know my mother said she never thought she'd see this day. How do you feel about being here? We have seen grainy photos of the '60s of historic moments but to now know that we are also going to witness something like this."

In contrast, Thursday’s Early Show included four comparisons of Obama and King. The first reference was in a report by correspondent Bill Plante, the other three references were all by Smith. During a segment in the 7am half hour featuring poet Maya Angelou, he remarked: "Barack Obama was 2 years old when Dr. King shared his dream...Tonight Barack Obama will deliver another speech, loaded with history and promise."

CBS: Barack Obama = Martin Luther King
By Kyle Drennen | August 28, 2008 | 1:51 PM EDT

Harry Smith, CBS In the wake of Barack Obama officially becoming the first African-American presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, on Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith declared: "This day, August 28, is steeped in history. Barack Obama delivers his historic acceptance speech and 45 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have A Dream" speech. August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of people came to Washington, D.C. They came to march for jobs, and for freedom, and for equality."

Smith went on to describe Obama as the culmination of all of King’s efforts: "Barack Obama was 2 years old when Dr. King shared his dream. In 2004, Obama burst on to the national scene with a speech that paid homage to King and those who came before him...Tonight Barack Obama will deliver another speech, loaded with history and promise. And expectations are high." Smith also got reaction from poet Maya Angelou: "I mean, we all know he's going to, in front of our very eyes, metamorphose into Martin Luther King -- not really, no. He has a different background. He has, I think, pretty much the same dream. I think he had the same dream that any leader has for her people, for his people." Smith responded by adding: "A dream that would become the American dream."

Smith then wondered: "And if Dr. King were alive today?" Angelou speculated: "It'd be a lot of 'I told you so, we could do this.' To America, not to blacks, not to whites, and not to Asians. But to Americans, 'I knew we could do this.' Amazing, these are really historic moments we're in."

Obama’s Speech May Simply Be Dreamy
By Rusty Weiss | August 28, 2008 | 1:43 PM EDT

Forty-five years ago, the great Martin Luther King graced us with his vision of racial equality, and words that will live on forever as a symbol of his struggles towards unity. In 1963, King delivered his ‘I have a dream' speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a speech that still resonates today as a testament to his will and courage. Now, forty-five years later, Barack Obama stands on the precipice of accepting his party's nomination for the presidency by delivering an equally unforgettable, charismatic, and courageous speech. At least, that's what Stanley Crouch of the Daily News says others would like you to believe:

Thursday, Barack Obama, the son of a black man and white woman, will give a speech that many say has the potential to achieve the same level of gravity, ascendant courage and timeless charisma contained in King's speech.
CNN Re-airs Two Year Old Glowing Look at Jackson, No Mention of ‘Hymietown’
By Matthew Balan | July 10, 2008 | 10:20 PM EDT

Don Lemon, CNN Anchor | NewsBusters.orgThursday’s "Newsroom" program on CNN, in a report promoted to be about how "controversial comments are nothing new to Jesse Jackson," was actually a retrospective from two years ago that largely glowed about Jackson’s affiliation with Martin Luther King, Jr., and giving the man a platform to answer his critics. "Newsroom" co-anchor Don Lemon, who interviewed Jackson in the report, remarked of his career, "‘How far soon we forget’ could be theme of Jesse Jackson's last decade or so. After all, it was him, marching or sitting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in all those civil rights photographs." Lemon did mention the leader’s extramarital affair in which he sired a child, but omitted the former Democratic presidential candidate’s bigoted "Hymietown" comments from 1984.

Open Thread
By NB Staff | April 4, 2008 | 10:05 AM EDT

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated 40 years ago today.

What were you doing that day, and what do you remember feeling when you heard the awful news? Might race relations have been different today if King was still around?

Why hasn't there been a viable replacement in the last 40 years which have instead produced folks like Farrakhan, Jackson, and Sharpton seemingly much more interested in advancing themselves than those they claim to represent?