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Washington
Rally In Honor Of MLK's Legacy Protests Attacks On Civil Liberties
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| "Everybody
is threatened if we sit quietly and allow civil liberties and civil
rights to be canceled by this present administration," says
Reverend Al Sharpton. |
By
IOL Washington Correspondent, Ayesha Ahmad
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (IslamOnline) - In honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., whose birthday was observed as a national holiday Monday in the
United States, several hundred demonstrators gathered Saturday at the
Washington, DC, Convention Center to protest attacks on civil liberties.
"King's work and life are entirely relevant to the discussions going on now
around the nation," said Laura Murphy, director of the Washington office of
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who moderated the program.
She described how King was controversial during his own lifetime – a point
taken up by many of the rally's other speakers as well. The recently appointed
new executive director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero, addressed this point as
well.
"Dr. King was one of the most notable victims of the abuses of law
enforcement," he said, noting a 10-year smear campaign on the part of the
government to discredit King.
James Zogby, president and founder of the Arab American Institute, said that
King was not necessarily what he is remembered as today.
"He
was a revolutionary fighter for justice," Zogby said. He added that if
King's well-known speech against the Vietnam War were given today, "he
would be just as much the enemy as he was then."
Speakers drew these and other parallels between the life and mission of King and
the situation faced today by civil rights workers, especially those who oppose
the anti-terror measures of the George W. Bush administration and are often
deemed "unpatriotic" for doing so by media and others.
"We believe it is of utmost importance that we mark Dr. King's birthday
with work [that reflects] his legacy," Romero said.
He condemned the detention of more than a thousand individuals of Arab or Muslim
background and the secrecy surrounding their conditions and locations, as well
as the practice of racial profiling.
"A prerequisite to a healthy democracy is a government that is accountable
and transparent," Romero said. "The U.S.A. Patriot Act provisions cut
at the heart of that open and transparent democracy."
"When
we win the war against terrorism, we want to be able to recognize our
democracy."
The rally, which included speakers representing various racial and religious
groups, began with an interfaith service in which religious leaders, including
Imam Johari Abdul Malik of Howard University, addressed King's legacy and
offered prayers for their cause.
More than one speaker addressed the need for action now, saying that the time of
crisis made it all the more imperative to defend civil rights in the aftermath
of September 11.
Mahdi
Bray, national political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, referred
to the words of King when he said that there comes a time when "silence is
betrayal."
"We
must speak up in these times," Bray said. "It's not popular, but we
must speak up."
And Karen Narasaki, of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium,
said that "it's when we are in crisis that we are most vulnerable to
allowing our fears to overcome" our sense of our rights.
"History has shown that these are the times we most need to fight,"
said Narasaki, whose parents and grandparents were imprisoned in the Japanese
internment camps during World War II.
Other speakers included Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza, Damu
Smith of Black Voices for Peace, and Democratic congressman John Conyers from
Michigan.
Most of the speakers respectfully wished King a "happy birthday"
during their talks, and all delivered their speeches to rousing welcomes from a
motivated audience, but the rally's star attraction was the Reverend Al Sharpton,
of the National Action Network.
He took the stage as youth followed with banners proclaiming civil rights
slogans behind him and in front of the stage, and had his audience standing and
cheering through most of his speech.
Sharpton said that King would have condemned the anti-terror measures that he
himself was condemning, saying, "Dr. King would have called us to
action."
"Everybody is threatened if we sit quietly and allow civil liberties and
civil rights to be canceled by this present administration," he said.
"They're telling us today to stay in our place," he said, referring to
conservative voices in the government who accuse civil liberties protestors of
supporting the terrorists, "but thanks to [King] we know our place, and we
will stay in our place until we change this place!"
"Mr.
Ashcroft," he concluded, addressing U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft,
who pushed through the new anti-terrorism measures, "we're not giving up
our rights, we're not giving up our civil liberties, we're not giving up our
friends… We shall overcome, we won't back down, we wont' give up!"
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