Here is a link to another piece on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The main point is that the official media and politicians make such events and individuals like Martin Luther King into icons. We are to celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries of the events, etc. and completely forget the real meaning — that we have to pick up the struggle now.
One detail in the piece that should be corrected is regarding Bayard Rustin. Rustin is now in line to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The facts are that when MLK’s house was bombed in Birmingham, the black community mobilized to protect him. This included armed guards outside his house. It was Bayard Rustin who pressured King into disarming them on the grounds of non-violence. King intuitively knew better and, in fact, when he traveled through Louisiana he did so under the protection of the (armed) Deacons for Defense of Justice. As for Rustin, we see what his non-violence really meant, when we realize that he supported the Vietnam War. He also participated in groups that were CIA fronts. This included, but was not limited to, “Freedom House” – the international body of the AFL-CIO that worked hand-in-glove with the CIA.
Also, A. Philip Randolph was not a communist.
But these are small details, compared to the major point.