MLK Day Freedom Song Singalong. During the Civil Rights Movement of the ’60s, young people created and repurposed a number of songs all about the times they were living in, and which sustained and offered hope as they fought for what was right. Music is already known for being a fantastic way to connect to others and celebrate, so what better way to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by revisiting these songs and rediscovering the strength of the people who created them, and discovering our own strength through singing along the way? 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21. First Christian Church Little Chapel, 740 E. Speedway. Free. Details here.
Black Panther (free MLK Day screening)
The Loft Cinema is screening Black Panther for free all throughout Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Get a bad-ass heap of liberation with three free consecutive screenings all throughout the day of remembrance! 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Free. Details here.
Mid-Winter Celebration: Snowflakes and Cocoa
The great thing about a Tucson winter is that, for the most part, you can spend it outside, if you want. Bring your family, friends and self down to the Tucson Botanical Gardens for this event full of both merriment and learning opportunities. Kids can learn how snowflakes form, decorate a galaxy cookie and sip on some hot cocoa among some of the city’s loveliest foliage. And we can all band together to appreciate that, no matter how you feel about Arizona winters, at least it’s not an Arizona summer. 9 a.m. to noon. Monday, Jan. 21. Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way. Event included with admission, $15 adults, $13 seniors/students/military, $8 kids 4 to 17, free for members and kids 3 and under. Details here.
Events compiled by Briannon Wilfong, Emily Dieckman, B.S. Eliot and Jeff Gardner.
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2019.
In Honor of the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King: The Great Social Reformer!!
Time to Break the Silence on Palestine, Michelle Alexander: Opinion Columnist, Jan. 19, 2010(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/opinion…)
“….the crisis in Israel-Palestine….”
“……Until very recently, the entire Congress has remained mostly silent on the human rights nightmare that has unfolded in the occupied territories. Our elected representatives, who operate in a political environment where Israel’s political lobby holds well-documented power, have consistently minimized and deflected criticism of the State of Israel, even as it has grown more emboldened in its occupation of Palestinian territory and adopted some practices reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa and Jim Crow segregation in the United States.
“……Many civil rights activists and organizations have remained silent as well, not because they lack concern or sympathy for the Palestinian people, but because they fear loss of funding from foundations, and false charges of anti-Antisemitism. They worry, as I once did, that their important social justice work will be compromised or discredited by smear campaigns…”
“Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will
do that. I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about
American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America,
and the Americans know it.” Ariel Sharon to Shimon Peres (October
3, 2001); as reported by Haaretz.
“But you know as well as I do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in the US], and to criticize it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic … People are scared in this country, to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful — very powerful. D. Tutu, Apartheid in the Holy Land,” The Guardian (Britain), April 29, 2002.
A Jewish State in the Middle East was established, with US support, on the basis of a Jewish terrorist organization, the Irgun, led by former Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The Jews considered themselves “freedom fighters”.
We can begin to effectively neutralize the animosity within the Muslim Community with a recognition of the historic character of Palestine as representing the common heritage of Christian, Jews, and Muslims; that the United States rejects claims for the completely autonomous political and cultural development of any one religious/cultural group in Palestine; that Christians, Jews, and Muslims have a cooperative, co-equal, semi-autonomous share in the political and cultural development of Palestine.
The United States must re-evaluate and re-formulate our Foreign Policy in the Middle East. If we have not the rectitude and courage to undue the injustices to the indigenous people of Palestine, the possibility of the use of weapons of mass destruction may involve this country in a Religious War of self-destruction.