Forty Years Gone: MLK's Dream Today Would Be Colored 'Green'

Forty years ago today, on April 4, 1968, a sniper assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King had come to Memphis, Tennessee, to aid striking sanitation workers. The preeminent civil rights leader of his time, he was only 39 years old.

Four decades have passed since that fateful day. As of this month, Dr. King has been gone from us longer than he was ever here. As we pass this milestone in history, we gather in Memphis to remind ourselves and the world that a bullet killed the dreamer -- but not the dream.

Dr. King had a vision of an America as good as its promise, and a world at peace with itself. That vision lives on in the hearts of hundreds of millions -- including two generations of adults and a rising generation of teenagers, all of whom have been born since Dr. King's passing.

The time has come for us to step forward. We must take full responsibility to advance the cause of justice, opportunity and peace in a new century.

And yet it must be said that we are stepping onto history's stage at a frightening time -- a time of global warming and global war. A time when "the Market" is free, and the people are not. A time of mass incarceration of people, and mass extinction of species. A time of "no rules" for the rich, and "no rights" for the poor. A time of increasing profits for the few, and decreasing options for the many. A time of buyouts and bailouts for the powerful and convictions and evictions for the powerless.

And yet, inside the United States, the tide has begun to turn. The GOP juggernaut that carried the nation to the brink of destruction has begun to run out of gas. Ordinary Americans today are longing for a leader, not a cowboy-in-chief. Some are rethinking consumerism, seeking healthier choices for their families, worrying about oil prices and even the climate crisis.

And just three years after George W. Bush's re-election, the mighty political party that Karl Rove thought would rule America for generations appears to be falling apart at the seams.

Something has shifted -- profoundly. Unfortunately, all the old political figures, outdated modes of discourse and stodgy institutions are still with us. But you can feel something exciting beginning to stir -- and break loose -- underneath.

The future is getting restless. We are on the brink of something promising and new. And for the first time in more than a generation, those of us who value living beings over dead products have a chance to offer real leadership to the country.

Our post-King generations must embrace the example Dr. King set. And we must reimagine it, to meet new challenges.

For example: in his time, Dr. King worked for equal protection and equal opportunity. We, too, must adopt that agenda. But ours is an age of both social crisis and ecological peril. Therefore, we must insist that vulnerable communities get equal protection from racial discrimination -- and from the floods, storms, droughts, plagues and fires that global warming is causing. Equal protection today means: no more Katrinas!

Ours is also an age of positive economic transformation: billions of dollars are pouring into the solar, wind, geothermal and other clean industries. This so-called "green economy" will generate thousands of business opportunities -- and millions of new jobs. We must guarantee equal opportunity in this growing green, clean and renewable economy. We must insist that the coming "green wave" lift ALL boats. Those low-income communities that were locked out of the pollution-based economy must be locked into the clean and green economy. Our communities -- and especially our children -- deserve "green-collar jobs, not jails."

Dr. King -- and many others -- fought, bled and died to racially integrate a pollution-based economy. Today, America is creating a new, clean and green economy. From the start, we must design it to have a dignified place for everyone.

Dr. King linked the solutions of civil rights, peace and economic opportunity. We must link the solutions of social justice, peace and ecological sanity. Our new dream must uplift the people -- and the planet, too. This is the calling of our time.

And so today, four decades later, we seek new fuel to meet new challenges. We seek a world society wherein we use clean, alternative energy sources to fuel our machines... healthy, organic and local food to fuel our bodies ... and hope, solidarity and love to fuel our movements for change.

Because to win over a wounded and frightened nation, our cause itself must become irresistibly beautiful, vital, healing and sustainable. Success will come when our networks are practical enough to "organize" hundreds of thousands -- and soulful enough to "magnetize" tens of millions. So let us dare to imagine: a healthy, joyous, self-confident liberation movement. A movement that celebrates more than it condemns ... inspires more than it critiques ... and solution-izes more than it problem-atizes.

Imagine a movement for justice -- with its arms wide open.

In these "difficult days," we have a duty to do more than curse the darkness. We must, ourselves, shine a new light.

That is what Dr. King did. And 40 years later, new generations have come to Memphis -- bearing lanterns of our own. Through the new organization, Green For All, I am proud to help sponsor one of the major MLK celebrations in this city today.

Here and now, we boldly, proudly and loudly declare The Dream ... REBORN.

Van Jones
Founder
Green For All

Comments

[acrosstheaislehumanist]

Excellent thinking and writing. Bravo

[testpilot84]

I believe Dr King would believe as I have heard Penn and Teller say (and I paraphrase), "I'd kill every polar bear on the planet if it meant that the hungry would be fed." Coal and fossil fuels are very available and far cheaper than green fuels. If you find a green fuel that is cheaper, then I'm all for it, but I won't vote to hold back the American dream for 1 minute from a family because they can afford prosperity via carbon fuels, but cannot afford green ones.

Carbon dioxide is a fertilizer and we are in a natural warming trend. Those who believe the IPCC are blinded by false "peer review" and haven't taken the time to review the data for themselves. Warmth means fewer cold weather deaths and the need for cheaper fuels for air conditioning (the single greatest savior in heat related deaths on the planet). The planet's temperature has dropped 0.8 deg in the last year, even though CO2 "might" be increasing. Check the satellite data.

The whole "green" idea (as it now stands) is fear mongering that kills families and dooms poor countries to a longer road to prosperity and the longevity that goes with it. Just like greenies desire to ban DDT has ended in millions of deaths, you will have these too resting on your shoulders. I will fight you with knowledge and professional courtesy every step of the way. I look forward to the fight.

[research]

Solar and WInd are ALREADY CHEEPER THEN OIL.

2 trillion dollars. current cost for solar 8$ per average watt, 2.5*10^11 watt.

current electric USA use: 2.3*10^11 watts.

Wind is much cheaper.

Nano Solar is offering new panels at 2$/watt.

So All electricity could be generated for 500M USD we have already burned in the desert.

Solar is cheaper the OIL.

[research]

Listen to this great and timely speech by King:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U

[Clinton]

Excellent post.

[CitizenE]

Even in the negative responses to this post, one can see how poorly the environmental movement, up until recently, has failed to make the kind of connection that Martin Luther King, Jr. made between war and racism. No issue effects the poor, the non white male--although it also affects everyone--than the environmental crisis the whole planet has been slipping toward in the past half century.
Corporate entities have been excellent at painting environmental interests as an elitist issue, not unlike their successes to fool the nation that deregulation, tax cuts for the very wealthy, and corporate welfare are fiscally sound approaches to our economy.
Certainly if King were still alive today by now, he would have seen the connection between environmental issues and race, class, human well being. That there are people who still maunder around in the idea that this is junk science or some anti prosperity nonsense of the save the cockroach crowd only demonstrates that a fool on a ship of fools cannot tell the difference between a squall and a perfect storm when the captains of corporate enterprise and government repeatedly a la Bagdhad Bob tell them so..

[sheila]

Mr. Jones, i have been working with the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to the CA Air Resources Board, which will be deciding how CA's AB 32 (global warming plan) will be implemented. As i have had the opportunity to read several of your articles, I was able to frame the debate and solutions in terms of INCREASED independence and long-term skilled employment for low-income and minority people, rather than one of yet another giant utility chokehold with increased rates and much more obliteration of our taxpayer-owned open spaces - which is NOT green.

It is important to frame the debate in terms of DECENTRALIZED, local renewable energy solutions which are grid-tied (such as small wind, rooftop solar, conservation) and make sure our leaders are clear that another 19th century model of remote, wilderness-killing, Big Corporate owned power plants will destroy this dream. Aside from killing millions of acres of OUR environment, it will yank thousands and thousands of people from their homes via eminent domain for massive power lines, will create one-off construction gigs, then will raise rates on the most vulnerable. It's already starting.

Energy INDEPENDENCE - and participation in the electricity generation markets - is central to any boat that wants to truly float, rather than be propped up by dependence on Big Corpa or Big Government. Let's do this!

[LeftLeanWing]

If Dr. King had survived, the rise of the Right-Wing Conservative and today's punditry would have done him in. They would have spent decades marginalizing him , He would have been called the Martin Luther King of the Radical Far-Left Liberals.

Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly would have been doing daily squinty-eyed tight-lipped rants about how he should wake up from his DREAM and do something for his OWN people; instead of just giving SPEECHES.

[mimsnpips]

An interesting comparison, but I am dubious of the idea that Dr. King would shift his message, or even allow it to be used for ecology. Unfortunately racial discrimination is alive and well in America. Gov. Rendell was correct when stating that there are people in PA-my home state-that would not vote for Obama because of the color of his skin. I am sure this is the case in many other states, and it is true even if only to a much smaller percentage even in progressive states. For example: my wife and I were a little fearsome of putting an Obama bumper sticker on our car. It is there, but we are still leery of some neighbors.
Therefore Dr. King's original message and life ambitions would have still been needed today 40 years later.

[FreedomsRoad]

The connection between Dr. King's struggle for equal rights and opportunities has a direct connection here -- rather than having poor folks struggling to learn job skills that will be outdated in a green economy, Green for All (which I know quite a bit about as I'm a fan of their initiatives) has as it's stated goal to insure that disenfranchised communities not be left behind in the economy. This type of incorporation is absolutely vital to eradicating persistent poverty in the US. We're living in a country in which there will soon no longer be a "working" class, as our manufacturing jobs shift overseas. I'm too pragmatic and too compassionate to believe that there will ever be 100% of the population educated, and trained enough to work white-collar jobs, that said, if you look at the types of work available to and in the communities for which Dr. King advocated there is a real crisis. A green economy is in the offing, it's here now, and those folks need the training to go after the jobs in it.

[FreedomsRoad]

I got cut off --

As for your bumper sticker problem -- I would, of course, encourage you to lead from the front on that issue, but I understand your hesitancy. May I suggest that you and your wife write letters to your local reps, the DNC and Gov. Rendell letting them know that as public figures and community leaders you expect them to address these things publicly, loudly and with unequivocal words -- racism and prejudice have no place in OUR America. Creating an environment in which bigotry and intimidation are socially unacceptable is absolutely the job of every citizen, and certainly that of our elected officials. If we don't hold our elected reps responsible for that, and do our parts individually, how can we ever expect there to be progress on this issue? It took millions marching in support of Civil Rights to make them a reality, and it will take millions speaking out to root out the last bits of bigotry that exist in our communities. It sounds like you guys happen to be on a "frontier" in that respect. Keep fighting the ignorance with love and education.

[buske]

The green agenda is just a simple oligarchic­al-imperia­l agenda to stop development in Africa. The IPCC is lying. MLK would never have supported such an abomination. MLK would never have supported Al Gore either.

[FreedomsRoad]

"The Green Agenda" as you put it, is about ensuring that as development moves forward cutting-edge green technology is available in communities that typically would be using old-school grey-tech to pollute and poison the populace. I don't know what Ghost Whisperer told you that Dr. King wouldn't have supported green development in Africa, but you might want to check those credentials again because it sounds like you got conned.

The IPCC has nothing to do with Green for All organizationally, so I'm not clear what YOUR agenda is here -- trying to make the case for a global conspiracy? And the end game of this conspiracy is what? To ensure that all humans have clean healthy food, homes and environments to live in? That businesses aren't allowed to create environmental catastrophes at the cost of the biosphere? To re-imagine human impact on the environment in a way that is sustainable? Why don't you dig deeper and clarify so there can be real debate on the issue instead of leaving reductionist, circular statements with no support or logical reasoning.

[loudspeaker]

I think the idea here is that replacing "old-school grey-tech" is good (new and better technology is good) but to force Africans to limit their economic activity because of the hoax called "man-made global warming" is nothing but pure British-style genocide. Because, if you force Africans to not be allowed to produce what they need to survive, there will be deaths which the IPCC politicians know very well.

After all, the man-made global warming fairytale is now heavily and widely discredited in the scientific community. (That still doesn't stop fanatics like Al Gore it seems.)

I'm sure Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have listened to the scientists and not the IPCC politicians.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

Good grief

[moodyring]

Off the bat, it might sound opportunistic to tie MLK's message with the green movement. But if you looked at the goals Van Jones is mentioning, you'll see that it's relevant, appropriate, and quite worthwhile.

http://ellabakercenter.org
http://www.dreamreborn.org

[terramartom]

Today and tomorrows green future will rely on educated people. Reading, writing, arithmatic, respect, courtesy, and trust can make anything happen. Drugs, gangs, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, terrorism, extremism will bring anything down. People you have a choice, what is it going to be? Be responsible for your actions. The person that you see in the mirror can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. Stop blaming, and start doing! Go Obama!!!

[testpilot84]

this is insulting! To steal Dr King's message of equal opportunity for your own benefit! Dr King would be incensed at the idea of the bureaucracy and costs generated by both the GOP and the Democrats that PREVENT equal opportunity. From affirmative action to monstrous legal costs and paperwork required to start a business and unions that would rather cause a business to close rather than allow non-union labor--I believe Dr King would cry at the the opportunities lost for workers of all colors.

"Green" and the hysteria based on bad science that surrounds it is just another way for government to get into the lives of all Americans and make it harder to live the American dream.

I am a small business owner and employer for 10 families. I know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

I weep for American children's chances of living the American dream unfettered by government bureaucracy (as our founding fathers dreamed).

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

*clapping hands* Thank you

[ChristianEcon.com]

Sorry "I know EXACTLY what I am talking about," but if your business can't survive in the free market via unionization, it's not a viable business. You shouldn't be begging the government to prop it up.

In Japan, auto manufacturing CEOs credit unions for their success, as they rightfully should. The people doing the work are part of the economy too, and have every right to freely associate.

Your entire post sounds like you get your education from Sean Hannity, and you're here parroting it and some version of Bizarro MLK--trying to steal his message for your own benefit.

[pmag88]

If you’ve ever seen pictures of the steel mills in China many of them look EXACTLY like US mills built in the 1940s and 50s. That’s because China purchased them from us and rebuilt them almost exactly as they were. In addition to the massive pollution from the use of this outdated technology, China now faces a doubling of costs because the coal used in power generation and steel production are in increasingly short supply. http://news.smh.com.au/china-in-dearth-of-coking-coal/20080222-1tuu.html

China must eventually incur the costs of transitioning away from older technology and the costs associated with mounting pollution. Even the three gorges dam is proving to be problematic, with damage to ocean fisheries and other costs mounting up.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060520/note16.asp

Africa and other developing regions are FAR better off starting from the ground up with green technology than incurring the downstream costs associated with fossil fuels and other dinosaur technologies.

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

Vann, Excellent work! You were great on Colbert too. You've taken MLK's legacy and extended into a 21st century direction.

[BOfever]

Turning MLK's message into a liberal hippie message is a bit of a stretch, Green is a symbol and hasn't proved to be anything but that.

[FreedomsRoad]

Obviously you haven't done much reading into MLK's life and works. Poor and indigenous folks, descendants of slaves and other people of color, the so-called "ethnic whites" (meaning non-WASPs) have always occupied the dirtiest, most polluted places in this nation, as our economy becomes more stratified and folks with money are able to eat organic foods, live in cleaner neighborhoods, use green energy and live in homes that are ecologically friendly and with fewer contaminants, those same communities will be left behind. Certainly a community leader of Dr. King's vision would embrace helping ALL people share in the benefits of a green economy and clean green foods and homes. That's the point.

You entirely mis-read the Civil Rights by attempting to link Dr. King with the hippies. Hippies were disaffected middle-class White children who had chosen to reject their own culture. This Green for All campaign is about equipping people from disenfranchised communities with the knowledge and know-how to be relevant in the upcoming green tech economy.