Philadelphia’s Statement of Principles

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MLK-Day of Action, Resistance, and Em­ powerment (MLK-D.A.R.E.) is organizing a march in Philadelphia on Jan. 19. The broad-based coalition hopes to “reclaim” Martin Luther King Day with a focus on political action.

The demands of the march are: a $15 minimum wage and the right to a union; an end to the police department’s “stop and frisk” policy / for an independent po­ lice review board; for fairly funded and democratically controlled schools.

Below we publish the Statement of Prin­ ciples distributed by MLK-D.A.R.E.

The Fierce Urgency of Now “We are now faced with the fact that tomor­ row is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or compla­ cency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action” (Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” April 4, 1967). T youth and children, people of all races, re­ here comes a time when women, men, ligions, ideological and moral commitments must act. On this day when Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated, we call on Philadel­ phians in the thousands to unite in action to transform the rapidly deteriorating condi­ tions of life of our people.

Martin Luther King was a man of action in the causes of human rights, civil rights, labor rights, and world peace. He believed that ordinary people— working people, the poor, women and the racially op­ pressed—were, in the end, the authors of justice. And if our nation and city are to be saved we must recog­ nize what King called “the fierce urgency of now” and that “time waits for no one.”

Philadelphia is more divided along race, class, and gender lines than at any time in recent memory. We are two cities, one of privilege and wealth, the other of poverty, police brutality, low and poverty wages, collapsed schools, and collapsing neighborhoods. Of America’s 10 largest cities we are the poorest. Close to 70% of our citizens live in or very near poverty. Our children suffer the most, and far too many are wrapped in lives of misery and hopelessness. Our streets are filled with the homeless, hungry, and des­ titute.

As a nation we spend more on prisons, police, and the military than on schools, eliminating poverty, pro­ viding jobs with living wages and homes. As a nation too many value our dogs over the lives of Black young people. We are witness to the grotesque spectacle of Black and Brown people murdered in our streets by police, while many of our fellow citizens look the oth­ er way, and those who run the court system find mur­ derers in blue innocent. Such a nation lives religious hypocrisy, social decadence, and a moral lie.

Any honest examination of the life of our city proves how far we are from the standard of human freedom declared in the nation’s founding document, The Dec­ laration of Independence. Rather than human free­ dom we witness a colossal human tragedy and a hu­ man rights emergency. The recovery of standards of human dignity demand that everyone who loves this city and country take a hard look at the situation, and ask what must I do to change this situation.

Great achievements must begin somewhere, and they always begin when people look tragedy in the face, ask “what can I do?” and decide to act. If we are not capable of this examination, we may yet become one of the most distinguished and monumental fail­ ures in the history of nations. As a city, a nation, and a people we must ultimately recognize we are all wrapped in a single garment of destiny; what affects one directly affects us all indirectly.

Time to Break Silence t is time to break the silence about what Dr. King rism. These forms of violence, indeed terror, exist in a vicious cycle, deteriorating hope, progress and op­ portunity, as a result of humankind’s depravity to­ ward its own.

Now is the time! We are the ones. We, the people, are the leaders we have waited for. We are compelled to speak truth to power, to say to the powerful and the powerless, enough is enough. To our elected of­

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“During the brutal interrogations,” Feinstein stated, “the CIA was often unaware the information was fab­ ricated.” It was, she stated, “morally and administra­ tively misguided” and “far more brutal than people were led to believe.” One might ask how the CIA tor­ turers were ever to know beforehand whether their victims were lying or fabricating information! Assum­ ing that even a few did provide accurate or “useful” information, one can only wonder whether she would have come to a different conclusion or whether her report would have been published at all.

“Administratively misguided,” says Feinstein. It seems like the CIA needs instruction on how to tor­ ture better, that is, within the guidelines of “legally” adopted policy.

The president’s comments on the Feinstein report were similarly moderated, with Obama stating that despite whatever problems it might have revealed, the U.S. owed “a profound debt” to the CIA even though “some” of its techniques were “contrary to our values” [emphasis added].

The Democratic Party Senate majority released the redacted version shortly before the new Republican majority took over the Senate. This lame duck shot at the Republicans, as with Obama’s recent image-bur­ nishing “legacy” policies implemented through execu­ tive orders, amounted to little more than a presiden­ tial slap on the wrist. And could it be otherwise? Could Obama’s presidential war crimes against millions in Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Syria,