April 4, 1968

Forty years ago the Reverend-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. And yes, I was raised with many referring to King in the African-American/Black/Negro/Colored community as the Reverend-Doctor. Also, forty years ago, I was born. At the time, my parents lived with my fathers family in Los Angeles (Watts), California, that thriving ghetto community in South Central, excuse me, South Los Angeles. My mother was alone with me at the time of the assassination and the beginning of the first day of rioting that occurred. She remembers being scared to death, with a barely one-month old child, as the death of a man of peace, ended in and sparked violence.

We were only 3 years removed from the Watts Riots/Rebellion in August of 1965, witnessed firsthand by my father and his family. My father when thinking of those days often made reference to on "organization" called Rumor Control that sprouted out of the Watts Rebellion and other events to monitor the activities of the police and other law enforcement officials. There presence was relevant three years later.

Watts Riots/Rebellion

• 34 dead
• 3,952 arrested
• 1,032 injured
• $40 million in damage

Nearly 30 years later I would witness another uprising that would spread past Watts (now majority Hispanic/Latino), into Compton, Long Beach, and others parts of the Los Angeles region. This rebellion would be the reaction to the legal injustices surrounding another King, Rodney. A hard luck negative bi-product of the Civil Rights Era and a potential benefactor of the Reverend-Doctors growing Poor Peoples Campaign.

However, the May 1993 events would also be marked by unnecessary rioting and looting and senseless violence on both sides of the law. I remember being confined to my Long Beach "group" house where I lived with three Caucasian students, one of which boastfully sported a confederate flag on his truck, while the the other often blasted hip-hop from his car stereo. They roamed freely through the streets of Long Beach during my confinement (the police curfew was primarily focused on Black and Hispanic males), bringing me food and beverages. In the coming week, I would need to be protected by my Chinese friend as my two white roommates attacked me in a racially charged argument. I moved to Washington, D.C. three months later.

King Verdict Uprising/Riots/Rebellion

• 53 dead (some estimate up to or over 60)
• 10,000 arrested
• 2,000 injured
• $1 billion in damages

Lately many have declared the Civil Rights Era, DEAD! Civil Rights era organizations such as SNCC, gone; SCLC, CORE, financially strapped and less viable; the Nation of Islam, disputable membership numbers and influence; and NAACP and the National Urban League, still viable, but with diminished memberships and capacity, while living on reputations established many decades and journeys ago. Still others struggle to remain financially, politically and socially relevant in an ever changing racial, ethnic and political landscape.

Generation X'ers and Y'ers gravitate towards different cultural, social, business and political affiliations and norms. The Internet and World Wide Web have become the focal point for our political and social organization and web-based movements, including use of the medium by the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, are proving to be more effective than the traditional efforts of a by-gone era.

Are largest looming African-American leader may be only a few long months away from finally moving into the Oval Office, but had to prove his race card to the Civil Rights establishment, and now must shy away from his spiritual leader, because he dared to question the mainstream or at times was not politically correct.

I start this blogging journey 40 years after my birth and 40 years after Reverend-Doctor King's death, a number he would never reach. I wonder how someone so young made such a lasting impact on this country, this world, on me. I hope again for leadership, not only in the African-American community, but in the greater world community that can transcend partisanship, Capitalism, race, materialism, and the media.

I still remember my first conversation with my mom regarding April 4, 1968. She was at once fearful of the rioters and police and mournful for the passing of our great American leader. America stands at a similar crossroads today, at once fearful of Black men roaming our streets, ghettos and prisons and possibly finally ready to make one its leader.

There are many mountaintops to climb, valleys to traverse and divides to bridge. If the racial tension that now circles our current presidential elections is not evidence of the continuing ethnic, racial, and economic divides in this country, and also not a notice to the progressive minded, politically correct among us, we may see the fires of Watts and many other cities ignite again. The rebellion this time will be a true rainbow coalition of sometimes friends, sometimes enemies frustrated with the economic and other injustices of our society.

According to the Eisenhower Commission from 1963-1968 riots/rebellions across the country resulted in:

• 200,000 participants in 237 cities
• 190 dead
• 50,000 arrested