Pick up workers needed Saturday, March 8. to remove trash from Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Volunteers meet at the old Walmart parking lot at 8:00 A.M. This event is a part of the “Keep Alamogordo Beautiful” program. There will also be a picnic at 2:00 P.M. in Washington Park sponsored by KAB. This conflicts, however, with our regular business meeting at 1:00 P.M.
February 4-8
Come to the Alamogordo Public Library and celebrate Black History Month. The Otero County NAACP and the Democratic Party of Otero County present “Eyes on the Prize” the award winning PBS documentary of the civil rights struggles of the 20th Century. Monday through Thursday from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. and Friday from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. at the Alamogordo Public Library Multi-Purpose room. Learn about Black History. The public is welcome and entrance is free.
“I Have a Dream” is Dr. King’s best known and most often recited speech. “Beyond Vietnam” is generally ignored by speakers and the corporate media. We could replace the word “Vietnam” with “Iraq” and his speech would today be as pertinent as it was in 1967.
Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
By Rev. Martin Luther King
4 April 1967
Speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City
I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join with you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: “A time comes when silence is betrayal.” That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.
The truth of these words is beyond doubt but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on. Read the rest of this entry →
Left to right: Karenanne Graves of Big Brothers Big Sisters, State Representative Gloria Vaughn, and James Washington of Otero County NAACP.
New Mexico State Representative Gloria Vaughn heard a presentation of the four resolutions at Saturday’s monthly business meeting. The resolutions were adopted at the New Mexico NAACP 2007 State Conference held in Alamogordo in October. After a lively discussion on the issues, Representative Vaughn expressed her support for all four resolutions during the upcoming legislative period.
It is important that all New Mexico members of the NAACP contact their representatives and urge their support. Resolutions are posted below for reference.
Denise Lang has invited all our NM State Representatives to speak at our December business meeting on the depth of their support for the “Four Adopted Resolutions” (see last post.) Let’s hope they all come.
A Project of the New Mexico NAACP
A Justice System that Works for New Mexico’s Families
The Four Adopted Resolutions
Bias-Based Policing Study: During the 2007 legislative session, the Santa Fe branch of the NAACP secured funding to begin a bias-based policing study bill in New Mexico. In order to continue this important study, however, we must secure additional funding during the 2008 legislative session. This additional funding will not only ensure the study continues, but will also help the Sentencing Commission make recommendations for the development and implementation of plans, policies, and strategies to eliminate bias-based policing in New Mexico.
