skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

On MLK Day, a Celebration of King's Economic-Justice Legacy

play audio
Play

Monday, January 16, 2017   

SEATTLE — Today, Americans celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with marches in Washington state and across the country.

A hero of the civil-rights movement, King is also remembered for his work on the cause of economic justice. His presence at labor marches often is overshadowed by his role in marches in Selma and Washington D.C. But, his commitment to economic rights was no less important.

Kevin Allen, who works for the state of Washington and is a member of AFSCME, said that unions gave African-Americans some of their first opportunities as free laborers in this country. King understood this and the power of organized labor and collective action.

"Dr. King recognized that the work of civil rights and economic rights and workers' rights were connected,” Allen said. "They were all part of the rights of humans to live in dignity, to be able to have a living wage."

King frequently was involved with AFSCME strikes and rallies. He was assassinated in 1968 while supporting black AFSCME sanitation workers on strike in Memphis.

Marches and rallies are taking place today across the Evergreen State, including the 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Seattle.

The Seattle rally began when members of the community wanted to change the name of Empire Way to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. They succeeded and, eventually, King County was named in his honor as well.

Now the annual march and rally features speeches and workshops on everything from bullying to immigrant rights to human trafficking. Allen said it's one of the biggest and longest-running MLK Day marches in the country.

"We want to celebrate the life of Dr. King and also expound on and remind people of the values of what he lived for and ultimately died for,” he said.

Allen also noted the importance of the rally in highlighting the collective action King espoused. He said he reminds young people that if they want to change the world, they can't do it alone.

"If there's something that you feel is unjust or unfair and you want to make change, you have to get people to come together,” Allen said.

Events begin at 9:30 a.m. at Garfield High School. There will then be a march to the Jackson Federal Building downtown. After speeches, a career fair will be held at the high school from 1-4:30 p.m. This year the theme is "Stop the hate: Come together."



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021