America's Wire Releases Commentary Citing The Nation's Failure At Achieving Dr. King's Dream Of School Integration For America's Children

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's Wire today released a commentary that discusses Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s strong belief in the value of school desegregation and the nation's failure to integrate many public schools nearly 45 years after his death. 

The article is written by Philip Tegeler, executive director of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, a civil rights policy group based in Washington DC; and Greg Groves, a senior sociology major at Princeton University. Their piece notes that Dr. King believed in the transformative power of school integration, but "he would be dismayed by America's present day paradox: the rapidly expanding racial diversity of our society accompanied by the increasing segregation of our urban schools."

Furthermore, Tegeler and Groves wrote that "Dr. King's commitment to school integration was ultimately animated by the desire to transform this nation into a 'beloved community.'  His vision of the beloved community is often associated with the elements of inclusivity, interrelatedness, love, justice, compassion, responsibility, shared power, and a respect for all people.  The concept of the beloved community was originally articulated by 19^th century theologian-philosopher Josiah Royce. As opposed to 'natural communities' which are ruled by selfishness and the destruction of others, Royce proposed that the ideal 'beloved community' is ruled by loyalty and truth…"

In Dr. King's view, Tegeler and Groves write that segregation was diametrically opposed to his ultimate goal of creating this beloved community.  "He once asserted, 'With every ounce of our energy, we must continue to rid this nation of the incubus of segregation…This is the only way to create the beloved community.'  Segregation is inconsistent with a beloved community because it short-circuits any form of true interrelatedness, fragmenting Dr. King's vision of a 'single garment of destiny.' "

This commentary, as well as other articles and commentaries, are available free of charge from America's Wire.  Go to www.Americaswire.org  and click downloads (right column) to publish the article. America's Wire provides mainstream newspapers, community papers, websites, ethnic publications and wire services with stories and commentaries reporting on structural inequities and the communities impacted. America's Wire is operated by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

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SOURCE America’s Wire