Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most important leaders in our country's history. He was also one of our most eloquent and inspirational orators. If you have not seen his speeches before, watch his "I Have a Dream" speech: http://www.mlkonline.net. It is truly amazing. They say he started off with a scripted speech, but about halfway through, started improvising.
What boggles my mind today, on Martin Luther King's birthday, a national holidy, is the lack of television content regarding Dr. King. I thought BET might have something going on today, but actually no, they don't have one solitary program dedicated to the man on his birthday! Just the regular Monday lineup! So, then I thought well if BET doen't have anything, surely CoLours would... wrong again! Zilch. Nada. The Biography Channel? Nope, but there's two hours dedicated to Burt Reynolds at 9am and 3pm. The Documentary Channel? No, no, no.
Am I really such a couch potato that even the networks think that since everyone will be out of their houses honoring the late civil rights leader at local events, there's no point in even putting on any programs? I kind of doubt it.
I did find a couple assassination documentaries on The History Channel, as well as a documentary that talks about his life and times. Also, PBS is going to run a major film tonight called "Citizen King," so I'm looking forward to that.
It is completely absurd that of the 200 channels I get, there will only be two programs today that I could find that will talk about Dr. King's life and worldview. The two assassination documentaries only get partial credit, although they are interesting. BET is the biggest dissappointment. I am completely floored that a channel dedicated to African-American audiences will not make room for one solitary hour in its schedule to remember one of Black America's brightest, most ardent, and beloved leaders, on a national holiday dedicated to the man.
Well, BET has been criticized by many highly regarded African-American institutions, so I guess it shouldn't suprise me that much... but it just seems wrong. Same goes for CoLours.
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