From MLK to Trayvon Martin: The Fight Against Racism Continues

Join us in a discussion with Gary Younge, Guardian columnist and author of "The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream."

Fifty years after the March on Washington Americans are once again taking to the streets to protest racism.

Following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, vigils and demonstrations have sprung up all over the country, focusing attention on the upcoming rally in Washington DC to mark the anniversary of the event where King delivered his “I have a dream” speech.

Half a century later we have a black president but its still perfectly legal to shoot a young black man dead on his way home from the store because you don't like the look of him.

What are the parallels between now and then? How much has really changed? How much remains the same? And what are the prospects for revitalising and reinventing the civil rights movement to meet the challenges of today.

Come be a part of the discussion and building the movement to fight racism.

* * *
GARY YOUNGE is an author, broadcaster, and award-winning columnist for the Guardian, based in Chicago. He also writes a monthly column for The Nation magazine and is the Alfred Knobler Fellow for The Nation Institute.

Gary's latest book, out soon on Haymarket Books, is "The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream." (http://bit.ly/14D2Cby)

Sponsored by the Northern California International Socialist Organization and Haymarket Books.