Black History Month and "the land question"

Join The Commons SF in a provocative launch to Black History Month through the words and aspirations of three renowned Black intellectuals: Frederick Douglass, Oscar Brown, and Martin Luther King, jr.

In this one hour session we'll read and discuss portions of Douglass' "What to the slave is your 4th of July?" speech, listen to and discuss Oscar Brown's acerbic "40 acres and a mule" Beat homily, and read and discuss portions of MLK's 1967 "Where do we go from here?" speech.

Citizenship without equality of access to land upon which to make a livelihood is our theme, and each of these Black intellectuals had plenty to say on that subject. Black History without an actual "Promised Land" in discussion is vapid these voices declared. Let's see if we can't rev up public discussion of how to materialize the Promised Land!

To preview our reading and viewing, check out these links:

Frederick Douglass' "What to the slave is the 4th of July?": https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/frederick-douglasss-what-slave-fourth-july

Oscar Brown's 40 acres: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLmj4_ZciYU&t=141s

MLK on the land question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmv103saaEk&t=5s

critique of MLK's economic agenda: https://www.lewrockwell.com/1991/02/lew-rockwell/the-economics-of-martin-luther-king-jr/

MLK referencing George in "Where do we go from here?" : https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/where-do-we-go-here

current events, Texas' anti-foreigner land ownership aspiration: https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-chinese-americans-protest-dallas-150614748.html