What Would King Say About Brown, Garner Cases?

The third Monday in January is a federal holiday in the United States, marking the birthday of renowned civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. This year, the holiday has special meaning for many, after the events of recent months in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York.

If King were alive today, they wonder, what would he say about the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and of Eric Garner in New York City — both unarmed and killed in confrontations with police — and about the anger and demonstrations that have followed?

King’s famous "I have a dream" speech, delivered during the 1963 March on Washington, was an iconic event in the struggle to end racial segregation and establish equal rights for all citizens of the United States.

Last month there was another "March on Washington." Tens of Thousands of demonstrators in the nation’s capital called for justice in the deaths of Brown and Garner.

This demonstration was peaceful. And King's niece Alveda King — whose father, A.D. King, was also a civil rights activist — suggested the violent protests that occurred in Ferguson after a grand jury did not indict the police officer involved in Brown’s death were not the right approach.

She called the Ferguson protest slogan — "No justice, no peace" — aggressive and said that only peaceful protest can lead to any positive results. Alveda King recalled the day in 1963 that her own home was bombed.

“People wanted to do just what they did in Ferguson," she said. "They were trying to turn over police cars, throw stones. They were trying to be very violent. And I remember Daddy was standing on the car with a megaphone, and he was saying: 'Don’t riot! Don’t be violent! My family and I are OK. Please, go home and pray.' "

Some critics of the protests suggest the demonstrations have created animosity towards police, and that they may have led to the killing of two New York City police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. But one of the positive things to emerge is a peaceful discussion about racial discrimination that’s taking place in social media.

"When I see #BlackLivesMatter, I believe that black lives — from conception and to the moment of natural death, the sick, the elderly, the young, the old, the educated, those who need things in communities — all black lives and all human lives matter," she said.

In honor of the holiday, parades are organized in many cities, and hymns are sung in churches across the country. Americans, including President Barack Obama and his family, take part in community projects aimed at bringing Americans together.

Alveda King said that this was her uncle's dream: to see this nation peaceful and united.

年1月的第三个星期一是美国的联邦假日，纪念著名民权活动家马丁路德金诞辰。密苏里州弗格森以及纽约最近几个月的一系列事件后，这个节日对许多人来说具有特殊的意义。

马丁路德金如果仍然在世，对没有携带武器的迈克尔•布朗和埃里克•加纳分别在密苏里州弗格森和纽约市在与警察对峙并被打死的事件会发表什么意见？对其后发生的愤怒和示威将怎么看？

马丁路德金生前在一次讲话中说：“我有一个梦想，我的四个幼小孩子有一天能够生活的国度，将不再以肤色，而是以人的特质内涵取人。”

马丁路德金著名的“我有一个梦想”的演讲，发表于1963年首都华盛顿举行的一次大游行。那个讲话是结束美国种族隔离、建立全体人民平等人权斗争的标志性事件。

上个月出现了另外一次“华盛顿大游行”。成千上万示威者在美国首都要求为布朗和加纳之死伸张正义。示威和平进行。阿尔维达•金是马丁路德金的侄女，其父阿•德•金•也是一位民权活动人士。她认为，大陪审团没有起诉与布朗之死有关的那名警官后弗格森发生的暴力抗议不是解决问题的正确途径。

阿尔维达称弗格森出现的那句“没有正义就没有和平”的口号太过激，并说只有和平抗议活动才能产生积极的结果，她回顾了1963年自己的家遭炸弹爆炸的那一天。

她说：“我记得，民众希望采取的行动和弗格森的民众一样，他们想掀翻警车，投掷石块。他们想采取非常暴力的行动。我记得，爸爸当时站在车顶上，手拿麦克风。他说：‘不要闹事，不要暴力。我和家人安好，请大家回家祈祷。”但是，随后发生的一件具有积极意义的事情是，社交媒体上出现了有关种族歧视问题的平和讨论。

一些对抗议活动提出批评的人认为，示威进一步加剧了针对警察的敌意，因此可能导致了纽约市警察拉莫斯和刘文建被杀。

马丁路德金的侄女阿尔维达说：“我看到那条‘黑人性命也重要’的标语。我认为，黑人的生命，从受孕到自然死亡那一刻，无论他们是病死，还是老死，无论他们是年轻人，还是老人，受过教育，还是社区中那些需要帮助的人，所有黑人生命，所有人类生命，都非常重要。”

为纪念马丁路德金日，许多城市将举行游行，圣歌从全国各地的教堂传出。为了将美国人团结起来，美国民众，其中包括总统及其家人，都会参加一系列社区活动。

阿尔维达说，国家和平与团结，这就是她叔叔的梦想。