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Nelson Mandela returns home from hospital

Living legends of civil rights on the struggles of the past, and the future

Morgan Whitaker, @morganwinn

LIVING LEGENDS

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 45th anniversary of his death, visiting his memorial in Washington can be hard for many–especially anyone who didn’t live through the 1960′s civil rights movement–to realize just how controversial civil rights leaders like Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were.

But for Juanita Abernathy, Ralph’s widow, the memories have not faded. She joined Rev. Al Sharpton on PoliticsNation Friday to talk about the opposition she faced. She worked alongside her husband and King mobilizing support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A couple years later she and her daughter miraculously survived the bombing of their home that came as a retaliation as her husband was establishing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King. The struggle did not end there.

“We had death threats every day for five consecutive years,” she said.

She recalls that people from a white supremacist group would call her home all day long, starting at seven in the morning, every day. “It was constant,” she said. “Rosa Parks and my house, we got the calls.”

The messages were not subtle. “They cursed and called us everything, ‘We’re going to blow your so-n-so head off and your little children,’” she said.

Those experiences made it so much more rewarding to see Barack Obama take office.

“It’s hard to realize that in those days we talked about a black president but really we weren’t sure we’d ever live to see one,” said Rev. Joseph Lowery. He worked alongside Abernathy and her husband for years, eventually running the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He didn’t just live to see first black president, he also participated in his first inauguration, giving the benediction.

Abernathy agreed. “We knew one day it would happen, but not in our lifetime,” she said.

Her advice to the civil rights leaders of today and tomorrow? “Faith in God, number one, and determination, and be sure of your goals and aspirations and pursue them untiringly until they’re accomplished,” she said. ”Because it isn’t going to be easy, but if you pursue it and continually work at it, you will be successful.”

Lord Bless This Country 

Report: North Korea Threatens To End Armistice MARCH 5, 2013 INTERNATIONAL BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT Source: Laura Smith-Spark and Jill Dougherty / CNN North Korea threatened Tuesday to nullify the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, citing U.S.-led international moves to impose new sanctions against it over its recent nuclear test, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. The North’s military said it will also cut off direct phone links with South Korea at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, Yonhap said, citing North Korea’s news outlet. North and South Korea have technically been at war for decades. The 1950-53 civil war ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. There has been major concern in recent years among world powers over North Korea’s nuclear aspirations. To read this article in its entirety visit CNN. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oprah Chosen as Harvard’s Commencement Speaker This will be Harvard's 362nd Commencement by Makkada B. Selah Posted: March 5, 2013 Entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey has been chosen as the commencement speaker for this year’s Harvard graduation, Madame Noire reports. “She has used her extraordinary influence and reach as a force for good in the world, with a constant focus on the importance of educational opportunity and the virtues of serving others,” Harvard President Drew Faust wrote about Winfrey in the Harvard Gazette. Harvard’s graduation ceremony will be held on May 30. Read more Here...http://madamenoire.com/265083/oprah-has-been-chosen-as-harvards-commencement-speaker/#ar9l6XoqLrgDVTab.99 ******************************************************************************************************* The New Vintage: The Resurgence of Versace Venetian Print Silk Shirts: Think 1996, the Notorious B.I.G. and Sean “Diddy” Combs were cruising out on a speedboat while draped in Versace print silk shirts for the “Hypnotize” video. The baroque silk… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS In 2007, the future President Barack Obama joined in commemorating the 1965 Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March. (Reuters) George W. Bush said the first decision the president of the free world makes is which carpet to get in the Oval Office. When Barack Obama moved into Bush's vacated space, the carpet he chose had five quotes running around its border. They came from Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. The latter's chosen phrase was: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Although wrongly attributed to King (the quote was actually the work of Boston preacher Theodore Parker), the message was clear. The U.S. had been through a long struggle -- from Civil War to Civil Rights, through Reconstruction and Segregation -- and America had ended up with an African American in the Oval Office. What is appealing about the story of the Civil Rights movement is its simplicity: its arc, while long, bends into a neat narrative. It can be plotted through major events that are etched into our consciousness: Brown v. Board, 1954; the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955; Little Rock, 1957; the Sit-Ins, 1960; the Freedom Rides, 1961; Birmingham and the March on Washington, 1963; the Civil Rights Act, 1964; and finally, Selma and the Voting Rights Act, 1965. Remember those events, remember those dates, and you're sure to pass your exam. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/how-a-supreme-court-defeat-could-save-voting-rights/273711/

Essence Editor, Constance C.R. White, Says She Was Fired

http://mije.org/richardprince/essence-editor-says-she-was-fired#Essence