MLK Day...im still dreaming

Martin Luther King Day...I'm Still Dreamin...

This is a post that I had done some time back for Martin Luther King Jr. Day...but I felt it needed to be on the site.

Monday was a day of celebration in remembrance of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, but for some it was just an extra day off before starting a shortened work week.

For me it was a time of reflection. With that said...let me take this opportunity to share some excerts from Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." It was written on April 16, 1963, while Dr. King sat in a jail cell after being arrested for participating in a protest march that revolved around the injustices blacks in Birmingham endured.

The letter is often overshadowed by King's monumental "I Have A Dream" speech but ranks second in popularity and notoriety. In this eight page letter, which Dr. King wrote on toilet paper in his cell, he addresses both white and black clergymen who approached him with a letter saying the protests were untimely and unjust.

This letter details not only the philosophy of nonviolent direct action, but it also gives insight to his prophetic personality, now etched on the pages of not just African American history but American history.

When we think of Dr. King we need to remember the past that African Americans have evolved from and take into consideration that there are many people, white and black, who are ignorant to our dark past and America's history of racism and segregation....

Imagine living in a time where African Americans were forced to use seperate facilities, seperate lunch counters, drinking fountains and bathrooms. It is hard for to fathom now, but we must recognize the past...

Dr. King writes, "When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers; when you have seen hate filled police men curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers smoothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading white and colored; when you are harried by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly in a tip toe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next; there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair."

This is the time that Dr. King and our predecessors lived through so we may have the freedom we have today. Many things have changed in our society, but many issues are still there. Just as Dr. King came to recognize, racism is an issue! It is deeply embedded in the history of this country, and if we not become cognizant of it, if we do not confront it, we will fall victim to it, and the often repeated phrase "People who are ignorant of their past are doomed to repeat it."

Remember the words of Dr. King..."Injustice anywhere affects justice everywhere!"....Until the next time...Be real, Be you, BMoore.

Oh yeah the BMOORE REPORT has just begun....

Thanks for influence Pops.

"Im an addict for sneakers....Jordan Memory # 1

Im an attic for sneakers...Jordan memory # 1
Current mood: Straighter than 6 o'clock

BMOORE-REPORT for April 15, 2007

"I'm an addict for sneakers...Jordan memory # 1

What up peeps? Yo a couple weeks ago the Jordan retro # 3's with the fire red (my Jordan heads know which one's im talking about) got rereleased and it just brought back so many memories for a sneaker fiend like myself. Memories for so many reasons, because everybody wanted to be like Mike back in the day, plus Mike had just won the Slam Dunk contest going from the free throw line in these...but the first reason was because the retro 3's were the first jordan's and shoes for that matter that I ever bought with my own money. So that was crazy to begin with. lol....





But when these kicks came out I was about 9 or 10 years old and my pops used to work in the mall. So I was always in the mall, chillin, window shopping and eating greasy chinese food from Mr. Panda all the time. No matter what, I always hit the foot locker every day and I remember seeing those Jordan # 3's with the fire red, man it was like love at first sight....no bullishin. I grabbed them off the rack and eyefucked the shit outta those shoes!!! Not like I had any money in my pocket or even had a chance of getting them on the spot...but I still tried them on. Checked them out in the little ankle high mirror that footlocker used to have. lol. I remember the price tag said $100.00. That was the only number I needed to remember.

So I run down stairs....tell my pops, "Yo they have some new Jordan's I have to get!"...his response, like all parents, "How much do they cost?"...my response, "100 dollars."...his response, like all parents, or at least all parents barely making ends meet, "Hell No!"

But he did tell me I could work for the money. So that was my in. I used to work in his store everyday, sweeping the floor, dusting, taking the trash out, all other kinds of odd jobs...and when I wasnt working I was taking a daily stroll up to the foot locker to try those Jordan's on. The guy who used to work there, got so used to me coming up there he would just bring them out when I walked in. I would always tell him, "I going to get these shoes, man."

Now at the time...I was set to attend Magic Johnson basketball camp towards the end of the summer, so you know I had to have my kick game proper. And even though I was from L.A. and loved the LAKERS and MAGIC and hated the BULLS, I didnt want any Magic Johnson Converse on I wanted the Nike Air Jordan #3's with the fire red.



Another side note...It was'nt even that this was the first time these Jordan's had been released, but this was the new color. So that made them extra hot. The originals were just grey and black, plus my boy Darnai (What up Nai) already had those.

It took me about a month to finally get the 100 dollars I needed for my fire red Jordans. And when the day came and my pop handed me that money I was happier than...(insert your own empitomy of happiness cliche). I ran upstairs to the Foot Locker and asked to try the shoes on. My boy was working and he brought them out for me. I tried them on walked around the store for about five minutes, like I had been doing for the past month. Finally I was like..."I'm going to get them this time."

Cool...so I head to the register, and of course I'm wearing them out the store, plus I had already planned out what I was wearing to match my Jordan's. He rings them up and tells me the total is.....$107.40!!!! Now of course I was like...please repeat yourself, but he did'nt need to because I could see the digital numbers on the outside of the register reading $107.40. What the hell!!! So I ask my man..."I thought they were $100 dollars??" He said, " They are, plus tax!" As a young fella obviously I did'nt know anything about tax, so for as high as I was just moments ago I was now feeling sick to my stomach. I had to take the shoes off and put my old ones back on...but I vowed to my man, "I'll be back."

I go back down stairs to tell my pops about the $7.40 difference and he just busts up laughing...now I dont know if he was planning this all along because he sure as hell knew about sales tax. So why in the hell didnt he tell me about this??? i guess it was just another one of those parental lessons. But either way...he cracked up, gave me a hug and let me borrow the $7.40 i needed to fulfill my dreams.....

And I went on to live happily ever after.

But as you can see those J's brought back some serious memories for me. I know everybody has memories like this....Im starting a set of diaries called "Im an attic for sneakers...and hoping to make a documentary out of it. So if you have memories about your favorite sneaks hit me up and tell me your memories.

O yeah, I was rocking my Black and Red # 11's with the patent leather while writing this...Im such a..."Addict for sneakers...."

BMOORE-REPORT over.