>> man: don't let anybody take your manhood. be proud of our heritage to someone said earlier tonight, we don't have anything to be ashamed of. somebody told a lie one day. they coached it in language.

and evil, look in the dictionary and see the synonyms of the word "black ". there's something degrading and sinister. look at the word "white" there's always something pure. (applause) >> man: but i want to get the language right tonight. (cheers and applause) >> man: i want to get the language so right that everybody here will cry out "yes, i'm black and i'm proud of it. i'm black and beautiful ". good morning, everyone, and welcome to urban update. each year here at urban update, we dedicate the show to the

the day before the holiday. today we'll talk about his legacy and what he means in the world and the civil life. later on the show, we'll talk to elected officials and political organizers the ideals dr. king left behind and we'll finish off the show with major events this king weekend. especially the ones tomorrow. but first, charles stiff a long time activist and civil leader. reverend stiff also served at the south church for more than a decade. we have peterson who is the democracy coalition. they they were responsible for the successful redistricting in 2012. locally for the boston herald

and politics. welcome to urban update, gentlemen, thank you for coming in on this martin luther king day weekend. we opened up, as you just heard, with a clip about king preaching about black being beautiful. i don't know how many people heard that particular clip. what did you hear listening to that? >> man: i thought it was a great clip. great because the further we get away from martin's assassination, the more sanitized he becomes. he had this way about focussing laser like on the critical issues of the day. and the issue of race and how black people are understood by the larger society. how black people are understood themselves. he knew was equally important as any legislation, in terms of

community and redeeming the soul of america. >> kevin, you followed king's life and he expired you as a democracy activist in terms of talking about civil rights. is he talking about something else? we're talking about king and demock democracy. >> man: he sort of articulated in very clear and ro bust terms. it's an examination of where black people were in the late 1960s. a lot of victims make connections closely and don't make the very clear connection

1963. >> dr. stiff, one of the things you just said, as time goes on, he becomes sanitized. i find that an interesting thought. when you think back, you're trying to go back to the '60s when he was living. he was kind of scary to people. sanitized now. talk about the difference between then and now. the image we see. >> man: i think the fact that he's as esteemed that he is, is a good thing. it says something about how far america has come when you have folks on the light end of the political spectrum who will quote martin king now. that's good news. that's also the bad news.

down the message and meaning of martin. he was a radical and he was challenging our society in very very fundamental ways. i think if he were alive today, he would be very much disturbed where we are. despite the election of an african american president, which is huge, given america's tangled history around race. but when you look at every social and economic indicator, african americans are worst off today than we were ten years ago. and particularly, in the city of boston. despite its robust economy. and outstanding rates of growth, the african american community has been left behind. >> on thursday, you published

clergy of boston on race, economic justice, and hope. what's the point of the letter to the community? >> man: that we have to revisit the commonwealth of this city, the common will of this state and take account that african americans and other people of color are while now making up the majority, are still marginalized. our economy has gone through a profound transition over the last 25 years. 25 years ago, we did the community investment with a consorgs with 15 banks. our economy has shifted. the drivers of our economy are now high tech, higher education, and health care. if you look at all those sectors, african american are

unless we're very intentional -- >> man: i think king would approve of such a letter. one of the things that i want to respond to is that as we celebrate king this weekend, we remiss in remembering how out of the lime light he was before he was assassinated. how he had a very low popularity even within the black community. it's interesting to reflect back on that and some of the ideas he was championing before the he was assassinated and that supports people's campaigns. he was very diligent and focused on this issue of inequality and

i think that message should still resinate today. >> what do you think dr. king would think about the political race today. you talk about income equality there. for both of you, what we've seen, black lives matter, would dr. king -- >> man: i think he would be optimistic about black lives matter. but in general, i think he would not be pleased in terms of how the society has developed or devofled since his time here on earth. i don't think he would be pleased with the polarized political system that we're witnessing. i don't think he'd be pleased with the state of black america in terms of educational attainment. the assault on black lives by police officers across the country. i think there are a million

and focussing on in terms of challenging america to be better. >> man: i would echo all the points kevin just made. i want to add that he would be extremely proud and pleased that president obama was elected president of the united states and reelected. and i think as a reit tigs, he would have been pleased with the president's state of the union address last week. i thought he was on point and dr. king would be very pleased. we as a country need to take seriously as we look towards the future. >> where do you see major divides between black america, white america, where we have not made inroads.

particular, you have what seems like -- first of all, you have residential apar tooi in the city where poor blacks are pretty much segregated in different pockets of the city and there's no relief. department of -- the police department, recently a federal judge ruled on the promotional exam within the police department. just last week they ruled in a the police department could provide a cadet with opportunity in the police department. we could talk about terms nationally. but locally, we have problems that dr. king would come to boston and deal with problems in our public institutions and reflect racism.

by asking you both of question. why should this day be meaningful to people today? >> man: well, given the extent to which we've become obsessed with materialism in our society it's good that we have this day to focus on the vision values of martin luther king, jr. thank god there are no sales. we still take this day all across the country as a moment to pause and reflect on the demands of the moment relative to justice, hope, and opportunity. >> man: the importance of the beloved community theme that he articulated throughout his ministry is important. it's important for us within a democracy for us to really recognize the fact that we ought to be a community and ought to be together. that's

message that resinates with me. >> we'll leave it right there. thank you both for coming in on this martin luther king day weekend. all right, well, when we come back, how dr. king's ideals have impacted our black elected officials right here on urban update. stay with us, we'll be right backs. ou should get verizon fios - quick. only fios has the fastest internet and wi-fi available, with speeds from 50 to 500 megs. and right now, for $79.99 a month online, you"ll get 50 meg fios internet, tv and phone for your first year. plus with a 2 year agreement, fios gives you $400 back, and all the premium movie channels for a year. hurry, this offer ends soon. so go online or call now.

>> man: he is alive in me to go up to the mountain. i've seen the promise land.

i want you to know the we as a people will get to the promised land. (cheers and applause) anything. i'm not fearing any man. my eyes have seen the glory of the promised land. that was dr. king in his final speech in memphis the night before he was assassinated. to continue our discussion, we have representative russell holmes. also a new elected school committee member in the city of cam cambridge.

team, an organization pushing for police body cameras. that speech still gives me chills when i hear it many many years later. when you hear dr. king talking about public change, what strikes you about that? >> man: that speech gives me chills, too and what strikes me most is the leadership. he knows where to go, goes their way and goes and brings people with them. dr. king, when he talked about what we should do, it still resinates with me to be great leaders. >> dr. king's life inspire public service? how do you think it should inspire public service? >> woman: as dr. king said,

i think it's important to look beyond ourselfs and see how we can give back to our communities. we can't stop there. we stop with a message of service when it comes to dr. king. in the reality, if we want to create a democracy that wants to benefit all that live within it and the city has to have elected officials accountable to ensure justice for all people. >> you're trying to shape policy in the city. how is inspiration to you? >> man: dr. king has been an inspiration in all the movements i've taken. not only marched with black lives matter and been arrested, but also taken it a step further to push for policy in the city. one thing we're trying to do

action team is how officers interact with black people with the cameras. >> he talked about a chiefing a beloved community. what does that mean for you as an elected official? >> man: he wasn't speaking of a utopia and how things would be great in the future but he was very pragmatic and i think about how he would go out and make sure the cameras were there. there was still not a realization that this was happening in the south. elected folks have to show that this is important and that is happening and we're still so disadvantaged in our neighborhoods. >> tell me how dr. king inspires the younger generation. what from king do you convey to

constituents. >> woman: i read it in the error where our young people are literally growing up seeing that people that look just like them, lives can be taken away in just a moment. the message still resinates and particularly my congregation and constituency that our message of king is not something of yes ter years, it's ensuring a dream becomes a reality. that's pushing us to really, truly address some of the inequalities that is really prevalent in a lot of minority communities, particularly. >> were he alive today, what do you think dr. king would be challenging in terms of what problems confront your generation? >> man: i'd say if dr. king

disappointed he was pushing for the same issues he was serving for in 1968. police brutality. i think he'd be pushing for the same things in 1968. >> what do you think dr. king would say about the divided politics that we have and what we've been witnessing the last year. you mentioned black lives matter. how do you think he would look at this? would he say that we haven't travelled anywhere? >> man: i think when you look at his writings and his speeches, he expected to have things confrontational. i think he was much more oriented. if you talk about how he would perceive things today?

and so we're just fighting on another day and not seeing results. that's where his leadership would be very important and impactful today if he were still here. >> what do you think? the political divide we have today, the politics of 2016, what do you think dr. king would have to say about that? >> woman: dr. king, in his day, was pretty radical and it's interesting as we sit back and watch what's unfolding, particularly at the national level, particularly with the presidential election, dr. king would have called it what it is. right now, we've referred to it as something controversial has been said or is happening. dr. king would call it racism. >> okay. is there anything that dr. king would be happy about today? >> man: i would say there are lots of things we all should be happy about.

progress since dr. king's day. the point isn't just we need to be happy but we need to be consistent in saying we need to fight for more. >> i'll leave it right there. thank you all for being here. and by the way, how's that going? are you making progress with the body cameras? >> man: we've made significant progress. the commissioner announced in september that the cameras are coming to boston and now we're making sure community or orientation is coming up. some of information on some of the events coming up this weekend. more on the king breakfast. we'll be right back. itizens bank education refinance loan, it gets even better. you know those people who pay a little extra and get all the legroom in coach?

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we've been talking about dr. martin luther king, jr's legacy today as we prepare for tomorrow's national holiday that's named in his honor. there are a number of events going on this weekend, especially tomorrow. attorney james dide is here. jimmy, welcome, good to see you again, always. >> man: always good to see you. >> you're on the committee for the mlk breakfast, give us an overview. >> man: the breakfast is something that's been going on for 46 years. this breakfast is hosted by two churches.

years ago where women from those two churches decided they wanted to do something to honor the life of martin luther king, jr. they started hosting breakfasts all through the years in the basement of these churches. last year, over 900 people came to the breakfast. this year, we expect the same amount of people to come to the breakfast. it's the oldest, continuous celebration of martin luther king in the united states. >> what are going to be some of the highlights there. >> man: our keynote speaker is going to be ruth simmons. she's the first person of color to be the president of a major university in the united states when she was the president of smith college. and then from there, she went on to be the president of brown university. so she'll be the speaker. while at brown, ruth highlighted

founded brown university were major slave holders and major merchants who owned the slaveships travelling from africa to the south. so brown understood what it had done, what its legacy was all about and she had them to give money and to do statues and things like that and to support the fact that we understand what our forefathers did, we apologize for that and we're making aems for that right now. breakfast? >> man: the head table will have the governor. mayor walsh, the state senator. >> as a member of the hosting committee, what do you try to

at the theme for martin luther king breakfast? we're getting close to 50ears of his assassination and a lot of folks can actually remember the day. but there are so many young people. what do you try to achieve with the breakfast? >> man: there are a couple of things we like to do. we give scholarships. we have students from the o' brian. he write essays on martin luther king and we pick three winners and they get a $2,500 scholarship for them to go to college. we award two students in the medical profession. we also give art awards to students from the middle school.

children and the general public about what his legacy was and we want them to understand that it's a living process. >> by the way, we have another graphic up here of another event monday, january 18th. 11:00-5:00. umass, boston, third floor and that's free admission. thanks for coming in, jimmy and thanks for being part of another martin luther king day celebration and continuing that tradition. >> man: thank you so much. i want everybody to know you can come out tomorrow morning and buy your tickets at the door, have a great breakfast and interact with all of us. >> we'll leave it right there. that's our edition of urban update.