reverend james lawson mentioned inin this last speecech of dr. g on this day 50 years ago.he civil rights icon, the former head of the holman umc church in los angeles. and before that, pastor at the church in memphis where the sanitation workers strike was based. this is democracy now! baback in a minute. ♪ [music brea amy: "freedom medley" by our guest michael honey. it's from his album "links on the chain, songs of the labor and civil rights movements." he is one of the musicians in that song. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: it was figures ago today when reverend martin luther king jr. gave his last speech. he was shot dead less than 24 hours later in memphis. we're joined now by reverend thes lawson, pastor of centenary methodist church in memphis in 1968 and historian michael honey come author of the new book "to the promised land: martin luther king and the fight for economic justice." michael honey, i would like to begin with you and ask you about what your book is about the labor dimension

our guest is reverend james lawson and michael honey, historian. falling for fattoush, my peasant-style bread salad. announcer: "julie taboulie's is made possible by... ♪ do your thing, man: do your thing ♪ ♪ syracuse, do your thing ♪ do your thing, do your thing ♪ ♪ syracuse, do your thing

we were going to call on the reverend james lawson to come to memphis.creteness to the campaign. jesse, i have he migraine headache for three days. wife,mber loretta and my maybe i should quit. we want montgomery and birmingham, we want in chicago and were making progress, but maybe it is enough. the fbi is attacking him. they tapped his phone, and tried ds to discredit him. many allies turned on him. the new york times said the march is not working. there was no peace, let me talk, we got really quiet, and he said maybe i cannot turn around because harriet tubman were not understand, they never gave up, i cannot turn around. jim farmer, we may disagree on taxes, but we are friends. mood, but wehis were going to memphis on the way to washington -- and shift the congress is focus. he said will go a step further and said that sanitation workers, they are god's children. if they don't do their work the surgeons cannot do their operations. if they don't do their work, the teachers cannot teach. if they don't do their work, the asthma will kill people. they d

mind, the only person that i can identify as a saint in memphis, tennessee, and that's reverend james lawsoninterested in trying to make changes, whether it was the vietnam war. jim and i set up a legal service program here in memphis. lucius provided the legal work to help people like dr. king. and you learn from other people. you know, you never stop being a moderate, and a white person looks at other people's problems like civil rights problems in an academic way. unless you're black or unless you have a child of color or unless you're married to someone, you can't have that deep empathy that only comes with seeing a person very, very close to you be discriminated against. so it's hard for a white moderate who does not have any real life experiences that way to really become very revolutionary. but i think that what i've heard this weekend and what i know is, you know, 1968, about 20% of the whites had a favorable opinion of dr. king. today 80 or more percent do. what he said has sort of been forgotten, and he has been made a color-blind icon, i have a dream, the mountaintop. but people f

then we got the call from james lawson, come to memphis because we need concreteness to this campaign staff meeting before we came and said jesse and andy, i have had a migraine headache for three days. my wife, andy, jean and ralph, i thought that maybe i should just quit and i had done as much as we can do. we won in selma and we are making progress, but maybe it is enough. the fbi is attacking him. they tapped his home phone, his office phone and hotel rooms. they tried to discredit him. his allies turned on him. members wrote a letter to the "new york times" said the march would not work. we got real quiet. he said maybe i cannot turn around because those who never gave up, i cannot turn around. he then said maybe i was fast to the point of death. jim farmer. we may disagree on taxes but we are friends. it changed his mood to say that we're going to memphis on the way to washington. we were going to shift congres'' focus. he said we're going a step farther. sanitation workers are god's children. if they cannot do their work the surgeons cannot. if they do not do their work, it wil

and this icon here, james lawson, okay? and not to -- and that man sitting right there, that man sitting right there, you know why the democratic party got representation before they didn't have it before, okay? because it was his 1984 -- because of his election campaign. jesse jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaign scared the livi living living bejesus off the political establishment. they didn't believe it. and so we have a -- we have a responsibility to talk facts and reality, and i'm sorry if i came down very hard, but i really feel this. i feel very pained. i personally feel pained, i can't speak for anybody else -- now, i'm not speaking for the civil rights movement. i don't pretend to speak for martin luther king jr. i'm saying clarence b. jones from the road that i traveled with this man, martin luther king jr., and with jesse jackson and others, i can't compute. oh, my god. barack obama wouldn't have been president but for the legacy of martin luther king jr. would not have been president. now, if you think

[applause] >> reverend james lawson. [applause] >> thank you. you are very kind. is mr.'ve heard a lot of words. strong, good, powerful words. jesus said that words were toerful so all of us need get some words and our head that help us to be powerful and help us to tap into the great thing of being human, alive, loving and caring. going to try not to repeat any of the things that have already been said. i became connected to martin luther king, junior around december the seventh or eighth, 1955 and walked with him in many different places around the country. i was, according to congressman john lewis, the architect of the nonviolent movement. hard on the soul asce for nonviolent struggle the way of accomplishing a united states that is true to the beginning the elegy, we hold these truths to be self-evident that all are created equal. are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. part of the difficulty in politics and in the nation and in the advertising industry that greatat, philosophy that launched the 13 colonies into becoming an independent nation,

attacked that spring february first two men were killed and then we're going to call the reverend james lawson come to memphis because it gives concrete to say you'll pull because him painted gives concreteness to it the king had a staff meeting on the sad to before we came in said. and in. bevel i. have had a migraine headache for three days i'm a career and my wife and with and then jean and ralph and one. of them a bassett just squit much as i could do in thirteen years we one month governor we won birmingham we win in chicago we won selma we're making progress but maybe. if we as attacking them. tapped as home phone and office phone and hotel rooms and tried to pay maids to see it there was semen on the bits of disgrace and discredit him made his allies turn on him. to new york times in the march would not work. and the young don't talk that way he said end of the peace peace when there is no peace let me tell you. we get real quiet he said maybe i can't turn around because for the dumbass inherit when not on the stand those who never gave up i can't turn around it is said about it fast to

that is some thing he did that i was reminded of so much today by reverend jim james lawson to everyid health care was a right, an ultimate civil rights, and it is, and it needs to be a made available to every prison and united states of america. [cheers and applause] our general assembly failed to extend medicaid even though the federal government was going to pay 90% of the money over a billion dollars year, and that was cruel and wrong. we need to see that we have medicaid and medicare for people in this country and health care for all. that was dr. king's dream, and we need to fulfill it. dr. king came to memphis because of economic problems, with sanitation workers not being paid a living wage. he succeeded with getting the union recognized, and he succeeded in getting it to -- getting a spirit to people like a.w. willis and others to help build this civil rights museum to perpetually remember and remind people of the horrors of slavery and injustice and segregation and to move the city forward. there are many people in a city -- in our city of immense means that contribute much