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King, who championed economic as well as racial justice, called labor unions “the first anti-poverty program,” a Western Illinois University professor writes.

Investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, analysis of national and world affairs, and cultural criticism that matters.

One often-overlooked aspect of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and career was his strong support of labor unions, calling them America’s first anti-poverty program.

Stain Weir writes about direct action and on-the-job union leadership as a merchant marine in the 1940s.

Asia Art Tours Interviews Bandilang Itim: Philippines & Anarchism Asia Art Tours interviews Bandilang Itim. To better understand the history of Anarchism in the Philippines and the state terror unleashed by Rodrigo Duterte, we were thrilled to speak with the Bandilang Itim collective.  Asia Art Tours: From this summer of global uprisings, one of the main lessons I took away was the importance of translation. When it comes to Bandilang Itim (a Tagalog translation of ‘Black Flag’) could you...

Catholic students in Philippines appeal for help Undergraduates at Ateneo de Manila University want urgent talks with administrators over online learning woes Students at Ateneo de Manila University say they want talks with administrators to iron out problems arising from online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Ateneo de Manila University) Student organizations at a Jesuit-run university in the Philippines have demanded an open discussion with its administrators r...

Martin Luther King Jr., union man The Conversation 1/16/2021 Peter Cole, Professor of History, Western Illinois University © AP Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the picket line at the Scripto plant in Atlanta, Ga., December, 1964. If Martin Luther King Jr. still lived, he’d probably tell people to join unions. King understood racial equality was inextricably linked to economics. He asked, “What good does it do to be able to eat at a lunch counter if you can’t buy a hambu...

Getting out and where i think most of the international community including secretary mattis and others would want him to be. he is saying we will stay there. we will continue the fight. but we want our regional allies to come in and eventually one day be able to do this on their own. what was your take away? >> im not as critical richard was. i think this was a classic option b speech where option a is go big, really destabilize the regime, rock them, big strike, option c is do very little. thi...

Daughter in the wake of all this. martha: the pentagon says that a u.s. drone strike killed a key al qaeda leader in syria. he was a high up in an al qaeda offshoot group. how important was this strike for our fight? >> reporter: senior defense officials called this a big strike. he was a key figure in a terror group thats known to have the most advanced non-metallic bombs in the world. al qaeda says he was killed in an airstrike while traveling in a vehicle in northwest syria. he was falsely re...