SUSIE & TYLER’S CURRENT EVENTS
January 14, 2014
THE BASICS
Topic
Martin Luther King and Income Inequality
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2013/07/34506/
Definition of Income Inequality:
A measurement of the distribution of income that highlights the gap between individuals or
households making most of the income in a given country and those making very little. From
1980 to 2010, income inequality in the U.S. increased. The top 20% of earners in the U.S. in
2010 earned almost 50% of the total income while the bottom 15% earned less than 4%.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/income-inequality.html#ixzz2q0nEwOPu
“Many white Americans of good will have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation.
They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice.”
-- Martin Luther King
polentical.com/2012/01/16/martin-luther-king-5-quotes-on-income-inequality/
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
-- Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Day in United States
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/martin-luther-king-day
Articles
•
•
“The Vicious Cycle of Income Inequality”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/business/the-vicious-circle-of-income-inequality.html?_r=3
“Income Inequality the defining issue for U.S.”
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_24889586/robert-reich-income-inequality-defining-issue-u-s
•
“War on Poverty Wages On” (good video clip!)
•
“Obama’s Big Issue in 2014 is Income Inequality”
•
“How Fares the Dream?”
•
“Fulfilling One of MLK’s Dreams – A Basic Income Guarantee”
•
“War on Poverty 50 Years on Victory Nowhere in Sight”
http://sfbayview.com/2014/war-on-poverty-wages-on/
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/Ken-Walshs-Washington/2014/01/07/obamas-big-issue-in-2014-isincome-inequality
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/opinion/krugman-how-fares-the-dream.html?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allan-sheahen/martin-luther-king-income-guarantee_b_3806709.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/08/war-on-poverty-50-years-on-victory-nowhere-in-sight/
Questions to Consider
• What is economic inequality? What is economic justice?
• What is the connection between jobs and freedom?
• What was Lyndon Baines Johnson’s 1964 “War on Poverty”?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Poverty
• Why was it proposed? Why did congress approve it? What meaning does it have in
2014?
• What was Martin Luther King’s 1963 Poor Peoples’ March? Why was it important to MLK?
What did MLK mean when he titled his 1963 speech “Why We Can’t Wait?” What would
Martin Luther King say about income inequality in 2014?
• How does the extension of unemployment benefits affect the issue of income inequality?
• How do Congressional budget decisions affect the issue of income inequality?
• What is the minimum wage? Should it be raised? Why or why not?
• What did the writers of the Declaration of Independence mean by “life, liberty, and
property/pursuit of happiness”?
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
• What inalienable rights do citizens have in 2014? Is economic opportunity one of them?
• Is there a connection between the goals of the Preamble to the US Constitution and the
struggle for “domestic tranquility” and the “general welfare” in 2014?
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/preamble
• Why does the American Constitution lack social and economic guarantees? (see
Sunstein excerpt in “Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading”)
• What are you doing for others? What is your dream for economic justice in the United
States?
THE EXTRAS
Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading
•
“March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”
•
“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” (National Archives)
•
“The King of Love: A Short History of the Civil Rights Movement”
•
“About Dr. King” (The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change)
•
“For LBJ, the War on Poverty was Personal”
•
“Class in the Classroom: The Income Gap and NYC’s Schools”
•
“No Rich Child Left Behind”
•
“Why Does the American Constitution Lack Social and Economic Guarantees?”
*Sunstein http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=375622
Lesson Plan Ideas
o Classroom Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
th
 6-8 grade: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/mlk-day-grades6-8.html
 9-12th grade: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/mlk-day-grades9-12.html
•
http://mlkkpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_march_on_washington_for_jobs_and_freedom
/
http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/march-on-washington/
http://www.prx.org/pieces/44096-the-king-of-love-a-short-history-of-the-civil-rig
http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/08/260572389/for-lbj-the-war-on-poverty-was-personal
http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4936/class-in-the-classroom-the-income-gap-and-nyc-sschools#.Us_2YmRDvyc
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/no-rich-child-left-behind/?_r=0
What’s the connection?
Constitution
• “Income Inequality and the Founding Fathers” (conservative blog)
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/11/15/income-inequality-and-the-founding-fathers/
•
“The Perils of Income Inequality” (progressive blog)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-r-stone/the-perils-of-income-ineq_b_2074374.html
Students
• “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service” http://mlkday.gov/
Oregon
• “Bonamici calls for extension of unemployment benefits”
http://portlandtribune.com/bvt/15-news/207005-63879-bonamici-calls-for-extension-of-unemploymentbenefit
Oregon State Social Science Standards/CCSS
8.21. Analyze important political and ethical values such as freedom, democracy, equality, and
justice embodied in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.
HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g. race, poverty, gender, and age,),
recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change.
6-8.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
6-8.RH.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
6-8.RH.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
9-10.RI.9 analyze seminal U.S Documents of historical and literary significance (e.g.
Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech,
Kin’s “
9-10.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
11-12.RI.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application
of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority
opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy
(e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses)
11-12.RH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and
ideas.
11-12.RH.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a
coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
We the People Lesson Connections
Middle School, Level 2
• Unit 6, Lesson 1: What Are the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship?
High School, Level 3
• Unit 1, Lesson 5: What Basic Ideas About Rights and Constitutional Government did
Colonial Americans Hold?
• Unit 6: What Challenges Might Face American Constitutionalism Democracy in the
Twenty-First Century?