马丁•路德•金：民权和劳工权利的捍卫者
2012-01-12 10:29阅读：
2012.01.10 每年1月份第三个星期一是美国纪念马丁•路德•金的联邦节日。
马丁•路德•金（Martin Luther King
Jr.）作为少数族裔民权的捍卫者而最广为人们所知。但他也不倦地为争取劳工的权利而努力，他将劳工权利视作消除贫困和经济不公的一个不可或缺的力量。他在1965年发表的一个演讲中说：“[美国的]劳工运动是变苦难和绝望为希望和进步的主要力量。由于劳工的英勇斗争及经济和社会改革，失业保险、养老金、政府济贫项目逐一出台，最重要的是，制定了新的工资标准，使劳工不仅勉强维持生存而且能保障温饱有余的生活。”
在美国，每年1月份第三个星期一被确定为联邦节日，纪念马丁•路德•金的一生及其所作贡献，号召人们不要把这一天当作休息日，而是志愿奉献自己的时间与精力为社区服务。马丁·路德·金说过：“一个人一辈子要回答的最经常、最急迫的问题是‘你在为他人做什么？’”
美国人民每一年都通过参加为慈善机构筹集资金和为穷人收集分发食品等志愿行动努力回答这个问题。
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Read more:
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/chinese/inbrief/2012/01/20120111142356x0.5256268.html#ixzz1jCucBFXW
Martin Luther King Jr.: Champion of Civil Rights and
Workers
10 January 2012 Workers’ rights and civil rights are
inseparable, according to Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is best known as a champion for the civil
rights of minorities. But he also worked tirelessly for workers’
rights, which he saw as an essential force for eradicating poverty
and economic injustice. In a speech delivered in 1965, King said:
“The labor movement [in the United States] was the principal force
that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of
its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to
unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the
destitute, and above all new wage levels that meant not mere
survival, but a tolerable life.”
King’s life and work is remembered in the United States on the
third Monday of January each year with a federal holiday that calls
upon Americans not to take a day of rest, but to devote their time
and effort to community service. King once said: “Life’s most
persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for
others?’” Each year, Americans attempt to answer that question by
volunteering for a wide range of activities such as fundraising for
charities and collecting and distributing food to the needy.
Read more:
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/inbrief/2011/12/20111220113754enaj0.2517359.html#ixzz1jCudZgJo
