Thousands of union supporters gathered at the Capitol Monday to continue Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 fight against racism and poverty in Madison in 2011.
On the 43rd anniversary of King's assassination, which happened while he was helping a union strike in Memphis, Tenn. to protect collective bargaining rights, Rev. Jesse Jackson reminded the audience that one bullet cannot kill a movement and urged them to continue the fight for King's vision.
""We'll get our jobs,"" Jackson said. ""We'll reserve our democracy. We'll get peace.""
Standing with two workers from the Memphis strike to emphasize the parallel, Jackson highlighted the similarities between King's struggles and the struggles in Madison more than 40 years later.
""Consistent with his quest of organizing workers and protecting the public sector, I feel this should be perfect place for him to be today because Wisconsin is ground zero for the challenge for public workers,"" Jackson said.
He warned of increased segregation in Milwaukee––which is the most segregated city in the country, according to census data––and increased economic inequality resulting from union busting. He asked students to vote Tuesday to carry on King's spirit.
""Every student in this university system, 180,000, are eligible to register and vote tomorrow,"" Jackson said. ""If you want lower tuition, vote about it. If you want progress, vote about it.""
University of Wisconsin-Madison history professor Will Jones, who has studied public unions for five years, spoke at the rally to denounce those who think professors shouldn't take sides in the controversy and reaffirmed how important public sector unions are for our society.
""That movement was weakened by King's assassination 43 years ago today,"" Jones said. ""But no institution has carried on his vision, kept that movement alive, more than the unions of public employees.""
A representative of Madison Local 236 union spoke to the crowd about his work cleaning up the trash in Madison. A member of the crowd shouted back, ""Pick up the trash in the governor's office.""
A couple of protesters in billionaire costumes––complete with bow ties, white gloves and top hats––held puppet strings tied to a picture of Gov. Scott Walker, while playing Steve Miller's ""Take the Money and Run.""
