“There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor—both black and white—through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.”

 
Today, as the war in Iraq rages on with no end in sight as far as George W. Bush is concerned, it’s past time to take a look around and make some of these same connections that MLK made so many years ago. For the past few years, programs such as Head Start, Pre-K, food stamps and Medicare got cut, although congress had no problem finding unallocated funds in our federal budget to fund the war—to the tune of $85 billion per year.

The horrible irony is that as we drain the social programs that help the poor reach educational goals and build up community, we create a situation in which one of the only available opportunities for the disenfranchised is to join the military. At this point in time, before it gets any worse, can we continue to think of ourselves as only civil rights activists, or only anti-war activists? Are we merely environmentalists or feminists? If we honor King’s message in only one way, let it be that we finally connect all the dots.

 
This war in Iraq, like the one in Vietnam, is an enemy of the poor. Connect the dots—and then, do something. I urge anyone who wants to celebrate and support Black History Month to also consider joining the anti-war movement. Blacks currently serve in the military in disproportionately higher numbers than whites, because they are living disproportionately in poorer communities across the nation.

 
Need ideas? Attend rallies and protests in support of the growing anti-war movement. Just show up! Consider becoming a war tax resister. Get involved in (or start) local counter-recruitment efforts. Write letters to the editors of the Ithaca Times and Ithaca Journal. Finally, support programs in our community like the Village at Ithaca, because education and community support are key factors in our strength as a community. To quote another inspiring African-American, Michael Franti, “Every million mile got to take a first step.” Just get out there and start walking.