On January 20th, 2009, George W Bush left the White House and Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Despite efforts to transform the inauguration into a coronation, the people kept it real and independent media makers were on hand to document it.

From DC-IMC: In freezing weather, over one million, but maybe not 2 mil mostly 20 and 30 something year olds, were packed into the National Mall around the jumbotron screens to watch Obama get inaugurated (There was one big empty space behind the Washington Monument where there was no TV.) When the 43rd Pres, Bush, was introduced to the crowd, there was a very loud boo. And thumping gloved hands for the Obama. Read More | List of Events.

Some groups were welcomed with front row passes, while others that presented more of a challenge to the new regime's message were shuffled to the margins, snubbed or forcibly "migrated". And according to some Israeli officials, the ceasefire with Hamas was declared in part in order to prevent "distracting news stories" from interrupting the day's mood.

Still, activists were out before and after the inauguration, determined to make the most of the coming of this historic era. The day before the ceremony, on Martin Luther King Day, demonstrators called for peace in Gaza in of the slain civil rights leader: [1] [2] [3] [4] And the day afterward, clergy gathered to vigil and pray for immigration reform and anti-war activists assembled to demand that Obama stop the spread of the "war on terror".

More Reporting from DC: 100 Days working to close Guantanamo and end torture | | | 'These Boots Were Made For Launching': Hundreds Show Bush Their Shoes in Grand Send-Off | | | Muslim Inaugural Celebration Speeches and Interviews | | | UC-IMC Dispatches: Day1 | Day2 | Day3 (MLK Day) | Day4 (Inauguration Day) & some thoughts

Reporting from Other Cities: Los Angeles, CA | Northern CA | Portland, OR: Portland, OR | Rogue Valley, OR | Santa Cruz, CA

Commentary: Some Thoughts on Obama and the US Empire

The 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., March and Rally was held on Monday, January 2009. The event honored Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his work toward racial equality and economic justice for all people, for his commitment to nonviolence, and for his stand against war and militarism.

The march began at around three with some people singing "we shall overcome". The crowd, of around three to five hundred men,women, children, and dogs marched unhindered to st. Mary's church through downtown portland. There were no counterprotestors. Chanting "Hey hey ho ho racism has got to go", "whos streets?, Our streets!", "this is what democracy looks like", "waht do we want? peace, when do we want it now!" and more the crowd marched triumphantly in the road with assistance from portland police. At st.mary's folks listened to speeches.it was refreshing to hear many speak of peace in the middle east, also one of MLK jr.'s dreams.

Marching at the largest Martin Luther King Jr Day-the 24th year commemoration last January 19, 2009 from Western to Leimert Park, hundreds of peace activist and anti-war advocates marched with thousands of people chanting: “ MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION. NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION!” The more than 200 protestors marched under the lead banner of the Topanga Peace Alliance and Veterans for Peace and led by the Cuahtemoc Azteca Dancers banging their drums. They marched together with more than 400 different delegations, floats and marching bands representing all shades and political color all over Southern California marched past the mains stage located at Crenshaw Blvd.

From the newswire: ANTI WAR PEACE ADVOCATES MARCH AT MLK DAY in LA by Echo Park Communtiy Coalition | | Peace Activists At the MLK Jr. parade by Cliff Olin

Thousands of drivers heading south on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Monday morning saw a series of banners proclaiming Jewish support for Palestine. The banners, hung by New Yorkers from the organization Jews Against the Occupation read: JEWS SAY: FREE GAZA, FREE PALESTINE, STOP ISRAEL!

On sunday afternoon two guerrilla artists brought ladders and a message to dixie mattress company store front on se belmont: they covered the two confederate flag emblems flanking the entrance with two metal sheets spray painted with portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the phrase "I have a dream" amidst onlookers.

King concluded that it was not enough to win an end to formal segregation or even to win voting rights. For the last two to three years of his life he focused on the intersection of racial justice, economic justice (including his Poor People’s Campaign and support for unionization) and what we would now call global justice (specifically his courageous opposition to the Vietnam War)

Solidarity needed at Tacoma City Council Meeting

You might have heard the rumor that the city (under pressure from downtown condo developers) is planning to shut down the Martin Luther King Jr. Homeless Shelter in Hilltop. It sadly is true. The shutdown is due primarily to the new condo development across Court E alley, whose rich tenants have decided the folks on the street don't make a pretty enough view from their windows. The condo's developer (supposedly "BRC Associates," a non-profit) is suing the city in order to shut it down for good.

Most people learn in school that King was a man who preached love and nonviolence. In truth, Dr. King's political ideas were far more radical than American textbooks let on. In the last year of his life, King spoke, fought, and organized for the billions of dollars needed to solve the economic problems of African Americans. It was this orientation that brought him to Memphis, where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 – 40 years ago.

Join us for a discussion of this important chapter of King's life and the lessons we can draw for today's struggles.

on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of martin luther king, jr.
the state of the black nation and the barack obama campaign:
what is it all about
how does our struggle relate to the worldwide struggle against oppression and exploitation?
where does barack obama fit?
and why our movement is in the streets no matter what happens
a community and panel discussion

On Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, nearly 1,000 people marched in freezing weather from WABC headquarters on West 32nd Street to CNN headquarters on West 58th Street. They invoked King’s message of racial equality while focusing on present-day race relations, including the anti-immigrant sentiment espoused by CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, the NYPD shooting death of Sean Bell and the Jena Six case. The Indypendent caught up with some of the marchers, who discussed how they connected King’s message to present day struggles.

More than 2,000 people participated in the 28th Annual Martin Luther King Day March on Monday, January 21st. The demonstration was the largest of the Seattle-area events that dominated the three day holiday.

Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,was supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee when he was assassinated by a sniper nearly 40 years ago. Rather than focusing on his tragic death, Monday's event honored his life-long struggle for social justice. Had Dr. King lived, he would have celebrated his 79th birthday on January 15th, 2008. The theme of the event was "Let Freedom Ring: End Poverty, Racism, and War".

120 people were present at the demonstration commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the gates of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor on January 19th. 17 demonstrators were arrested at the highway entrance into the base. Watch Video | More Coverage

In recognition of Martin Luther King, Temple University President Ann Weaver Hart planned a big event in the Student Activities Center on Temple Campus. The one thing she hadn't planned on however, was real civil rights activists showing up at the event. Activists from the community organization Jobs with Justice arrived early at the event and began leafleting and talking with people as they entered the auditorium. That is when the fun began!

Watch Media Mobilizing Project's video detailing the fight and struggle of Penn and Temple security guards: here

Recent Reporting on campaign: 1 | 2 | 3

On the day set aside to celebrate Martin Luther King's life(which is not his actual birthday), peace activists dropped by Lockheed-martin to read out some of his words condemning the Vietnam War in the new context of the Iraq War. Audio: 5 min 44 sec

January of every year we are encouraged to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King even as such celebration occurs over the assassinated image of an assassinated man. As Vincent Harding noted, quoting a poem by Carl Wendell Himes, Jr., "Dead men make such convenient heroes: They cannot rise to challenge the images we would fashion from their lives." Harding's extension of this to his own work on King, An Inconvenient Hero, summarizes perfectly the position King must hold today. His popularity must be used to testify against his living legacy, his life's struggle, and both the reasoning and people behind his assassination. While his name is evoked each year, and at times of heightened political activity even more so, this reference comes specifically to recast a revolutionary into one comfortable with current and false notions of "progress" or "change." Barak Obama borrows his oratorical flare (attempts at least) with none of his politics and Hillary Clinton misuses his legacy to give undo credit to the executive branch for a movement's struggle for equality while simultaneously suggesting that King himself saw president Johnson's signing of Civil Rights legislation as completion of victory and liberation. He most certainly did not. All this, of course, occurs while electoral political efforts to carry out King's plan (his dream had long since been considered by King himself to be a "nightmare") are summarily ignored by mass media popular and "progressive" alike. Read Full Report from VoxUnion Media | More MLK Day Coverage

Photo from Jan07 MLK Day March in St. Louis, MO

If the true legacy, the leadership and the courage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to have any real meaning for today as we approach the 40th anniversary of his martyrdom next April 4, then the King birthday holiday on January 21, 2008 must be more than an exercise in platitudes and official declarations from the White House, the State House or City Hall. There is a time for celebrations and there’s a time for fighting. Now is a time that we need to fight. And fight like hell. On this King Holiday we must organize and march against the forces of racism, reaction and war, not just the war abroad but the war raging here at home. To know what’s happening, is to know that nothing is more important than jump starting a multi-racial movement against racism.

My father's words that, "Freedom only comes through persistent agitation, through persistent rising up", were true in 1982 when Mumia Abu Jamal was unjustly convicted for the death of a Philadelphia policeman because he dared to use national air-waves to agitate for the rights of MOVE and for racial and economic justice. They are true today as we continue to fight for his freedom....We live in a society shrouded in hypocrisy, a nation that expects its children to abhor violence but takes every opportunity to promote the "might is right" philosophy....While we promote the notion throughout the world that America's system of justice in colorblind, we live with the reality that racism is inherent in every single facet of our criminal justice system....From the aerial bombing of MOVE to the unjust incarceration of MOVE members, Mumia Abu-Jamal and countless others; to the unjustified and unpunished killings and beatings of people of color; to the "blue mentality" pervading police forces across the country that rewards brutal behavior; to the increasing incidents of police abuse and harassment of even white Americans, we understand the need to continue and remain steadfast in our struggle for freedom. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s journey began in Montgomery with civil rights and ended in Memphis with human rights. SCLC's current support of human rights around the world is consistent with our support of the rights of MOVE. Read More | Related Audio: Linn Washington Jr. on Covering MOVE - 2.9M