Today is the day we honor one of The United States of America’s greatest public speakers who took on the status quo and fought for civil rights. It also 2 years since The Slants first came to DC, confronting the Supreme Court, with their landmark legal case over their name.
The Slants honored freedom of speech and fighting for your rights at the Martin Luther King jr. Memorial. Simon Tam, founder of the band and the ‘Tam’ in the landmark legal case Lee Vs Tam that went all the way to the Supreme Court, was inspired throughout his life by Dr. King. It was important for him and the band to go to the monument while in town for their Supreme Court hearing 2 years ago.
This video is sort of a ‘behind the scenes.’ The audio quality isn’t great and the lighting is poor but the moment is sincere. Simon recorded Ken Shima singing while Joe Xiang played guitar for their own documentation of the trip. You can see Simon circling them, as silent onlookers began to gather. After they finish the song, some were trying to tip, impressed by the performance. For them, this was a moment, not just another performance for this Portland rock band, but a time to honor fight and struggle for civil rights and freedom of speech throughout history.
We salute the legacy Martin Luther King jr. and all those who follow in his footsteps to fight for justice, equality and freedom of speech.
Info on Martin Luther King jr
Martin Luther King Jr. Biographical https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/
Info about the MLK jr Memorial:
Washinton, DC’s page – https://washington.org/visit-dc/martin-luther-king-jr-memorial
National Parks Service page – https://www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm
Links to The Slants
– Website: http://www.theslants.com/
– Facebook: https://facebook.com/theslants
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slantsofficial/
– Previous ThePodcaste interactions: https://thepodcaste.com/?s=The+Slants
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