ctaylorjr14
As the nation celebrates the life & work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr there is a sinister campaign by conservatives to hijack the true message of Dr. King. The Dr. King they want you to believe in is one where he simply fought for civil rights through the actions of love. While part of this is true, the reality is that Dr. King, much like Malcolm X, understood that the atrocities committed against his people would not be reversed by simply using the “loving your neighbor” creed. No, Dr. King knew that economic equality goes hand in hand with social & political equality.
This vision that Dr. King had is the vision that people don’t want you to see. The vision of economic equality meant Dr. King would have to put America’s ugly history on front street. He would expose that you can’t have true equality when you have laws & practices that would keep the economic power in the hands of a few. And while he is largely a beloved figure today, keep in mind that the King Holiday did not become a national holiday until 1986 – nearly 18 years after his assassination. Some of the very agencies(the FBI, CIA, CointelPRO) that praise him today were actively trying to discredit him and bring him harm while he was alive.
Take for instance this letter written by CointelPRO to Dr. King trying to convince King to commit suicide:
Yes, this is the story that has largely been muted by the conservative movement. King was hated and despised because he chose to fight for the rights of those who had no voice. King didn’t speak of lifting one’s self by his bootstraps. He told the truth about America. He told the ugliness of America to America’s face. He spoke about a nation spending money on wars when it could be helping people… and for that he was hated.
Here are a couple of clips of Dr. King talking about income equality:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLV5y4utPKI]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Bt-ga8vJc]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBN5doQ9q4g]
So please miss me with the nonsense of how Dr. King would be a conservative today. Especially today. And while you’re at it do yourselves a favor and really dive deep into Dr. King’s struggle. I guarantee you will not like what you see… but you’ll know it’s the truth.
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