In a 1967 NBC News interview, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared what had become of his vision of equality for Black Americans: “That dream … has turned into a nightmare.” These words clash with our collective memory of the man, and it has a lot to do with normalizing revisionist voices.

Dr. King should never be characterized as patient, a proponent of “colorblindness” or a saint. Historical evidence confirms another point: His life’s work was extremely divisive. Exhibit A? His murder. A 1966 Gallup poll revealed that MLK was widely despised, even before his antiwar and anticapitalist rhetoric reached a fever pitch. His leadership was repeatedly attacked, especially after a labor march in Memphis resulted in rioting and death.

Love and nonviolence was Dr. King’s philosophy, and overthrowing institutional racism through relentless confrontation was his strategy. He was an ideological radical, demanding massive social spending and indicting white America’s morality.

Today’s backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement sounds exactly like intergenerational echoes: “This isn’t the right way to end lynching …”; “Just a bunch of communist instigators …”; “Y’all won’t secure the right to vote like this …”; “Why can’t they act more like George Washington Carver?”

Folks tell on themselves when choosing to paper over Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. They trot out that solitary phrase about skin color and character, or they rhetorically shake their head, “If only Martin Luther King were alive today… .” If that miracle happened, it’s really hard to imagine George Floyd protests without Dr. King on the front lines.

Carlin Whitehouse
Yarmouth

Copy the Story Link