A good idea based on evidence and reason. Folks in the anti-vax anti-GMO anti-etc. camps are passionate, righteous, and think they are doing the right thing.
antepreprosays
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate, and yet it seems like 99% of people are ignorant of that, willfully or not. MLK Jr. is a popular symbol now. He does not represent the struggle against racism. He is not thought of someone who fought damn hard for simple human decency, barely got, and fucking died in the process. He is not remembered as someone who lived and fought and died just a few decades ago. No, he is an excuse for people to believe that racism is over, and Martin Luther King Jr. is the one who beat it. He lets white people and the government sit in smug self-satisfaction, assured that racism is basically gone and that they don’t need to worry about that anymore. And furthermore, he is a comforting symbol expressing how Moderation is the One True Way. Because MLK Jr. was a moderate. A nice, nice moderate man who was nothing but polite and never shook up the status quo and brought about Civil Rights all by himself.
The real MLK worked with other people. He expressed contempt and frustration for the system. He acknowledged that his tactics aren’t the only ones and that “violence” against property is understandable. He understood that any opposition to the status quo will be opposed, fervently and sometimes violently. He condemned the milquetoast, privileged, white moderates for letting injustices happen. And those same milquetoast, privileged, white moderates use him as a rallying cry for apathy to this very day.
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate
Gotta listen to the whole “I have a dream” speech. Usually, the first part – the bit about how he’s here to cash a check drawn on the bank of liberty and that all the people assembled here sure hope the bank’s not empty… that part gets left off in favor of the “I have a dream” conclusion (which King ad libbed) He certainly wasn’t a polite meek moderate and I always felt he did a good job of pointing toward the unutterable alternative to ending apartheid, without actually saying “revolt” He was certainly not naive or meek. And, as you say, he certainly wouldn’t have had a lot of time to spend on the milquetoast privileged moderates of today that are trying to put American racism into the memory hole.
Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi honor Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday on the same day that they honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Lee should be studied as part of history, but not honored like King.
All of what you said is true. And it seems that people forget that Martin Luther King, Jr. is dead. He was assassinated — murdered — for his activism. That part is always glossed over, it feels like.
Even if he truly was a moderate — and he wasn’t; activists by their very nature can’t be moderate, imo — it still didn’t keep him from being murdered. He’s still dead.
When it struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, the Supreme Court crippled one landmark civil rights law. Now it looks poised to go after another—making it harder to stop discrimination in a whole new sphere.
The justices will hear a case Wednesday giving them a chance to significantly narrow the scope of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which bars governments, lenders, landlords, realtors, and anyone else from discriminating on the basis of race or other criteria in housing.
The FHA, passed in 1968 a week after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., isn’t lionized to the same degree as the Voting Rights Act or the Civil Rights Act. But, its supporters say, it’s an integral part of the panoply of civil rights legislation that transformed the country half a century ago. […]
That’s right, lawmakers and conservative judges are trying to roll back all the gains made by Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who fought for voting rights, and for non-discrimination laws.
[…] “The stakes are very high,” said John Relman, a lawyer representing the National Fair Housing Alliance. “Housing lies at the fulcrum of civil rights. Where you live affects the opportunities you have for jobs, better schools, connections that allow you to have opportunity in your life to advance. And if we cannot use the FHA to address the policies that affect and limit where we live, then our ability to protect all these civil rights—employment rights, rights to a fair and equal education—will be seriously undermined.” […]
[…] After King’s assassination in 1968, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced the first Congressional legislation to create a federal Martin Luther King Day holiday. In the years that followed, Congress held congressional hearings during which hostile witnesses said “violence was exactly what [King] wanted,” and that King formed a “common front” with the “virulently racist Nation of Islam.” […]
It’s interesting to see that legislators were connecting King to Islam in 1968. Senators and Congress critters also tied King to communism.
The most vocal opponents included the late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), who mounted a 16-day filibuster of the proposal and smeared King as a Communist.
Voting with Helms against the King holiday were four men who remain in the Senate today: Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-AZ). Shelby and McCain were in the House at the time.
House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) and House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) also voted against the proposal. McCain apologized in 2008 for being too slow “to give greatness its due,” and Hatch wrote in 2007 that the vote was “one of the worst decisions” he has made as a senator. […]
Mormons did not want Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, to take a position that was right. G. Romney supported civil rights, not a position that was mormon-approved.
[…] the Lord had placed the curse upon the Negro, which denied him the Priesthood; therefore, it was the Lord’s responsibility–not man’s–to change His decision. This friend of mine met a very tragic end by drowning. He was a most enthusiastic advocate of the colored cause and went about promoting for them all the privileges, social opportunities, and participation enjoyed by the Whites.
I am sure you know that the Prophet Joseph Smith, in connection with the Negro problem of this country, proposed to Congress that they sell public lands and buy up the Negro slaves and transport them back to Africa from whence they came. […]
What a Maroon, oblivioussays
There is a difference, King’s birthday is a national holiday, and Lee is honored on a special day in five southern states.
On the other hand, I live a few blocks from Jeff Davis highway, which passes through black and white neighborhoods throughout the state. Not too far from here is Lee Highway, Washington-Lee High School, Lee-Jackson Highway…. You get the idea.
Of course there’s an MLK Boulevard in most major US cities, but they tend to pass through poor, largely black neighborhoods.
One thing too many conveniently forget is that MLK was beginning to focus on economic justice when he was killed. On that front, things have gotten worse.
I dunno PZ, I’d rather take a position that was safe, politic, popular AND right. Y’know, if I had the choice.
carliesays
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate, and yet it seems like 99% of people are ignorant of that, willfully or not.
I just listened to a review of Selma that indicated that one thing that movie does well is show how much planning, how much discipline, how much effort is involved in adhering to a nonviolent philosophy for a movement. it’s not about sitting back and letting things happen and not rocking the boat – it’s about carefully training people on what to do and how to react to being baited, it’s about people volunteering for the front lines knowing they will be beaten, it’s about organizing protests with an eye to the media so that it is incredibly obvious and public and right in front of people that they are not raising their fists but are being met with violence. It is fucking hard work.
Did you get the permission (with payment) of King’s heirs to print that?
Ichthyicsays
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate,
It’s ignorant, moderate, suburban flight white folks that tend to cherry pick those.
since it was posted upthread, they instead should have read what MLK thought about THEM.
I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”
He would in fact, likely say the same thing today, if he had lived to see the white moderate literally overturn affirmative action programs all across the country.
Ichthyicsays
Did you get the permission (with payment) of King’s heirs to print that?
actually, you’re right about that. The source of the photo is not attributed. If it is media commons, it should say so, if it isn’t… it is indeed a copyright violation.
too many people DO in fact, take advantage of the easy availability of imagery on the web, without realizing that if they are making money off of those images, without attribution, that’s legally violating copyright.
not kidding. the person who owns that photo could actually file a copyright suit against PZ for posting it!
extremely unlikely, but considering FtB just recently booted a blogger for plagiarism, it seems we all should be a bit more conscious of the reality of copyright, no?
It’s interesting to see that legislators were connecting King to Islam in 1968.
The Nation of Islam isn’t entirely the same thing. Theologically, they are AFAICT nearly as distinct from Shiite or Sunni Islam as Mormonism is from Catholicism and mainline protestantism, and mainstream Islam tends to feel the same way about them. That wasn’t a claim that King was in league with foreigners from the Middle East, but that he was associated with more extreme Black radicals in the U.S. such as Malcolm X, who was a prominent member of the Nation of Islam for some time.
Grewgillssays
@Lynna 6
Putting the REL holiday on MLK day wasn’t just a quirk of dates. Southern states felt like they were being forced to honor MLK with a holiday. Arizona was another late adopter that lost a superbowl for that failure. As a deliberate FU to the people they felt forced by they made REL/MLK day. It was about petulance and racism.
Ichthyicsays
example from ABC news, who I’m sure has learned the hard way over the years to make sure to attribute their photos:
The real politics of many celebrated today have been deliberately obscured. Dr King and Gandhi, who he in many ways emulated, were both radical men of action. They were non-violent in a physical sense, but their methods were radical and they upended societies. If most students read the bulk of their message they would be shocked. The same is true of Helen Keller, whose politics are almost completely washed from her biographies that are seen in schools. It is true of past presidents that made social change, FDR would be branded a socialist heretic and confined to the fringes in modern politics. It is amazing how little our images of great historical figures match their actuality.
Dr. King didn’t just give a great speech, he helped to end the terrorism of black people by whites.
[…] (Of all the other civil rights leaders who helped Dr. King end this reign of terror, I think the most under appreciated is James Farmer, who founded the Congress of Racial Equality and was a leader of nonviolent resistance, and taught the practices of nonviolent resistance.)
So what did they do?
They told us: Whatever you are most afraid of doing vis-a-vis white people, go do it. Go ahead down to city hall and try to register to vote, even if they say no, even if they take your name down.
Go ahead sit at that lunch counter. Sue the local school board. All things that most black people would have said back then, without exaggeration, were stark raving insane and would get you killed.
If we do it all together, we’ll be okay.
They made black people experience the worst of the worst, collectively, that white people could dish out, and discover that it wasn’t that bad. They taught black people how to take a beating—from the southern cops, from police dogs, from fire department hoses. They actually coached young people how to crouch, cover their heads with their arms and take the beating. They taught people how to go to jail, which terrified most decent people.
And you know what? The worst of the worst, wasn’t that bad.
Once people had been beaten, had dogs sicced on them, had fire hoses sprayed on them, and been thrown in jail, you know what happened?
These magnificent young black people began singing freedom songs in jail.
That, my friends, is what ended the terrorism of the south. Confronting your worst fears, living through it, and breaking out in a deep throated freedom song. The jailers knew they had lost when they beat the crap out of these young Negroes and the jailed, beaten young people began to sing joyously, first in one town then in another. […]
Thanks for comments up-thread to clarify the “Nation of Islam” connection, and to clarify the Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King day celebrations in southern states and in Arizona.
Thankfully I have not seen many people trying to use MLK Jr. as a cudgel to silence people today, and have seen quite a few posts containing quotes that contradict that white washed view. But I only see the views expressed in a small corner of the internet, and not a representative one. I expect, sadly, that ahistorical version is being brought out all over the place.
Ichthyic #18
actually, you’re right about that. The source of the photo is not attributed. If it is media commons, it should say so, if it isn’t… it is indeed a copyright violation.
too many people DO in fact, take advantage of the easy availability of imagery on the web, without realizing that if they are making money off of those images, without attribution, that’s legally violating copyright.
not kidding. the person who owns that photo could actually file a copyright suit against PZ for posting it!
Very good points, I was about the write something very similar. I was trying to determine who the copyright holder is and found this: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AUSMC-09611.jpg
and if it is a photo from a US government source it is in the public domain, this is fine, it does not even need attribution. However, the source given in that link is broken, so I was not able to verify it is indeed in the public domain. I saw one newspaper crediting it to “U.S. Marines photo/Washington Post” so I am not sure what the status is. I do hope PZ actually verified this before using it. As Ichthyic mentioned, it can, and does lead to legal trouble, and bloggers really need to be careful about this.
rqsays
Misplaced now, but had a great twitter photo showing MLK being held to the ground by white men, with the caption (and I paraphrase): People forget that non-violent protest wasn’t non-violent for those on the ground.
Or something.
Either way, I’ve been listening to some MLK on and off this evening, and honestly? That moderate bit? I have no idea where it is coming from. Because he sure as hell doesn’t sound like one himself (and this is a good thing).
Snoofsays
marilove @ 7
All of what you said is true. And it seems that people forget that Martin Luther King, Jr. is dead. He was assassinated — murdered — for his activism. That part is always glossed over, it feels like.
And if it’s not, it gets turned into a Noble Martyrdom. Y’know, where a Good Person bravely Gives Their Life, and now Everything Is Better.
It’s disgusting and lazy and encourages the smug, complacent “racism is over” attitude. It’s also used as a silencing tactic: “MLK died for your sins to end racism! How can you say his sacrifice was for nothing?”
This is one of the reasons that Selma is so good. It very clearly and pointedly points out why Non-Violent Resistance was a tactical decision, chosen not because MLK and his fellow leaders thought violent resistance was fundamentally wrong but because they didn’t think it would work.
Ichthyicsays
MLK day is the one (and only) day where President Obama is “half white”:
Oh fuck me.
tomorrow that ass will claim Obama is a race baiter no doubt.
fucking liars.
militantagnosticsays
When I was growing up. MLK was a “moderate”, at least compared to the Black Panthers who had succeeded in moving the Overton Window. I think there is a valuable lesson here, but I am not sure how the window can be shifted again.
Using MLK’s legacy in all the wrong ways — that’s something of an industry on the far rightwing. Here’s one example:
Liberty Counsel issued a press release yesterday in which the anti-gay organization attempted to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by declaring that conservative Christians who refuse to provide services to gay couples are the ones who are living out MLK’s legacy:
[…] Today, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is being lived out by bakers, photographers, florists, ministers, county clerks, and owners of wedding venues who have lost their businesses, been forced to pay exorbitant fines, been threatened with jail, and made to choose between the natural created order of marriage between one man and one woman and judges who side with same-sex couples.
Obligatory video of the “I have a dream” speech.
A good idea based on evidence and reason. Folks in the anti-vax anti-GMO anti-etc. camps are passionate, righteous, and think they are doing the right thing.
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate, and yet it seems like 99% of people are ignorant of that, willfully or not. MLK Jr. is a popular symbol now. He does not represent the struggle against racism. He is not thought of someone who fought damn hard for simple human decency, barely got, and fucking died in the process. He is not remembered as someone who lived and fought and died just a few decades ago. No, he is an excuse for people to believe that racism is over, and Martin Luther King Jr. is the one who beat it. He lets white people and the government sit in smug self-satisfaction, assured that racism is basically gone and that they don’t need to worry about that anymore. And furthermore, he is a comforting symbol expressing how Moderation is the One True Way. Because MLK Jr. was a moderate. A nice, nice moderate man who was nothing but polite and never shook up the status quo and brought about Civil Rights all by himself.
The real MLK worked with other people. He expressed contempt and frustration for the system. He acknowledged that his tactics aren’t the only ones and that “violence” against property is understandable. He understood that any opposition to the status quo will be opposed, fervently and sometimes violently. He condemned the milquetoast, privileged, white moderates for letting injustices happen. And those same milquetoast, privileged, white moderates use him as a rallying cry for apathy to this very day.
Meanwhile in the present-day States: http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/27875850/clemson-students-rally-against-name-change-for-tillman-hall. A biology prof that I know there has since received some really awful hate mail as a result (TW for racial slurs): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153078753744532&set=a.159091274531.145458.640329531&type=1&theater
MLK Jr. seems to have plenty of quotes like this that stress that he wasn’t about being a Polite Meek Moderate
Gotta listen to the whole “I have a dream” speech. Usually, the first part – the bit about how he’s here to cash a check drawn on the bank of liberty and that all the people assembled here sure hope the bank’s not empty… that part gets left off in favor of the “I have a dream” conclusion (which King ad libbed) He certainly wasn’t a polite meek moderate and I always felt he did a good job of pointing toward the unutterable alternative to ending apartheid, without actually saying “revolt” He was certainly not naive or meek. And, as you say, he certainly wouldn’t have had a lot of time to spend on the milquetoast privileged moderates of today that are trying to put American racism into the memory hole.
Cross posted from the Lounge:
Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi honor Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s birthday on the same day that they honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Lee should be studied as part of history, but not honored like King.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/19/on-mlk-day-two-versions-of-the-south-collide.html
There is a difference, King’s birthday is a national holiday, and Lee is honored on a special day in five southern states.
anteprepro @ #3:
All of what you said is true. And it seems that people forget that Martin Luther King, Jr. is dead. He was assassinated — murdered — for his activism. That part is always glossed over, it feels like.
Even if he truly was a moderate — and he wasn’t; activists by their very nature can’t be moderate, imo — it still didn’t keep him from being murdered. He’s still dead.
MLK has been thoroughly white-washed.
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” should be required reading in American classrooms, and yet I’d never heard of it until after college:
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
That’s right, lawmakers and conservative judges are trying to roll back all the gains made by Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who fought for voting rights, and for non-discrimination laws.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/roberts-court-could-cripple-another-key-civil-rights-law
It’s interesting to see that legislators were connecting King to Islam in 1968. Senators and Congress critters also tied King to communism.
Think Progress link.
Mormons did not want Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, to take a position that was right. G. Romney supported civil rights, not a position that was mormon-approved.
Here’s the letter that mormon apostle Delbert Stapley sent to G. Romney.
Excerpt:
On the other hand, I live a few blocks from Jeff Davis highway, which passes through black and white neighborhoods throughout the state. Not too far from here is Lee Highway, Washington-Lee High School, Lee-Jackson Highway…. You get the idea.
Of course there’s an MLK Boulevard in most major US cities, but they tend to pass through poor, largely black neighborhoods.
One thing too many conveniently forget is that MLK was beginning to focus on economic justice when he was killed. On that front, things have gotten worse.
What the fuck.
I hereby obey Godwin’s Law.
I dunno PZ, I’d rather take a position that was safe, politic, popular AND right. Y’know, if I had the choice.
I just listened to a review of Selma that indicated that one thing that movie does well is show how much planning, how much discipline, how much effort is involved in adhering to a nonviolent philosophy for a movement. it’s not about sitting back and letting things happen and not rocking the boat – it’s about carefully training people on what to do and how to react to being baited, it’s about people volunteering for the front lines knowing they will be beaten, it’s about organizing protests with an eye to the media so that it is incredibly obvious and public and right in front of people that they are not raising their fists but are being met with violence. It is fucking hard work.
Did you get the permission (with payment) of King’s heirs to print that?
It’s ignorant, moderate, suburban flight white folks that tend to cherry pick those.
since it was posted upthread, they instead should have read what MLK thought about THEM.
He would in fact, likely say the same thing today, if he had lived to see the white moderate literally overturn affirmative action programs all across the country.
actually, you’re right about that. The source of the photo is not attributed. If it is media commons, it should say so, if it isn’t… it is indeed a copyright violation.
too many people DO in fact, take advantage of the easy availability of imagery on the web, without realizing that if they are making money off of those images, without attribution, that’s legally violating copyright.
not kidding. the person who owns that photo could actually file a copyright suit against PZ for posting it!
extremely unlikely, but considering FtB just recently booted a blogger for plagiarism, it seems we all should be a bit more conscious of the reality of copyright, no?
Lynna
The Nation of Islam isn’t entirely the same thing. Theologically, they are AFAICT nearly as distinct from Shiite or Sunni Islam as Mormonism is from Catholicism and mainline protestantism, and mainstream Islam tends to feel the same way about them. That wasn’t a claim that King was in league with foreigners from the Middle East, but that he was associated with more extreme Black radicals in the U.S. such as Malcolm X, who was a prominent member of the Nation of Islam for some time.
@Lynna 6
Putting the REL holiday on MLK day wasn’t just a quirk of dates. Southern states felt like they were being forced to honor MLK with a holiday. Arizona was another late adopter that lost a superbowl for that failure. As a deliberate FU to the people they felt forced by they made REL/MLK day. It was about petulance and racism.
example from ABC news, who I’m sure has learned the hard way over the years to make sure to attribute their photos:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/life-rev-martin-luther-king-jr-18213450/image-18213513
note the attribution under each photo…
The real politics of many celebrated today have been deliberately obscured. Dr King and Gandhi, who he in many ways emulated, were both radical men of action. They were non-violent in a physical sense, but their methods were radical and they upended societies. If most students read the bulk of their message they would be shocked. The same is true of Helen Keller, whose politics are almost completely washed from her biographies that are seen in schools. It is true of past presidents that made social change, FDR would be branded a socialist heretic and confined to the fringes in modern politics. It is amazing how little our images of great historical figures match their actuality.
Dr. King didn’t just give a great speech, he helped to end the terrorism of black people by whites.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/29/1011562/-Most-of-you-have-no-idea-what-Martin-Luther-King-actually-did?showAll=yes
Thanks for comments up-thread to clarify the “Nation of Islam” connection, and to clarify the Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King day celebrations in southern states and in Arizona.
Kid President talks about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/19/1358774/-Kid-President-tells-the-story-of-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-adorable-video
Thankfully I have not seen many people trying to use MLK Jr. as a cudgel to silence people today, and have seen quite a few posts containing quotes that contradict that white washed view. But I only see the views expressed in a small corner of the internet, and not a representative one. I expect, sadly, that ahistorical version is being brought out all over the place.
Ichthyic #18
Very good points, I was about the write something very similar. I was trying to determine who the copyright holder is and found this:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AUSMC-09611.jpg
and if it is a photo from a US government source it is in the public domain, this is fine, it does not even need attribution. However, the source given in that link is broken, so I was not able to verify it is indeed in the public domain. I saw one newspaper crediting it to “U.S. Marines photo/Washington Post” so I am not sure what the status is. I do hope PZ actually verified this before using it. As Ichthyic mentioned, it can, and does lead to legal trouble, and bloggers really need to be careful about this.
Misplaced now, but had a great twitter photo showing MLK being held to the ground by white men, with the caption (and I paraphrase): People forget that non-violent protest wasn’t non-violent for those on the ground.
Or something.
Either way, I’ve been listening to some MLK on and off this evening, and honestly? That moderate bit? I have no idea where it is coming from. Because he sure as hell doesn’t sound like one himself (and this is a good thing).
marilove @ 7
And if it’s not, it gets turned into a Noble Martyrdom. Y’know, where a Good Person bravely Gives Their Life, and now Everything Is Better.
It’s disgusting and lazy and encourages the smug, complacent “racism is over” attitude. It’s also used as a silencing tactic: “MLK died
for your sinsto end racism! How can you say his sacrifice was for nothing?”MLK day is the one (and only) day where President Obama is “half white”: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/ben-carson-reminds-c-span-on-mlk-day-dont-forget-that-obama-is-half-white/
This is one of the reasons that Selma is so good. It very clearly and pointedly points out why Non-Violent Resistance was a tactical decision, chosen not because MLK and his fellow leaders thought violent resistance was fundamentally wrong but because they didn’t think it would work.
Oh fuck me.
tomorrow that ass will claim Obama is a race baiter no doubt.
fucking liars.
When I was growing up. MLK was a “moderate”, at least compared to the Black Panthers who had succeeded in moving the Overton Window. I think there is a valuable lesson here, but I am not sure how the window can be shifted again.
Using MLK’s legacy in all the wrong ways — that’s something of an industry on the far rightwing. Here’s one example:
[…] Today, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is being lived out by bakers, photographers, florists, ministers, county clerks, and owners of wedding venues who have lost their businesses, been forced to pay exorbitant fines, been threatened with jail, and made to choose between the natural created order of marriage between one man and one woman and judges who side with same-sex couples.
Right Wing Watch link.
Indeed. MLK and Malcolm X were playing good cop and bad cop.