As Americans we all know of him, many of us admire him, we quote him, and dedicated a national holiday to him. Martin Luther King Jr. has left a lasting and integral impact on our nation and today we celebrate not just him as a leader, but the progress that has been made. In 2016 and into the start of 2017, we as a country have faced many trials and tribulations regarding race and race relations and it is more important than ever to now acknowledge and take to heart the message of the black liberation movement that King led. Myself and many other anti-racists see the parallels between the current black lives matter movement and the movement led by MLK Jr. Despite what many say, MLK Jr. would have indeed supported and probably fronted the black lives matter movement. Don’t quote him and expect me to be shaken and deterred from wanting the liberation of my fellow Americans because the only reason why he’s not here right now saying “Hands up don’t shoot” is because white people killed him. Here are some facts about Martin Luther King Jr. to remind us of the mission he upheld lest we forget his timeless messages of compassion, progression, and justice.
1. Most white people hated him
Many white people did not like Martin Luther King Jr. A lot of Americans look to him as though he was loved by all when in reality, he was no more well liked if not less liked than the civil rights leaders of today. MLK Jr. was a beloved, well respected figurehead to anti-racists and black people and was indeed well liked by more people than, say, Malcolm X, but among the vast majority of non-black Americans during the 50s and 60s Civil Rights Era, he was often violently opposed. In fact, his house was targeted and firebombed in January 1956. Himself and his family received death threats to the point where the non-violence leader himself debated on carrying a gun for protection. Although he advocated for non-violent tactics, as it was at the foundation of his activism, many white Americans still demonized him for trying to overturn segregation. His message of compassion may have reached the hearts of some whites who participated in his marches, but the majority of whites still considered him to be a radical. Let us not forget that in the end, he was assassinated.
2. He was arrested multiple times
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 30 times while fighting for justice for black people. These arrests occurred mostly during protests, most notably the Birmingham, Alabama arrest and jailing. Birmingham is where he wrote the famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail where he said, “Our purpose when practicing civil disobedience is to call attention to the injustice or to an unjust law which we seek to change.”
3. He was only 26 when he was recruited for the Montgomery Bus Boycott
MLK Jr. was recruited to work as a Civil Rights leader because of his lack of enemies in the area, his education, and his status as a pastor. He was only 15 when he entered college and was only 26 when he became a renowned Civil Rights leader for his efforts in Montgomery.
4. King received a Planned Parenthood award
In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. received a Planned Parenthood award for his support for family planning. King claimed the award would remain among his most cherished possessions.
5. King denounced capitalism
MLK Jr. frequently spoke out against the injustices of capitalism. He said, “... capitalism has often left a gulf between superfluous wealth and abject poverty, has created conditions permitting necessities to be taken from the many to give luxuries to the few, and has encouraged small-hearted men to become cold and conscienceless so that, like Dives before Lazarus, they are unmoved by suffering, poverty-stricken humanity.” He believed in economic equality and blamed capitalism for the nation’s poor and in the days before his assassination, King was beginning to form the Poor People’s Campaign.
Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights activists of his time were also viewed as lawless looters and rioters just like the activists of today. Even MLK Jr., the non-violence spokesperson himself, was viewed as a “stoker of violence” and was painted as equally as belligerent and ridiculous as the activists of today. 21st century activists, Black Lives Matter in particular, are painted in a bad light not because it’s a violent movement, but because the media paints them in a negative light to invalidate the struggles of black Americans. White Americans in particular tend to quote MLK Jr. as though he “didn’t dream of this” or as though he would be upset with the current state of protests. But what they often forget is that most of these protests are peaceful and the instances of violence usually occur after they’ve been provoked by the police or outsiders. BLM protesters aren’t the ones looting and rioting, but the media, particularly conservative networks that are so popular these days (*cough* Fox News) would have you believe otherwise. All it takes is a good camera angle to stir the pot. The unconscious, or often conscious, need for Americans to paint black people as being thugs is rooted in the fact that the Civil Rights movement never really ended in that racism has never died. It has only festered and persisted in new and creative ways that depending on the way you look at it through time and across space, you could see it manifesting from new angles that white people don’t expect but black people inevitably notice. It is my duty just as it should be your duty as a white person to denounce racism and uplift the ongoing Civil Rights movement. If you really want to abide by Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideals and pay proper homage to him and his struggles then speak out and speak up. It’s what he would have wanted.
