History has a way of repeating itself since many of us ignore and do not learn from it.
Today, we celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. He lived and died in a time of tumult and a racial awakening similar to what we face today: A raging pandemic. Protest and civil unrest after the killing of Black people by the police. A momentous election. And an insurrection.
More than half a century after an assassin’s bullet silenced him, and 35 years after the nation began observing a federal holiday in his honor, Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy still resonate.
As the preeminent voice of the civil rights movement, King’s eloquence and vision for a united America made him an icon. His powerful words – delivered through sermons, speeches and books – symbolize a utopia to which our nation always aspires.
Few people in history have been quoted more than King. His message of equality and unity are often summoned in times of confusion, chaos and racial strife, though his words are often taken out of their original context.
Facts and myths about the late, great Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
First and foremost, let’s put the wing nut claim to rest that Dr. King belonged to the Republican Party; he was NOT a Republican nor did he oppose Affirmative Action.
Read more facts and myths from the link above.
Vox also has an excellent article on how the right wing, NRA, extremists, etc.. have twisted the words of Dr. King to justify their horrible, deathly, and White Supremacist agenda.
King would have turned 91 this year, a year that has already seen efforts to undo the principles he espoused. In a year when insurrectionists want to reaffirm white supremacy, it’s important to see King’s legacy for what it truly was: complex. He called for nonviolence, but he also demanded unrest until there was no injustice anywhere.
“We must honor MLK by honoring him,” author and historian Carol Anderson told Vox. “We honor him by not hijacking his words and twisting them to fit a white supremacist agenda.”
