Martin Luther King, Jr.
From dKosopedia
Categories: Biostub | Religious figures
The rightious Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a black Baptist minister, was the most prominent of the leaders of the American Civil Rights movement in the second half of the 20th century, which ended a century of post-Civil War legal segregation of blacks and whites in the South and a national environment of pervasive racial discrimination.
After his marriage and graduation from Boston University, he moved to Montgomery, Ala., where King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and organized the famed Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. His approach was characterized by a commitment to non-violence in the tradition of Gandhi, and in 1964, he won the Nobel Prize for Peace. He was assassinated in Memphis, on April 4, 1968 and Martin Luther King, Jr. day is now a national holiday (in January) in the United States. He was survived by his wife Coretta Scott King and their four children.
Attempts to steal his legacy
Starting in the early 2000's there was an effort by Conservative Republicans to Bastardize his legacy by claiming MLK jr. was a Republicans and that he would have voted for Bush. [1][2] [3][4]
While it is possible that Doctor King first registed as a Republican (his father was a Republican for years and originally supported Richard Nixon in his bid against JFK) according to friends like Rev. Joseph Lowery he most certainly voted for President John F. Kennedy, and the only time he openly talked about politics was when he criticized Republican Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential campaign.
"That was not the Martin I know, and I don't think they can substantiate that by any shape, form or fashion. It's purely propaganda and poppycock," Lowery said. "Even if he was, he would have nothing to do with what the Republican Party stands for today. Do they think Martin would support George W. Bush and the war in Iraq?"
Further concluding MLK's growing dislike for the GOP in "The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.," which was published after his death from his written material and records, King called the Republican national convention that nominated Goldwater a "frenzied wedding ... of the KKK and the radical right."
"The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction and extremism," King Concluded. [5]
External Links
dKos diaries and discussions
[Note: this section added 1/9/2005; please add any relevant, substantive diaries as you see fit.]
- MLK on Nonviolence: Six Principles Sun Jan 9th, 2005 at 21:25:51 EST by grannyhelen
![[Main Page]](../../../../upload/banner-blue-135.jpg)