Go back to previous topic
Forum nameGeneral Discussion
Topic subjectHow hip are we to Martin Luther King Jr's speeches after I have a dream?
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=13190656
13190656, How hip are we to Martin Luther King Jr's speeches after I have a dream?
Posted by kevlar skully, Thu Aug-31-17 09:45 AM
We all know that MLK's legacy has been whitewashed since he was assassinated. We know that the majority of white americans did not like him when he was living and modern white america usually only brings him and that one speech up to shame modern black people and movements like Black Lives Matter

But how hip are you to his other speeches? I'm a little ashamed to say that I'm not that familiar with them.

One of my Facebook friends, white guy from college that I first talked to because he was wearing a Dead Prez shit, made a real good Facebook post about King's legacy being white washed and people embracing that.

Man. If a black person said today the shit King was saying back in the day, they would crucified.

“The white man does not abide by the law… His police forces are the ultimate mockery of law.”

“The thing wrong with America is white racism.”

“White America has allowed itself to be indifferent to race prejudice.”

“I am sorry to have to say that the vast majority of white Americans are racists, either consciously or unconsciously.”

All of these quotes were in 1968, the year King was assassinated. This shit would be radical to say in 2017 for a black person with a platform. Unfortunately, all these things are still true.


http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/

https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/01/17/remembering-the-officially-deleted-dr-king/

There's really something to be said about the power of mass media and the victors writing the history books because when we mostly hear about King, it's very sanitized shit about kids holding hands. It's not the radical shit he was saying about our entire system needing to changed because it only serves the higher classes.
13190675, Blackish did a good job with this
Posted by legsdiamond, Thu Aug-31-17 10:23 AM
Junior was doing the I Have a Dream Speech for school and Lawrence Fishburn tells him about the rest of the speech that is conveniently left out.

Junior: why don't they teach us this in school

Pops: cause they, and by they I do mean white people!.. don't want us to know about that part of MLK

Junior shows up dressed like a Black Panther in the next scene..lol
13190677, One year, I did a series of FB posts on King's radical thoughts
Posted by Overqualified, Thu Aug-31-17 10:34 AM
and you're right, there's a hell of a lot that got him in hot water (and ultimately assassinated) with white folks beyond just drinking at a water fountain - mainly the ills of capitalism, American imperialism (the Vietnam war), etc. But he also wasn't too highly regarded toward the end of his life with some Black people either. People weren't showing for marches. I think there was a call for him to fall back from leadership as he turned more toward economic inequality. I brought up one of his speeches/sermons "The Drum Major Instinct" during the posts in which he addresses certain institutions in the Black community - BGLOs, consumerism, the Black Church, etc. as impediments to black unity. I bring that speech up in conversation on him with my frat brothers (of which MLK was one), and it usually gets glossed over in favor of "the hits".
13190814, Could you share some of those posts here, please?
Posted by kevlar skully, Thu Aug-31-17 04:22 PM


If you don't mind and it's not too much trouble
13190850, Hmmm...
Posted by denny, Thu Aug-31-17 11:25 PM
So I may be misinformed on this. But I read some stuff that claimed before his death, MLK had shifted focus to an emphasis on proletariat/bourgeois dynamics and that he was criticized within the black activist community for focusing too much on pro-union work instead of race activism.

I'm not American so I'm sure most here know alot more about him than me. Is this narrative of MLK becoming more Marxist in his later years and (allegedly) shifting focus from race to class incorrect?
13190851, Interesting considering that MLK was bourgeois himself.
Posted by Shaun Tha Don, Thu Aug-31-17 11:43 PM
13191071, That's how it's presented but likely only but so true
Posted by Atillah Moor, Sat Sep-02-17 08:49 AM
Particularly the part about black peoples "turning" on him. Likely exaggerated or simply not true.

He began speaking out against poverty and the Vietnam war
13190980, I know that he was for reparations for us Black folk.
Posted by The Wordsmith, Fri Sep-01-17 02:41 PM
Folks who try to use MLK as a way to deflect from today's issues would have their collective jaws on the ground if they were to hear him talk on reparations.


Since 1976
13191050, Is it really extreme to believe in reparations?
Posted by denny, Fri Sep-01-17 10:56 PM
I lean slightly toward the pro-reparation side but haven't dug really deep enough into the issue to have a strong opinion. I certainly don't think it's an extreme viewpoint or that those who advocate for it are shocking.

I saw this clip a few years ago and found it pretty persuasive in countering some of the most common anti-reparation arguments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MNu2GNx-kQ

13191072, It's extreme to believe white america can deliver them
Posted by Atillah Moor, Sat Sep-02-17 08:50 AM
13191076, If you check out my 'new alliance' thread....
Posted by denny, Sat Sep-02-17 09:20 AM
Interesting to note that close to half of the 20 people I listed are supportive (to different degrees) of reparations. And some of those opposed have engaged in debates about it in good faith. IE not dismissing it as an extremist position.
13191079, It's extreme for many white folks in America.
Posted by The Wordsmith, Sat Sep-02-17 09:50 AM
Especially for those who like to use MLK as some kind of buffer when folks are calling out racism. Many of those types are not the type to support anything that favors reparations. I guarantee you that those folks are in the dark about MLK supporting reparations.



Since 1976