Vince Everett Ellison: MLK Jr. Was Not Who You Thought He Was with Tucker Carlson

Recommendable! How controversial? I have blogged here several times about Martin Luther King Jr. in a critical appraisal.

Super Bowl ad features MLK speechwriter Clarence Jones

What! Excuse me! MLK had a speech writer?

I have critically blogged here several times about MLK. More disappointment!

"... Clarence B. Jones, the former lawyer and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. who drafted King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech for the 1963 March on Washington. ..."

Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ad about antisemitism features MLK speechwriter Clarence Jones - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Here are my critical blogs regarding Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Jr. was human and he had some flaws. His name was probably also more of a burden than a blessing.

I wrote some critical blog posts about Martin Luther King Jr.  here, here, and here.

Author Calls for Return to Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass’ Vision of Colorblindness

Not a bad idea! Amen!

MLK in 1963: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character." (Source)

I wrote some critical blog posts about MLK here, here, and here.

"Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass were both dedicated to bringing about an America that was colorblind, Andre Archie says, but their work is being undermined. 

“When I say colorblind, it’s not naive at all,” says Archie, an author and professor at Colorado State University. “It speaks to a tradition that we find with MLK, with Frederick Douglass, with the Founders, right, in principle. We also find it in the Western philosophical tradition; so, my goal is to rehabilitate that.”  ..."

Returning to MLK's Vision of a Colorblind America

Picture of the day

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Boston unveiled on 1/13/2023

MLK embracing his wife Coretta Scott King

Israel 'Sy' Dresner, 'most arrested rabbi' who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 92

Some obituary headlines are funnier than others!

This is also a reminder how much the American Jewish community was involved to support the black American cause for legal equality and to end any remaining forms of racial discrimination. Thus it is very sad when even today black American individuals express outright antisemitism!

When I first saw the photo (taken before I was born) below, I thought the man in the middle is Henry Kissinger!

Israel 'Sy' Dresner, 'most arrested rabbi' who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 92 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Rabbi Martin Freedman (R) and Rabbi Israel Dresner (center), are taken to the Tallahassee city building where they were charged with unlawful assembly after they and ten other 'Freedom Riders' were arrested attempting to eat at the Tallahassee airport in June 1961.

Martin Luther King Jr. on Critical Race Theory

Of course, MLK is wildly spinning in his grave! Ideologies like Critical Race Theory shatter his dream!

In his own words:

1. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character."
2. "When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”"
3. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
4. "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."

Sources:

Martin Luther King, Jr. : I Have a Dream Speech (1963)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Quotations

An Intimate Conversation with Martin Luther King

I did not watch the whole conversation as it is more than 1 hour and 40 minutes long. However, the first 12 minutes make it abundantly clear that Martin Luther King Jr. was a militant activist who targeted the most segregated city (Birmingham, AL) for greatest effect and impact. He chose so called non-violence to prevent violence, but he was like an agent provocateur! Had he chosen less provocative and confrontational measures ...

I have blogged here about Martin Luther King Jr. multiple times, just click on the label/tag nearby. E.g. did you know there was a second assassination attempt on his life, which he barely survived? Why don't we know about it? The assassin was a black American woman! 

Martin Luther King Jr: The Many Trials of America's Civil Rights Icon

Very recommendable! Video does not fail to mention the first assassination attempt by a black woman, MLKs Marxist leanings or links, his Vietnam War protests ...

I have blogged multiple times about MLK and also about Rosa Parks just click on the corresponding labels below!

Joe Biden says George Floyd's death had more 'worldwide impact' then the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

To be so stupid to compare Martin Luther King's assassination with the death of a career criminal and drug addict who actively resisted police arrest is incredible! It is almost disgusting!

This comparison is also terribly false. Many people in Western countries were shocked and deeply disturbed for a long time when they learnt of the assassination of MLK in the news or even saw the infamous footage and pictures. I was too young back then in Germany, but e.g. my mother remembered this horrible event very well!

The cognitively impaired 46th President of the U.S. is such an empty suit without a spine!

Credits to this YouTube episode of Diamond and Silk

A Riot Is The Language Of The Unheard?

Posted: 4/29/2015  Updated: 5/2/2015

Trigger

Just read parts of a New York Times Op Ed article titled “Goodbye to Freddie Gray and Goodbye to Quietly Accepting Injustice” written by Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University.

Here is prof. Dyson’s brief excerpt from a speech by Martin Luther King Jr.:

“As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. announced in the wake of the Watts riots 50 years ago, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” And judging by the actions in Baltimore, thousands are not being heard.”

Expanded Quote And Source

These are the original words of a self proclaimed preacher of non violence:

“Now I wanted to say something about the fact that we have lived over these last two or three summers with agony and we have seen our cities going up in flames. And I would be the first to say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive, non­-violence as the most potent weapon in grappling with the problem from a direct action point of view. I'm absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.”

Excerpted from

"The Other America"

Speech by

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Grosse Pointe High School - March 14, 1968

http://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/index.htm

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

The Duplicitous Non Violence Preached By Martin Luther King Jr.

I believe, the above quote illustrates this quite well.

Sure, in the U.S. individuals have no other choice, but to resort to violence in response to perceived conditions. For a true believer in non violence, there are always peaceful alternatives available even under very dire conditions especially in the U.S. One of the simplest alternatives is to move away for better opportunities e.g. from Baltimore.

Violence is never a language! Violence is force! Humans will be injured or die. A violent riot almost always violates the innocent! What an injustice is that?

Martin Luther King Jr. was committed to what: “militant, powerful, massive, non­-violence as the most potent weapon”. Militant, powerful non violence? What a contradiction in terms or what an oxymoron!

Post Script

I have written here a number of blog posts about the many controversial aspects of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Was Confrontational

Posted: 1/18/2015

Trigger

Just watched this documentary titled “MLK: THE ASSASSINATION TAPES” on the Smithsonian Channel. This documentary contains a lot of interesting footage from before the assassination of MLK.

A Pattern Of Confrontation

What caught my attention was that MLK apparently displayed a pattern of peculiar confrontation, first in Birmingham, AL later in Memphis, TN. I presume, MLK deliberately chose these two locations for his activities. In both locations, he directly confronted or challenged a powerful white individual known for having extreme views. In Birmingham it was the Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor in Memphis it was the mayor Henry Loeb.

The documentary also pointed out that this all happened during the very contentious Vietnam War period. Was it a good idea to push aggressively for civil rights during a time of extreme tension?

Reflections About The Documentary

1. I believe, the above documentary did not mention at all that the mayor of Memphis at the time, Henry Loeb, was a conservative, outspoken anti communist, and segregationist Democrat. Would this tough appearing mayor acted much differently had the sanitation workers been white? A question the above documentary never explored.
2. The above documentary fails to mention, if I remember correctly, that not all sanitation workers were black (see e.g. New York Times obituary of Loeb)
3. As the documentary was pointing out the position of the mayor was as follows “The Mayor argued that the strike was illegal under state law.”(Source above NYT article). I believe, the above documentary never explained what this meant
4. I was unaware about the massive rioting in conjunction with the sanitation worker strike going on for weeks that occurred before the assassination. If I remember correctly from the above documentary, martial law and a curfew were imposed by the mayor, national guard soldiers were in the streets guarding businesses and so on. So did MLK and his entourage (e.g. Jesse Jackson) contribute to a more peaceful development or to an improvement of the situation? I suspect that because the assassination overshadowed everything afterwards the prehistory has been what appears conveniently forgotten or downplayed.
5. Despite the rioting going on in the city, MLK decided to visit the city a second time
6. If I remember correctly, a scene from the above documentary shows MLK stating something like it was “criminal” to pay full time workers (referring to the sanitation workers) only part time wages. This is a very strong, offensive statement coming from a man who said he was sent by god. Did he get the facts right? Were perhaps white workers treated similar at the time?
7. The documentary showed public pronouncements by Reverend James Lawson, an associate of MLK, which came across as if from an aggressive, uncompromising politician than from a reverend on behalf of the strikers
8. Apparently, mayor Loeb was up against some powerplay by public sector unions (e.g. AFSCME or American Federation of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees), which were playing hard ball to unionize city employees and workers. How much was MLK aware of this and what was his view on that was, I believe, not quite clear from the documentary
9. As an aside, the footage of Ted Kennedy speaking in Memphis after the assassination is illuminating. He reads from his notes almost never taking his eyes of. He comes away as an amateur or third rated politician.

Quotes From MLK’s Last Speech

The AFSCME posts his last speech under their history on their website here.

“Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be. And force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: we know it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”

“We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do, I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round." Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history.”

These are very confrontational, dangerous, and aggressive words coming from a man of nonviolence. His language was anything but nonviolent. These are words coming from a standpoint of strong self-righteousness. In a previous blog post about MLK, I have quoted from this speech as well.

Best Friend Of The White People

The above documentary shows an interview with a African-american activist in the aftermath of the assassination saying something like a white man just killed the best friend of the white people.

If I remember correctly from the above documentary and other footage that I have seen about MLK, then I would ask how many white people were actually in the inner circle of MLK? E.g. the above documentary did not show any, if I am correct.

Conspiracy Theory

I wondered why I had never learned of a prominent conspiracy theory surrounding the assassination of MLK.

Apparently when you do some research you find one. Not only that it is pursued even by the surviving King family (by Coretta Scott King and Dexter King). See Wikipedia articles here, here, and here.

The National Archives Material For Teachers

On this website of National Archives/Teacher’s Resources/Teaching with documents I found following (emphasis added):

1. “The Montgomery bus boycott, the freedom rides, the Birmingham campaign, the March on Washington, the Selma march, the Chicago campaign, and the Memphis boycott are some of the more noteworthy battlefields where King and his followers--numerous in numbers, humble and great in name-- fought for the equal rights and equal justice that the United States Constitution ensures for all its citizens.”
   [What a bellicose and glorifying language by the federal government]
2. “King, building on the tradition of civil disobedience and passive resistance earlier expressed by Thoreau, Tolstoy, and Gandhi, waged a war of nonviolent direct action against opposing forces of racism and prejudice”
   [I am not sure whether any of the three named authorities would have agreed with MLK and his methods.]

The National Archives presents among other things an “exhibit is a flyer distributed in the name of MLK to sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee” wherein the second paragraph says “This will be a march of dignity. The only force we will use is soul-force which is peaceful, loving, courageous, yet militant” (emphasis added). Do I sense a huge contradiction here?

Why A Series Of Blogs About MLK

This is only the latest blog post in a series of blogs about MLK I have written. Here are the other blog posts:
Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Radical Zealot

A Lesser Known Assassination Attempt On Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. On Rosa Parks

Was Martin Luther King An Agent Provocateur?

As I said before, there is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the murder of MLK. However, the immense adoration for MLK, the martyr, should be reviewed. MLK was certainly no saint.

I would also guess that MLK has been exploited by liberals and Democrats.

Had MLK lived on, as we all wish and he himself wished, I would guess, we would see him today in a very different light.

I think, in many ways MLK was an irresponsible, obsessive single-minded leader deliberately fueling the flames and claiming non-violence in a time of a controversial war and severe anti-war tensions following the assassinations of JFK and Malcolm X.

Martin Luther King Jr. Was A Radical Zealot

Trigger

Recently watched PBS God In America episode no. 5 “God in America: Five: Soul of a Nation”. This episode was mainly about Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr.

This is my second blog post about Martin Luther King Jr.. For my first one see here. This blog posts are intentionally contrasting the predominant narrative of MLK in the U.S.

Self-Righteous

Can a pastor who proclaims to be righteous be self-righteous? Of course. Obviously, the boundaries between righteous and self-righteous are grey.

The above video pointed me two speeches by MLK:

1. Reportedly the first speech ever on his civil rights agenda given December 5, 1955, referred to as “Address to the first Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting”  (see full text e.g. here)
2. The very last speech of his life given on April 3, 1968, referred to as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” (see full text e.g. here)

In the first speech, MLK says among other things “And we are not wrong; we are not wrong in what we are doing. (Well) If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. (Yes sir) [applause] If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong.” (emphasis added). This is not exactly humble speech or a sign of humility. There is a very strong presumption here made by MLK.

In the second speech MLK said (emphasis and comments added):

“And also, in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done and done in a hurry to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty; their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed.”
[MLK clearly seemed impatient and immodest.]

“We mean business now and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world. ”

“Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again (Yeah), in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be (Yeah) [Applause] and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering (That's right), ... ”

[MLK wanted to force people to see! Really! Is this non-violent?]

“We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces. They don't know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church day after day. By the hundreds we would move out, and Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth, and they did come. But we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." [Applause] Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." (Yeah) And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the trans-physics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. [Applause] And we went before the fire hoses. (Yeah) We had known water. (All right) If we were Baptist or some other denominations, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist or some others, we had been sprinkled. But we knew water. That couldn't stop us.”
[Was MLK carried away by becoming unstoppable? He seems to relish in his accomplishment to trounce the police.]

“Now we've got to go on in Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us when we go out Monday. (Yes) Now about injunctions. We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning (Go ahead) to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper. [Applause] If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they haven't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read (Yes) of the freedom of speech. (Yes) Somewhere I read (All right) of the freedom of press. (Yes) Somewhere I read (Yes) that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. [Applause] And so just as I say we aren't going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. [Applause] We are going on. We need all of you.”

[Was MLK suggesting to ignore court orders when it’s inconvenient or to defy the rule of law?]

“"Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."”
[Like a mighty stream unstoppable and destroying everything in its path! Is this non-violence?]

“Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somewhere the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones (Yes), and whenever injustice is around he must tell it. (Yes) Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, who said, "When God Speaks, who can but prophesy?" (Yes) Again with Amos, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." (Yes) Somehow the preacher must say with Jesus, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me (Yes), because He hath anointed me (Yes), and He's anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor." (Go ahead)”
[God has not anointed MLK! The presupposition in the first sentence of this quote is debatable that only preachers are qualified to articulate the longings ...]

“Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now we are poor people, individually we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together, collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it. (Yeah) [Applause]”
[Was MLK a pastor or a revolutionary? Who would have been in charge of this “pool”, MLK?]

“Now if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you.”
[MLK is threatening! Is a threat of economic ruin or loss of livelihood non-violence?]

“And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight (Amen) to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. (Yeah) [Applause] Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. (Yeah)[Applause] Tell them not to buy–what is the other bread?–Wonder Bread. [Applause] And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. [Applause] As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now only the garbage men have been feeling pain. Now we must kind of redistribute that pain. [Applause] We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies, and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right. (That's right, Speak) [Applause]”
[I am stunned! MLK even provides concrete threats. A pastor advocates revenge?]

“... we are putting pressure where it really hurts. (There you go) And I ask you to follow through here.”
[A pastor wants to really hurt? Is this non-violence?]

“Now let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. (Amen) Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through. [Applause] And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school, be there. [Applause] Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike (Yeah), but either we go up together or we go down together. [Applause] Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.”
[What would Jesus say about such a pastor?]

“I just want to do God's will.”
[Was this perhaps a delusion of grandeur?]

I have to admit that I knew very little of the speeches and writings of MLK, most of it only in excerpts. I was particularly shocked when I read the entire second speech by MLK. In this whole speech, MLK comes away as a single-minded radical not a pastor.

Justice

To seek justice is unquestionably a worthy human cause. However, to coerce justice or demand some kind of justice to be done immediately is zealotry.

Justice is often in the eye of the beholder. Justice, like truth, is often not simply white and black (no pun intended, does not refer to race)!

I would argue that MLK was pushing for a certain kind of fast justice!

Public Portrayal Of MLK

Like many foreigners or even like many Americans I was most familiar with MLK’s I have a dream speech he gave at the Mall in Washington DC. Probably, one of the most famous footages of him.

In hindsight, this kind of portrayal of this man is a distortion or propaganda.