Martin Luther King, Jr., was originally named Michael King, Jr. No name change was legally made. But really, who cares what his name was?
On Jan 17, 9:02 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > Myths of Martin Luther Kingby Marcus Epstein > January 18, 2003 > There is probably no greater sacred cow in America than Martin Luther King > Jr. The slightest criticism of him or even suggesting that he isn’t deserving > of a national holiday leads to the usual accusations of racist, fascism, and > the rest of the usual left-wing epithets not only from liberals, but also > from many ostensible conservatives and libertarians. > This is amazing because during the 50s and 60s, the Right almost unanimously > opposed the civil rights movement. Contrary to the claims of many neocons, > the opposition was not limited to theJohn Birch Societyand southern > conservatives. It was made by politicians like Ronald Reagan andBarry > Goldwater, and in the pages ofModern Age, Human Events,National Review, > andtheFreeman. > Today, the official conservative and libertarian movement portrays King as > someone on our side who would be fighting Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton if he > were alive. Most all conservative publications and websites have articles > around this time of the year praising King and discussing how today’s civil > rights leaders are betraying his legacy. Jim Powell’s otherwise excellentThe > Triumph of Libertyrates King next to Ludwig von Mises and Albert J. Nock as a > libertarian hero. Attend any IHS seminar, and you’ll read "A letter from a > Birmingham Jail" as a great piece of anti-statist wisdom. The Heritage > Foundation regularly has lectures and symposiums honoring his legacy. There > are nearly a half dozen neocon and left-libertarian think tanks and legal > foundations with names such as "The Center for Equal Opportunity" and the > "American Civil Rights Institute" which claim to model themselves after King. > Why is a man once reviled by the Right now celebrated by it as a hero? The > answer partly lies in the fact that the mainstream Right has gradually moved > to the left since King’s death. The influx of many neoconservative > intellectuals, many of whom were involved in the civil rights movement, into > the conservative movement also contributes to the King phenomenon. This does > not fully explain the picture, because on many issues King was far to the > left of even the neoconservatives, and many King admirers even claim to > adhere to principles like freedom of association and federalism. The main > reason is that they have created a mythical Martin Luther King Jr., that they > constructed solely from one line in his "I Have a Dream" speech. > In this article, I will try to dispel the major myths that the conservative > movement has about King. I found a good deal of the information for this > piece inI May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther Kingby black > leftist Michael Eric Dyson. Dyson shows that King supported black power, > reparations, affirmative action, and socialism. He believes this made King > even more admirable. He also deals frankly with King’s philandering and > plagiarism, though he excuses them. If you don’t mind reading his long > discussions about gangsta rap and the like, I strongly recommend this > book.Myth #1: King wanted only equal rights, not special privileges and would > have opposed affirmative action, quotas, reparations, and the other policies > pursued by today’s civil rights leadership.This is probably the most repeated > myth about King. Writing on National Review Online, There Heritage > Foundation’s Matthew Spalding wrote a piece entitled"Martin Luther King’s > Conservative Mind,"where he wrote, "An agenda that advocates quotas, counting > by race and set-asides takes us away from King's vision." > The problem with this view is that King openly advocated quotas and racial > set-asides. He wrote that the "Negro today is not struggling for some > abstract, vague rights, but for concrete improvement in his way of life." > When equal opportunity laws failed to achieve this, King looked for other > ways. In his bookWhere Do We Go From Here, he suggested that "A society that > has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now > do something special for him, to equip him to compete on a just and equal > basis." To do this he expressed support for quotas. In a 1968 Playboy > interview, he said, "If a city has a 30% Negro population, then it is logical > to assume that Negroes should have at least 30% of the jobs in any particular > company, and jobs in all categories rather than only in menial areas." King > was more than just talk in this regard. Working through his Operation > Breadbasket, King threatened boycotts of businesses that did not hire blacks > in proportion to their population. > King was even an early proponent of reparations. In his 1964 book,Why We > Can’t Wait, he wrote,No amount of gold could provide an adequate compensation > for the exploitation and humiliation of the Negro in America down through the > centuries…Yet a price can be placed on unpaid wages. The ancient common law > has always provided a remedy for the appropriation of a the labor of one > human being by another. This law should be made to apply for American > Negroes. The payment should be in the form of a massive program by the > government of special, compensatory measures which could be regarded as a > settlement in accordance with the accepted practice of common law.Predicting > that critics would note that many whites were equally disadvantaged, King > claimed that his program, which he called the "Bill of Rights for the > Disadvantaged" would help poor whites as well. This is because once the > blacks received reparations, the poor whites would realize that their real > enemy was rich whites.Myth # 2: King was an American patriot, who tried to > get Americans to live up to their founding ideals.InNational Review, Roger > Cleggwrotethat "There may have been a brief moment when there existed > something of a national consensus – a shared vision eloquently articulated in > Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, with deep roots in the > American Creed, distilled in our national motto,E pluribus unum. Most > Americans still share it, but by no means all." Many other conservatives have > embraced this idea of an American Creed that built upon Jefferson and > Lincoln, and was then fulfilled by King and libertarians like Clint Bolick > and neocons like Bill Bennett. > Despite his constant invocations of the Declaration of Independence, King did > not have much pride in America’s founding. He believed "our nation was born > in genocide," and claimed that the Declaration of Independence and > Constitution were meaningless for blacks because they were written by slave > owners.Myth # 3: King was a Christian activist whose struggle for civil > rights is similar to the battles fought by the Christian Right today.Ralph > Reed claims that King’s "indispensable genius" provided "the vision and > leadership that renewed and made crystal clear the vital connection between > religion and politics." He proudly admitted that the Christian Coalition > "adopted many elements of King’s style and tactics." The pro-life group, > Operation Rescue, often compared their struggle against abortion to King’s > struggle against segregation. In a speech entitledThe Conservative Virtues of > Dr. Martin Luther King, Bill BennetdescribedKing, as "not primarily a social > activist, he was primarily a minister of the Christian faith, whose faith > informed and directed his political beliefs." > Both King’s public stands and personal behavior makes the comparison between > King and the Religious Right questionable. > FBI surveillance showed that King had dozens of extramarital affairs. > Although many of the pertinent records are sealed, several agents who watched > observed him engage in many questionable acts including buying prostitutes > with SCLC money. Ralph Abernathy, who King called "the best friend I have in > the world," substantiated many of these charges in his autobiography,And the > Walls Came Tumbling Down. It is true that a man’s private life is mostly his > business. However, most conservatives vehemently condemned Jesse Jackson when > news of his illegitimate son came out, and claimed he was unfit to be a > minister. > King also took stands that most in the Christian Right would disagree with. > When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision to ban school prayer, King > responded,I endorse it. I think it was correct. Contrary to what many have > said, it sought to outlaw neither prayer nor belief in god. In a pluralistic > society such as ours, who is to determine what prayer shall be spoken and by > whom? Legally, constitutionally or otherwise, the state certainly has no such > right.While King died before the Roe vs. Wade decision, and, to the best of > my knowledge, made no comments on abortion, he was an ardent supporter of > Planned Parenthood. He even won their Margaret Sanger Award in 1966 and had > his wife give a speech entitledFamily Planning – A Special and Urgent > Concernwhich he wrote. In the speech, he did not compare the civil rights > movement to the struggle of Christian Conservatives, but he did say "there is > a striking kinship between our movement and Margaret Sanger's early > efforts."Myth # 4: King was an anti-communist.In another article about Martin > Luther King, Roger Clegg ofNational ReviewapplaudsKing for speaking out > against the "oppression of communism!" To gain the support of many liberal > whites, in the early years, King did make a few mild denunciations of > communism. He also claimed in a 1965Playboythat there "are as many Communists > in this freedom movement as there are Eskimos in Florida." This was a > bald-faced lie. Though King was never a Communist and was always critical of > the Soviet Union, he had knowinglysurroundedhimself with Communists. His > closest advisor Stanley Levison was a Communist, as was his assistant Jack > O’Dell. Robert and later John F. Kennedy repeatedly warned him to stop > associating himself with such subversives, but he never did. He frequently > spoke before Communist front groups such as the National Lawyers Guild and > Lawyers for Democratic Action. King even attended seminars at The Highlander > Folk School, another Communist front, which taught Communist tactics, which > he later employed. > King’s sympathy for communism may have contributed to his opposition to the > Vietnam War, which he characterized as a racist, imperialistic, and unjust > war. King claimed that America "had committed more war crimes than any nation > in the world." While he acknowledged the NLF "may not be paragons of virtue," > he never criticized them. However, he was rather harsh on Diem and the South. > He denied that the NLF was communist, and believed that Ho Chi Minh should > have been the legitimate ruler of Vietnam. As a committed globalist, he > believed that "our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, > and our nation. This means we must develop a world perspective." > Many of King’s conservative admirers have no problem calling anyone who > questions American foreign policy a "fifth columnist." While I personally > agree with King on some of his stands on Vietnam, it is hypocritical for > those who are still trying to get Jane Fonda tried for sedition to applaud > King.Myth # 5: King supported the free market.OK, you don’t hear this too > often, but it happens. For example, Father Robert A. Sirico delivered a paper > to the Acton Institute entitledCivil Rights and Social Cooperation. In it, he > wrote,A freer economy would take us closer to the ideals of the pioneers in > this country's civil rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized this > when he wrote: "With the growth of industry the folkways of white supremacy > will gradually pass away," and he predicted that such growth would "Increase > the purchasing power of the Negro [which in turn] will result in improved > medical care, greater educational opportunities, and more adequate housing. > Each of these developments will result in a further weakening of > segregation."King of course was a great opponent of the free economy. In a > speech in front of his staff in 1966 hesaid,You can’t talk about solving the > economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You > can’t talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken > out of slums. You’re really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because > you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry… > Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really > means that we are saying that something is wrong…with capitalism… There must > be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a > Democratic Socialism.King called for "totally restructuring the system" in a > way that was not capitalist or "the antithesis of communist." For more > information on King’s economic views, see Lew Rockwell’sThe Economics of > Martin Luther King, Jr.Myth # 6: King was a conservative.As all the previous > myths show, King’s views were hardly conservative. If this was not enough, it > is worth noting what King said about the two most prominent postwar American > conservative politicians, Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater. > King accused Barry Goldwater of "Hitlerism." Hebelievedthat Goldwater > advocated a "narrow nationalism, a crippling isolationism, and a > trigger-happy attitude." On domestic issues he felt that "Mr. Goldwater > represented an unrealistic conservatism that was totally out of touch with > the realities of the twentieth century." King said that Goldwater’s positions > on civil rights were "morally indefensible and socially suicidal." > King said of Reagan, "When a Hollywood performer, lacking distinction even as > an actor, can become a leading war hawk candidate for the presidency, only > the irrationalities induced by war psychosis can explain such a turn of > events." > Despite King’s harsh criticisms of those men, both supported the King > holiday. Goldwater even fought to keep King’s FBI files, which contained > information about his adulterous sex life and Communist connections, > sealed.Myth # 7: King wasn’t a plagiarist.OK, even most of the neocons won’t > deny this, but it is still worth bringing up, because they all ignore it. > King started plagiarizing as an undergraduate. When Boston University founded > a commission to look into it, they found that that 45 percent of the first > part and 21 percent of the second part of his dissertation was stolen, but > they insisted that "no thought should be given to revocation of Dr. King’s > doctoral degree." In addition to his dissertation many of his major speeches, > such as "I Have a Dream," were plagiarized, as were many of his books and > writings. For more information on King’s plagiarism,The Martin Luther King > Plagiarism Pageand Theodore Pappas’Plagiarism and the Culture Warare > excellent resources. > When faced with these facts, most of King’s conservative and libertarian fans > either say they weren’t part of his main philosophy, or usually they simply > ignore them. Slightly before the King Holiday was signed into law, Governor > Meldrim Thompson of New Hampshire wrote a letter to Ronald Reagan expressing > concerns about King’s morality and Communist connections. Ronald Reagan > responded, "I have the reservations you have, but here the perception of too > many people is based on an image, not reality. Indeed, to them the > perceptionisreality." > Far too many on the Right are worshipping that perception. Rather than face > the truth about King’s views, they create a man based upon a few lines about > judging men "by the content of their character rather than the color of their > skin" – something we are not supposed to do in his case, of course – while > ignoring everything else he said and did. If King is truly an admirable > figure, they are doing his legacy a disservice by using his name to promote > an agenda he clearly would not have > supported.http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/epstein9.html -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
