MLK JR
Salamishah Tillet won the 2022 Pulitzer Price in Criticism for her stylish and creative writing. Her article entailed “Seeing Martin Luther King Jr. in a New Light” captured me. As I read this piece, I was particularly inspired by the complexity of Dr. King’s life and legacy. Often, history makes saints ignoring the reality of these individuals’ roles in the context of their time. The U.S. is especially complicit in revisionist history making martyrs and saints out of those it helped destroy.
King was a radical. As the article points out, King was juxtaposed with Malcolm X, but each man played a massive role in propelling the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, respectively. In reality, all movements by marginalized people were seen as violent and a threat to U.S. safety. This standard unfortunately still stands. The demonization of Malcom X and canonization of King are both aspects of white supremacy. King’s story is one of respectability politics. A tactic which continues to support white supremacy, while absolving the racist powers that be. King as a saint is a PR move, which positions his white supporters as progressives. While white allies were instrumental to Civil Rights work, King’s legacy is often used to erase the government and white communities’ apathy towards providing Black communities with human and civil rights—equity.
In his time, King was often criminalized and degraded by his white counterparts. King was not a hero during his time. He was a villain pushing against white supremacy. He was a threat to national security. He was monitored by the FBI. He was under surveillance constantly. He was a criminal. During his time, King did not have the world’s admiration. He died for the causes. King’s life and legacy are a fight for justice. This fight was not embraced during his time. Hell, the fight for justice is not accepted now. Black men and women will always be demonized and criminalized under a white supremacist police state. This article captures the struggle of many Civil Rights and Black Power movement leaders. Whether Saints or demons, these leaders often died at the hands of the state.
King is praised today, but the reality was that America was and still is racist. King had become a poster child for color-blind attitudes and proclamations of “All Lives Matters.” However, in an era where Black men, women, and children are being murdered, King’s radicalism must be explored and shown, because in 50 years, the Black Lives Matter movement will be canonized and with no real change in the white supremacist states. Progress will be feigned with the sainthood of Black bodies who were killed in the fight against inequality. King was complex and often hated, and this article makes America face the harsh reality of its racist past and current state.
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