Legend or Myth: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I published this in 2023, but I have more thoughts in 2025. Be sure to read to the end!
My interest in the “unsolved mysteries” of American history recently led me to reconsider the powerful influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That famous black-and-white photo of witnesses pointing in the direction of the fatal shot from the Lorraine Motel balcony is forever etched in my memory. Rather than entertain conspiracy theories surrounding his assassination, I decided to focus on his political ideologies. What exactly was MLK's dream?
DID I MISS SOMETHING?
When I Googled MLK's democratic views, another photo taken at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis caught my attention. I was surprised to see radical activist Rev. Jesse Jackson in MLK's company. Of course, he's always been there but I wasn't paying attention. Jackson was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and he once espoused conservative views before running for president in 1984. Yet, Jackson, to my knowledge, has always had ties to socialist and communist organizations. What I didn't realize was how close he was to MLK. I could easily mistake one for being a good man, but not the other.
Before my political awakening in 2019, I hadn’t thought about Black History or the Civil Rights era since middle school (a long time ago). Thus, I was still under the impression that what I learned from teachers and authority figures was the truth. I considered this bit of history "settled" until I discovered MLK's socialist rhetoric. I was particularly taken aback as I listened to clips of his speeches calling for a "radical redistribution of economic power." My admiration of the Revered dissolved into little more than a raised eyebrow.
While I don't remember thinking MLK was a Republican, I certainly never thought of him as a Democratic Socialist (I'm still researching what this term meant in the 1960s). Instead of promoting education and individual responsibility to improve ones quality of life, it turns out Dr. King’s ideas of economic equality were primarily achieved by government intervention (aka welfare). Under the guise of "economic justice," these same ideas are enticing present-day Americans with low political IQ to vote away their constitutional freedoms.
THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM
I'm waking up to the possibility that MLK's dream was not the American Dream - you know the one where you start with nothing, work hard, and end up with more than what you had before. MLK didn’t believe in the institution of capitalism or fiscal conservatism. Rather, his rhetoric remains foundational to socialist movements that seek to destroy America. Ironically, many conservatives proudly quote Dr. King as well.
In 2018, In These Times (a publication linked to Black Lives Matter) wrote an article titled "The Forgotten Socialist History of Martin Luther King Jr." The commentary quotes a famous line from MLK's letter to Coretta Scott:
I am much more socialist in my economic theory than capitalistic...capitalism has outlived its usefulness.
The article goes on to say, "As Americans honor King on his birthday, it is important to remember that the civil rights icon was also a democratic socialist."
Is this all out of context? Am I more naïve than I realize? Have I failed to grasp the magnitude of inequality that was once present in American society? Were white supremacy, segregation, and police brutality exaggerated in any way? Of course, the oppression of Democrat legislation was/is real, which leaves me confused as to why the black community continues to overwhelmingly support this platform. At any rate, I'm starting to wonder if the Civil Rights Movement was hijacked to push through a communist agenda.
IS THIS REAL HISTORY?
I’m not yet sure that I believe MLK was a communist, but many of the people around him definitely were. I want to believe that his fight for equality was based on meritocracy and seizing opportunities, but his speeches sound different to my ears today. His call to action was for the federal government to not only solve financial problems within the black community but to eradicate poverty entirely. This is impossible, especially in a socialist economic system. Venezuela is a prime example of "equal wealth" policy failures.
I don’t think the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and even President Lyndon B. Johnson's Executive Order 11246 (Affirmative Action) were not totally baseless legislation. In those days, America did have legitimate, systemic racial issues (again, most of which stemmed from the Democratic Party). However, in memorializing MLK as one of the greatest warriors for civil rights, I can't shake the feeling that, on some level, we've been lied to about the inner workings of his movement.
In 2019, the Washington Post wrote:
"We have little trouble remembering the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights icon. But we rarely do the harder work of remembering the full King...We particularly fail to remember his call for Americans to do something hard but necessary: redistribute wealth.
"[King] also challenged a core part of the American Dream: the false assumption that those who work hard can move upward. King rejected the bootstrap myth because he understood that many people, notably people of color, didn't have boots. For King, economic justice was at the core of his religion and his political activism...
"His commitment to economic justice both at home and abroad should be his lasting legacy..."
Anyway, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Updated January 19, 2025:
Over the last two years, I’ve watched documentaries and listened to podcasts that forced me to reconsider my views on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If the following commentary comes as a shock, just know that I spent several hours picking up my jaw from the floor when I first heard this information as well.
Was Dr. King a Christian?
The short answer: No.
By biblical definition, a Christian is someone who puts faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, for salvation and eternal life. Christians hold to Trinitarian theological views (that is belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share One divine nature of Godhood). Christians also believe in the deity of Christ (that Jesus is God) and His supremacy (that Jesus is the Lord of lords).
Dr. King did not hold to these beliefs—he rejected the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. Leading researchers have yet to discover a single sermon where King delivered a gospel message. No one in the 1960s went on record professing to be “saved” after hearing him speak. Since King primarily focused on race relations and the economic disparities between white and black people, his preaching can be classified as Black Liberation Theology.
Was Dr. King a conservative?
Short answer: no.
Dr. King’s political views would put him decidedly left. His liberalism is prominent in his writings and speeches especially when discussing what Democrats refer to as “economic justice.” King believed in socialist economic theories such as “wealth redistribution,” which is antithetical to capitalist policies. Instead of encouraging black people to take advantage of every opportunity afforded them, King led marches and protests to pressure the government into reparations and enlarging the welfare state.
As a matter-of-fact, Dr. King was a socialist who used the word “equality” while disseminating an “equity” message. King believed the American Dream—which conservatives view as a metaphor for hard work and personal responsibility that leads to prosperity—was only truly achievable by white people. (Yet, when you study black history prior to the Civil Rights Movement, you will find nothing further from the truth.) Indeed, Dr. King was a social justice activist.
Was Dr. King a man of integrity?
No.
Dr. King was a promiscuous man, an adulterer who indulged in multiple salacious affairs that would probably rival the escapades of Hugh Hefner. A historian recently published details from FBI surveillance of King’s sexual activities in the 1960s. The report says, in part:
Newly-released documents…expose the graphic detail of the FBI’s intense focus on King’s extramarital sexual relations with dozens of women, and also his presence in a Washington hotel room when…a Baptist minister, allegedly raped one of his ‘parishioners,’ while King ‘looked on, laughed, and offered advice.’ The FBI’s tape recording of that criminal assault still exists today, resting under court seal in a National Archives vault…The complete transcripts and surviving recordings are not due to be released until 2027.
In conclusion, it’s not necessarily my mission to full-on disrupt the historical narrative surrounding Dr. King’s life and “ministry.” Quite frankly, I don’t think present generations are ready for the truth—I know I wasn’t the first time I heard it! Nevertheless, I am a truth seeker and I have nothing to gain by romanticizing his character. I agree with the following statement:
It is right to commend and remember King for what he got right, including the equality of all nationalities…But we must not ignore his failings. As with any other historical figure, we must be honest about King, contemplating and emulating what he did well, and condemning where he was wrong.
Christians must not forget, in their rush to crown him their hero, that he lived a wicked life and denied the very basics of orthodox Christianity. It is deceptive and wrong for evangelical Christians to claim King as a brother in Christ, when all the evidence suggests that he was not.
Oh well. If nothing else, we can enjoy a paid day off work.
Happy MLK Day!