Well worth the watch:
Description:
When a viewer asked the hosts of Promethean Update about my research into the Marxist origins of the Civil Rights Movement, contributor Barbara Boyd offered a familiar piece of advice: Before criticizing Martin Luther King Jr., you should actually read his writings.
I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve read all seven volumes of “The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.” I’ve also studied the writings of Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, and other revolutionary thinkers whose ideas bear striking similarities to the political philosophy King would eventually advance.
In Episode 5 of The Chad O. Jackson Podcast, I respond to Boyd’s defense of King by examining his own writings, his theological departure from biblical Christianity, his relationship with communist organizers, and the historical connection between the Civil Rights Movement and the more militant Black Power movement.
I also challenge the familiar claim that King’s legacy was somehow hijacked by radicals like Stokely Carmichael, examining the philosophical and political similarities between King and Lenin, along with statements from King and Coretta Scott King that complicate the popular distinction between civil rights activism and Black Power.
Was King simply a Christian minister seeking racial harmony, or was there a much larger revolutionary objective behind his political activities?
The answer requires more than repeating his most celebrated speeches. It requires examining the historical record.
I also share a word on my upcoming documentary, THE MYTH OF BLACKNESS, including the historical weaponization of language, racial identity, and cultural expression.
AC
Got a news tip or correction? Let us know
If you got something out of this, please chip in to keep this site running, or subscribe to go ad-free.
29 views