Martin Luther King
From RationalWiki
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 January 15–1968 April 4) was a Baptist minister in the U.S. who was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950's and 60's. His most famous moment was his I Have a Dream speech, given on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. in 1963. He is credited with contributing to the political pressure leading to the passage of the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts in 1965.
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee.
His birthday, January 15, is now honored in the United States with a holiday (formerly "Civil Rights Day" in laggard states) celebrated on the third Monday of January.
[edit] Was he a conservative?
Occasionally, present day conservatives attempt to portray MLK as one of their own. The historical record does not demonstrate that.
Doctor King
- Supported a $2 minimum wage[1]
- Called for compensation for historic wrongs against blacks[2]
- Considered the Vietnam War an attempt to create a US colony and called the US "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today"[3]
- Was affiliated with the very liberal Highlander Folk School[4]
- Organized a campaign for the rights of poor people, including calls for more Federal money to be given to the impoverished of all races[5]
- Went to Memphis (where he was assassinated) to support striking sanitation workers[6]
- Is quoted as saying: "There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism." [7]
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ wp:Martin Luther King#March on Washington, 1963
- ↑ wp:Martin Luther King#Stance on compensation
- ↑ wp:Martin Luther King#Opposition to the Vietnam War
- ↑ wp:Highlander Research and Education Center
- ↑ wp:Martin Luther King#Poor People's Campaign, 1968
- ↑ wp:Martin Luther King#Assassination
- ↑ [Franklin, Robert Michael (1990). Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought. Fortress Press. pp. 125. ISBN 0800623924.]
