Dr. King Was Widely Disliked and Why It Is Relevant to RI Today - Watson
Raymond Two Hawks Watson, MINDSETTER™
Dr. King Was Widely Disliked and Why It Is Relevant to RI Today - Watson
At the risk of ruffling a few feathers, the plain truth of the matter is that at the end of Dr. King, Jr’s life he was arguably not a well-liked man in American society. Despite receiving countless awards and recognitions for his efforts, as his focus shifted from racial justice to issues of economic inequity and concerns about the war in Vietnam, Dr. King, Jr soon realized that in American society support for racial justice was not necessarily transferable. Indeed, a 2018 article published by Smithsonian Magazine online gives credence to this notion, detailing that a 1968 Harris poll determined that “Seventy-five percent of Americans disapproved of the civil rights leader as he spoke out against the Vietnam War and economic disparity.”
Dr. King, Jr expressed his frustration with this realization in his August 1968 Letter from Birmingham Jail, remarking “Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." In a 2005 interview broadcast by C-Span Famed Artist and Activist Harry Belafonte recalled that in the final weeks of his life Dr. King, Jr expressed concern that his efforts may have amounted to “integrating into a burning house.” Most suggestive of the contempt that society had for Dr. King, Jr during the end of his life is the fact that on Thursday April 4, 1968 at 6:05 pm, while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. King, Jr was mortally wounded by an assassin’s bullet.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis history taken in context, it is quite ironic that in 2022 America celebrates the legacy of a man who less than 55 years prior was deemed the most dangerous man alive by the FBI and ultimately killed for the views he held.
Yet and still, happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day, Rhode Islanders. Dr. King. Jr’s legacy is a reminder that a better society will not be achieved by bending to the whims of society or seeking comfortable progress. Rather, one must make the commitment to stand firmly grounded in ethics, morals, and principles that transcend popular consensus and prioritize generational impact and equitable progress over temporary popularity and siloed self-preservation.
This is a good lesson to learn, and one that Rhode Islanders would do well to remember and apply in 2022 as they select the future leadership of the State.
Not that you asked, but that’s my three cents, in case you were wondering.
Two Hawks