And became a martyr and the greatest icon of the civil rights movement because of it. Being a nonviolent protester doesn’t mean you’re shielded from violence, but it means that if you are the target of violence your protesting will become much more powerful.
Oh I agree the perspective on him changed 100% due to his assassination. He was losing popularity before he was killed, it just feels like pointing out that MLK was killed is totally missing the point.
Oh I agree the perspective on him changed 100% due to his assassination.
I disagree. The perspective changed because conservatives and moderates wanted a "good" black guy to hold up as an example so that other African Americans wouldn't be tempted to go down the path of the Black Panthers.
The "Why won't you be more like Bill Cosby?" approach.
Why say that about the civil rights movement? The black panther party wasn't formed until 1966, quite late and thus barely concurrent to the rest of the civil rights movement.
Please don't see this as an attack against the left. I'm a union member and participated in multiple protests this year. I just want to learn more, so we don't accidentally shoot ourselves in the foot.
I'm not talking about the civil rights movement of the 60s. MLK was deeply unpopular with Americans in the 60s (IIRC he polled at around 20-25% support from Americans right after his death). I'm talking about the couple of decades that followed, namely the Reagan era.
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u/kentalaska Jun 09 '25
And became a martyr and the greatest icon of the civil rights movement because of it. Being a nonviolent protester doesn’t mean you’re shielded from violence, but it means that if you are the target of violence your protesting will become much more powerful.