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Conservative Movement Appears Hell-Bent On Overtaking King’s Legacy

As the nation prepares to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., questions arise about whether the resurgence of conservative movements, led by figures like Donald Trump, is undermining the hard-fought gains of the Civil Rights era. Experts urge renewed efforts to preserve King’s vision for equality.

#MLKLegacy #CivilRights #BlackHistory #EqualityForAll #MAGA #SocialJustice #CriticalRaceTheory #BlackLeaders #MartinLutherKingJr

By Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter Emeritus
New Journal and Guide

On January 20, the nation will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and legacy.

The  39th edition of the observance will coincide with the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States.

Trump, leading the dominant “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) voting bloc of the Republican party, has led the mostly White conservative movement, since 2016, when he first won election for his first term.

Is Trump’s return to power indicative of the Conservative movement’s continued success at dismantling of the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Legacy of its “Drum major” Dr. King?

The MAGA dominated GOP is the latest incarnation of a conservative right-wing political and economic movements dating to Colonial America.

Each sought to deter marginalized groups, especially Blacks, from securing socioeconomic equality and challenging White dominance.

This includes the post-Civil War-era Democrats, the KKK, the Jim Crow era, Citizens Councils, and Tea Party.

As Critical Race Theory (CRT) proves, this element has used and continue to use violence, disinformation, division, the courts, government, and media  to derail advancement by Blacks.

Over the past five decades, the Conservative U.S. Supreme Court, in collaboration with lawmakers and media, has weakened components of the Brown Decision of the 1950s and the Voting and Civil Rights Acts, and other Great Society Advances of the 1960s.

A small number of GOP-led states have even omitted references to Black culture and history, including slavery from the text books

Deemed divisive, they have also have banned application of, and even the words  “diversity” or “discrimination.”

Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, NSU’s Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and a noted Historian, has chipped away at the foundation of the triumphs  of the Civil Rights movement, including its leadership.

During the birthday celebration last year, Black and White media talking heads launched a scathing attack at the character and mission if Dr. King.

Charlie Kirk, a racist and leading right wing media fissure, said that the Civil Rights Act was a mistake, since it now discriminates against White men.

“Alexander said, “No one is perfect including Dr. King,” but they are seeking to marginalize his legacy by attacking him personally.

She said Dr.  King recognized how race was used to deny Black progress.  His agenda sought to remove systematic and institutionalized racism and forge a system where they were advanced by character and not skin color.

She said White   Conservative activists have been crafting the message calling for whitewashing the plaque of historic racism from the history texts.

She said they have weaponized the idea of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI)  to mean “Unqualified” people of color being admitted to a college, hired as workers, or elected to office over more qualified white men.

To resist right-wing efforts to marginalize Dr. King’s legacy, Alexander advised that Black Civic and political activists, parents, educators, and faith leaders must work to educate people about the true nature of King’s legacy in the homes, classrooms, social media, and pews.

* L. Douglas Wilder, in 1989 was elected the 66th Governor of Virginia and the first in the nation. He will celebrate that feat and his 94th birthday on   January 17, at his Alma Mater Virginia Union University.

Wilder said White conservatives would not be able to roll back King’s legacy if current Black political and civic leadership applied the benefits reaped by the movement when they have the chance.

But first, Wilder said, they must answer one important question.

“ … (W) Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?” Wilder quoted from the title of Dr. King’s last book released a year before he was killed in Memphis.

In that book, King reflected on what African-Americans should do with the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement.

Wilder said African-Americans should be doing the same today as since 1968.

“Where have we been?” he asked.  “What have we been doing to preserve that legacy and build on it? What are the leaders today doing to help us achieve it?”

Wilder points to the political advances of African-Americans nationally and specifically in Virginia.

“We have a Black Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, and Blacks leading the money committees in both chambers,” said Wilder.  The state has a $3 billion surplus.  If you want to define Black leadership do better on healthcare, housing, and public education.”

“What have they done to create opportunity for Black businesses, and non-profits,” he asked. “What have they done for the HBCUs … which are still underfunded … not a damn thing.”

“The resources and money are there,” he said. “They (Black leaders) must demand to use it to help our people … and they must use their voices to show that they deserve it.”

Wilder alluded to the fact that Blacks are   the most reliable voting bloc of the Virginia Democratic party.

“We did not vote for MAGA in Virginia,” he said. “Instead of blaming the conservatives…what are we not doing to help our people realize Dr. King’s Legacy?”

***

Sixty-seven years ago, energized by the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King and others, realizing the organizational potency of the faith community in that effort, he and other clergy formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Clergy, across the nation, including Hampton Roads, not threatened by violence or monetarily compromise,  provided leadership and resources to fuel the   movement.

Many have been an activist voice  to stubborn city council leaders who ignore demands from Black taxpayers for better city services and they have marched in the streets in protests.

Rev. Dr. Keith I. Jones said   this   network was key to the movement’s success. He said it is missing today and threatens the future of its mission.

After serving 16 years as Norfolk’s Shiloh Baptist Church’s Senior Pastor, Jones retired from Shiloh one year ago.

Jones said the Black clergy and political leadership today “are shamefully safe,” and avoid social activism.

He said politicians seemed more concerned about ascending to the next position rather than being effective in the positions to which they have been elected.

“When was the last time you heard a prophetic utterance across the pulpit?” Jones asked. “Preachers are more interested in Sunday Morning Ministerial entertainment.”

There are national figures such as Rev. Al Sharpton, who continues the tradition, he noted. Also traditional, new social media or outfits like Black Lives Matter (BLM).

But there are complaints Black clergy “show up” when casting a prayer during a protest march over a shooting death of young Blacks by the police or due to personal disputes.

Jones said the clergy talk about the Civil Rights Movement and social justice, yet, “they have done nothing.”

Jones said they avoid it because they are reined in by increasingly conservative and cautious congregations.

Jones states “we have a generation that benefitted from what King did but will never do what King did.”

***

Dr. Clayborne Carson is the former director of the Martin Luther King Jr., Research and Education Institute.   He was also, in 1985, tasked with organizing, editing, and publishing Dr. King’s Papers.

Carson said he doubts King’s legacy will be whitewashed for it was not only focused on America but globally.

Carson said in the mid-60s as a student he heard lectures by Dr. Fred Oppenheimer, whose life and work on the atomic bomb was the subject of a recent movie.

“He said the bomb ended World War II, but it did not create world peace, afterwards,” Carson said.  Most wars are over oil.  Many of the people directly impacted face grave economic disparities.”

“Oppenheimer talked about using the destructive powers of fusion energy to alleviate the need to fight over oil and ending those disparities,” Carson recalled.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created electricity and for the first, the poorest Americans lit their homes and secure educational and employment opportunities, he said.

“We must recognize that Dr. King’s crusade for human rights in the American South was admired and interconnected with the world,” he said.  “There is still much work to be done in America and across the globe using   the energy of Dr. King’s legacy to keep it alive.”

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