America Whitewashes Martin Luther King Jr.
Politicians and Corporate American cynically use MLK’s legacy to justify the status quo MLK stood against.
Every year in the U.S, Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated for his role in the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. The issue is that the way Dr. King is celebrated, which conveniently skips over parts of his legacy that challenges corporate power in America. It is fascinating to watch as our business and political leaders invoke MLK’s legacy to justify the status quo that MLK openly stood against. Let’s take a dive into the yearly whitewashing of Dr. King.
While Martin Luther King Jr. was building his movement, the U.S. government was taking notice. MLK, while a champion of equal rights based on race, was also a democratic socialist who was in the process of organizing a general strike when he was assassinated in 1968. During his years-long campaign, MLK was tracked and surveilled by the FBI. From what we know for sure, the FBI went as far as to blackmail MLK and told him to kill himself. They even had a program centered around stopping the left-wing movement called the “neutralization” program.
“The ‘neutralization’ program continued until Dr. King’s death. As late as March 1968, FBI agents were being instructed to neutralize Dr. King because he might become a ‘messiah’ who could ‘unify, and electrify, the militant black nationalist movement’if he were to ‘abandon his supposed obedience’ to ‘white liberal doctrines (non-violence) and embrace black nationalism.” — Memorandum from FBI Headquarters to all special agents in charge, March 4, 1968, reported by the Church Committee
Despite all of this, the FBI had the audacity to post on their Twitter account;
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” This #MLKDay2022 and every day, the #FBI remains dedicated to service and committed to protecting our communities.”
What they don’t mention is that when they say they’re “committed to protecting our communities” they mean protecting corporations from the likes of MLK and his movement that wanted better workers rights and equal rights for all races.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted about MLK, saying
“Nearly 60 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. articulated a vision of freedom, equality, & opportunity in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He inspired hope in our nation. And that beacon of hope & liberty still burns bright in Texas. #MLKDay”
This is a very ironic tweet coming from the GOP governor, considering that in 2021 he signed a bill that eliminated the requirement for schools to teach about MLK in Texas schools as part of his anti-CRT bill. Abbott’s own law undercuts his own rhetoric. His law will make it so Texas children might not get an opportunity to be inspired by something they aren’t taught. Allowing ignorance of the civil rights era will only allow those in power to undo what little progress civil rights leaders have made. MLK was also a champion of voting rights, which Abbott and the GOP have been attacking with new Jim Crow era style laws in recent history.
Speaking of voting rights, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema also put out a statement on MLK, simply saying
“Today we remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #MLKDay”
Sinema while saying we remember, forgets MLK was extremely critical of the Senate filibuster. Democratic leadership campaigned on and is trying to push forward voting rights legislation. What’s stopping them from actually passing it is the filibuster, which Sinema says she refuses to get rid of. In a 1963 interview, MLK cited the filibuster as stalling the Civil Rights Act;
“I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting.” — MLK
Sinema is now doing the exact thing that MLK criticized the senate for doing during civil rights, and then whitewashed his legacy. MLK’s own family has organized in Phoenix, Arizona, to call on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to support efforts to expand voting rights.
In early 2018, the bank Wells Fargo was accused of preying on Black and Latino homebuyers in California. The federal lawsuit claims the bank pushed black and Latinos into more expensive mortgages than white borrowers. In 2012, Wells Fargo had to pay $175 million to settle allegations it charged blacks and Latinos higher rates and fees on mortgages even when they qualified for better deals during the housing boom. Even with a recent history of discriminatory practices Wells Fargo thought it would be a good idea to tweet this;
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equal treatment and economic opportunity for everyone. Consider these tips for ways you can give back on #MLKDay of Service. See how we’re honoring his legacy and working to create change.”
The pharmacy chain CVS, which owns the insurance company Aetna and many of their own health clinics, donated $5 million to the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future. PAHCF is a dark money lobbyist group that was created to prevent the passage of universal healthcare in the United States. The reason this is relevant here is because there is a lot of inequality in the healthcare system that a universal healthcare system would fix, especially when it comes to access to care. In an attempt to cynically use MLK’s legacy for some good PR while covertly fighting against a more equitable healthcare system, CVS put out this statement;
“Today, as we reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, we are reminded of how far we have come and how much farther we have to go to achieve true equality. That’s why CVS Health is addressing racial inequality through several areas, including access to health care.”
There are enough examples of this throughout the years that could fill a book. The whitewashing of MLK’s legacy only serves corporate America’s interests of continuing to exploit working class communities and we will continue to see the same propaganda from politicians and businesses in the future. They are just as scared of MLK’s pro-worker legacy now as they were then, and it shows in their complete unwillingness to talk about that aspect at all.
