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The Hidden Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr
Today we rightly honor Martin Luther King, Jr. as a courageous, committed dissident citizen who played a pivotal, inspirational role in U.S. history.
While we celebrate his leadership during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, his determination in Birmingham, and the inimitable eloquence of his "I Have a Dream" speech, we might also recall a less-heralded aspect of King's history: the FBI's intensive efforts to squelch his dissent.
It is this facet of his legacy that may well be most instructive in post-9/11 America.
According to FBI memos, the Bureau aimed to paint King as "a fraud, demagogue, and scoundrel" in order to "take him off his pedestal." FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover-who publicly dubbed King "the most notorious liar in the country"-wrote that he wanted "to neutralize or completely discredit the effectiveness of Martin Luther King Jr."
To do this, the Bureau engaged in extensive surveillance of Dr. King. It also infiltrated the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and provided 'friendly' media contacts with degrading information about King. The Bureau even penned a letter to Dr. King in the voice of a disgruntled African-American male, calling him an "abnormal beast" and "a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that."
The FBI carried all this out under a covert Counter Intelligence Program known as COINTELPRO. Within this program, Dr. King was slotted under the "Black Nationalist Hate Groups" rubric, despite the fact that he preached love, not hate and that he relied on moral force, not physical force.
In the mid-1970s, Congress spotlighted this breach of public trust, with the Senate's Church Committee finding that the FBI had an "unquestionable" impact on Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement.
Fast-forward to today. When the Senate reconvenes this week, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will consider the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act.
This bill, which zipped through the House last October by a 404 to 6 vote, aspires to create a blue-ribbon National Commission on homegrown terrorism, which would have the power to recommend legislation. It would also allow the Department of Homeland Security to fashion a "Center of Excellence for the Study of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism" at a U.S. university that would "study the social, criminal, political, psychological, and economic roots" of U.S.-based radicalization and terrorism.
That all sounds innocuous enough, but the devil lies in the definitional details.
For instance, "violent radicalization" is defined as "the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change."
In his time King was often accused of "promoting an extremist belief system" in order to "advance social change." He famously addressed this in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail": "though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love?"
The bill defines "ideologically based violence" as "the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs."
Would King's direct-action tactics be considered the "threatened use of force"? These tactics often triggered a violent response, as with Bull Connor's infamous fire hoses in Birmingham. Would the blame for such a violent scene be pinned on King, priming him for the label "terrorist"?
The phrase "homegrown terrorism" is "the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence" by people in the U.S. "in furtherance of political or social objectives." Once again, those who-like Dr. King-press aggressively for political and social change are explicitly targeted.
To call Dr. King a "terrorist" is to peddle absurdity. Yet, this bill promises to affix this label to those who follow in King's activist footsteps.
Thirty years ago the Senate unequivocally condemned the FBI's suppression of Dr. King. Today the Homeland Security Committee-which includes presidential hopeful Barack Obama-has an opportunity to stop this legislation in its ideological tracks.
To do so would be a tribute to King's legacy and rightful protection for those who dare to show similar courage and conviction today.
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6 Comments so far
Show AllWe can hardly be said to honour Doctor King when we continue to see violence as an acceptable response to human problems.
I can understand why Dr. King was called a terrorist. It's terrifying when someone comes along and shakes up a statusquo that is set up to give an unfair advantage to someone based on the color of their skin. It can be scary when your conscious is raised and your core values are being questioned when you are made aware of how much the playing field has been tipped in your favor through a system of rigged immoral checks and balances. One of three things seems to happen: One does what one can to commit to advancing the cause of civil ( and human) rights, one becomes a J. Edgar Hoover, or one of his variants,or one sits on the sideline and does nothing.
You are all so MALADJUSTED!!!!!
Mr. King was an enemy of the state. Now he's a hero. For that he had to be dead. Noone remembers him as an enemy of the state. Noone remembers what he said beyond I have a dream. His words and ideas have not changed the American mind. All the words that made him an enemy of the state have been forgotten. Only the harmless words remain.
For those of you who still doubt the sincerity of John Edwards, please take a few minutes to read the letter below from Martin Luther King, III that so eloquently expresses why John is running.
January 20, 2008
The Honorable John R. Edwards
410 Market Street
Suite 400
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Dear Senator Edwards:
It was good meeting with you yesterday and discussing my father's legacy. On the day when the nation will honor my father, I wanted to follow up with a personal note.
There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of back and forth in the political arena over my father's legacy. It is a commentary on the breadth and depth of his impact that so many people want to claim his legacy. I am concerned that we do not blur the lines and obscure the truth about what he stood for: speaking up for justice for those who have no voice.
I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election.
You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don't have lobbyists in Washington and they don't get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do.
I am disturbed by how little attention the topic of economic justice has received during this campaign. I want to challenge all candidates to follow your lead, and speak up loudly and forcefully on the issue of economic justice in America.
From our conversation yesterday, I know this is personal for you. I know you know what it means to come from nothing. I know you know what it means to get the opportunities you need to build a better life. And, I know you know that injustice is alive and well in America, because millions of people will never get the same opportunities you had.
I believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. My father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. He was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives.
So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud.
Sincerely,
Martin L. King, III
Well said, Mr. Boykoff.
Under the VRHTP act, the net (both the overt, "legal" one and the covert "non-legal" one) is poised to ensnare anyone. Anyone. You or I, no matter which side of which ocean we are on. Nevertheless, keep fighting, eveyone. But hey, Jules, do be careful. This isn't mock baseball in Essex Court anymore, and I'd hate to see a childhood friend disappear into the black sites, both domestic and foreign. I'd like to continue reading your articles for many years to come.