MLK

[BuyOurEverything]

OK, so I knew King was a Christian preacher and mentioned religion alot in his speaches, but I didn't really know how bad it was until I read (in his book Why We Can't Wait) this contract he made all volunteers in his marches and orginizations sign:

I hereby pledge myself - my person and body - to the nonviolent movement. Therefore I will keep the following ten commandments:

1. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus
2. Remember always that the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation - not victory.
3. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
4. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free

...etc. it goes on.

So, just out of curiosity, what do y'all think of King?

[Reds]

anti communist but he did good things.

[Hampton]

Well, he was a Christian and wanted the same discipline from those who followed him in his activities. The Panthers had a set of rules they expected anyone who entered the group to follow, it just didn't involve God.

He was a great man and did many great things with a lot of people.

[BuyOurEverything]

I'm not saying an orginization shouldn't have a set of rules, but starting a mass movement and getting people to sign a contract saying that they'll pray to Jesus every day?

[Tekun]

Not a big fan of his
He basically bowed to and worked with those who were oppressing blacks at the time (gov)
I've never heard of a revolution where ppl are holding hands and singing "We shall overcome...." - Malcolm X

He did good things, but I admire other black leaders more than I do MLK:
Malcolm X
Huey Newton, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, and Fred Hampton and tha Panthers

[Hampton]

Im sure he wasn't going around to houses peeking in the window to see if they were on their knees everynight. Although it was a "contract" which did seek the freedom that all men (and women I'm assuming) might one day be free. Also taking in the context that he is in the South dealing with African Americans, it it didn't include God or Jesus it might have seemed weird.

Call him naive or whatever you wish, but at the time several civil rights leaders contacted the government for protection and cooperation. Robert F. Williams reported several KKK and Monroe police incidents to the FBI and went on to advise the government on issues with China.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Originally posted by [email protected] 20 2005, 09:55 AM
Not a big fan of his
He basically bowed to and worked with those who were oppressing blacks at the time (gov)
I've never heard of a revolution where ppl are holding hands and singing "We shall overcome...." - Malcolm X

He did good things, but I admire other black leaders more than I do MLK:
Malcolm X
Huey Newton, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, and Fred Hampton and tha Panthers
Later he did connect race with issues of poverty and the war despite the pleading not to by sympathetic liberals and the liberal backlash against him for coming out against the war. When he came to the North and saw that his non-violent tactics were seen as meaningless by the more radical northern civil rights movements he did begin to see that race and class are interconnected in US society so I don't think he should be discounted just because he wasn't a communist or wasn't as radical as we would have wished.

There's a real difference between someone advocating non-violent tactics in order to confront an unjust system and a liberal advocating non-violence in order to not confront the system. We have to remember that MLK said that white liberals are always telling us to wait because it's not the most convienient time for justice; he was actually confronting they system all be it in a nieve way (in my opinion).

Malcom X, the panthers too, had politics I don't necissarily agree with at certain points in their development, but we can't just discount the contributions they have made and their historical significance.

[Socialsmo o Muerte]

I think those on this board will have a natural preference towards the likes of Malcolm X over MLK. His methods were, in my opinion, not what African Americans needed at the time. They needed a stronger, more dynamic leader. One who didn't just "bow down", something MLK is criticised for.

However, your criticisms of Christianity are maybe too simplistic and, let's face it, predictable. Nobody can deny that MLK helped the advancement of African Americans, and his use of faith to help that was beneficial to the advancement. Don't get me wrong, I'm as much an atheist as anyone. But Christianity has obviously done it's good duties in the passed so it can't just simply be criticised every time it's mentioned without mentioning the benefits.

Also, remember that Malcolm X's fight was originally a faith-influenced one, so what is the difference? Ok, Malcolm focused less on Islam towards the end of his life, but he was still led by faith from the moment he left prison. It seems very strange to me when people say they "prefer" Malcolm to Martin and cite Martin's faith as a problem. He was no more religious than Malcolm X.

However, though both are great men, the problem still hasn't been solved so talk about such figures and their fights in a nostaligic sense is worthless as the struggle continues.