Once again Martin Luther King day will be the occasion for arguing the meaning of his advocacy for civil rights and his legacy. Most conservatives point to one sentence in one speech to say MLK was for a "color blind" approach to civil rights. A closer look at even that speech shows King meant the very opposite of what the right wing would have us believe.
King believed that civil rights were inextricably bound up with economic rights. He wanted to make common cause with poor and middle class whites to help everyone to a piece of the American dream. This is the definition of a nightmare for the 1%. They have spent the years since King's death trying to drive a wedge between white and black in this country and by and large have succeeded. The MAGA cult is the final distillation of their campaign. It's up to us to overcome the message of the hatemongers and celebrate the man and his true message.
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