Interesting Article About A Black Icon.

[Sitarro]

Wow, who would have known???? :cool:

http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2007/11/why-martin-luth.html

Why Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican

Why Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican, from National Black Republican Association by Francis Rice

It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. In that era, almost all black Americans were Republicans. Why? From its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party until today, the Republican Party has championed freedom and civil rights for blacks. And as one pundit so succinctly stated, the Democrat Party is as it always has been, the party of the four S's: Slavery, Secession, Segregation and now Socialism.

It was the Democrats who fought to keep blacks in slavery and passed the discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. The Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan to lynch and terrorize blacks. The Democrats fought to prevent the passage of every civil rights law beginning with the civil rights laws of the 1860's, and continuing with the civil rights laws of the 1950's and 1960's.

During the civil rights era of the 1960's, Dr. King was fighting the Democrats who stood in the school house doors, turned skin-burning fire hoses on blacks and let loose vicious dogs. It was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who pushed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools. President Eisenhower also appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court which resulted in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision ending school segregation. Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was President Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military.

Democrat President John F. Kennedy is lauded as a proponent of civil rights. However, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil rights Act while he was a senator, as did Democrat Senator Al Gore, Sr. And after he became president, John F. Kennedy was opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph who was a black Republican. President Kennedy, through his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King. (continue reading)

[Kathianne]

Wow, who would have known???? :cool:

http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2007/11/why-martin-luth.html

Why Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican

Why Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican, from National Black Republican Association by Francis Rice

It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. In that era, almost all black Americans were Republicans. Why? From its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party until today, the Republican Party has championed freedom and civil rights for blacks. And as one pundit so succinctly stated, the Democrat Party is as it always has been, the party of the four S's: Slavery, Secession, Segregation and now Socialism.

It was the Democrats who fought to keep blacks in slavery and passed the discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. The Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan to lynch and terrorize blacks. The Democrats fought to prevent the passage of every civil rights law beginning with the civil rights laws of the 1860's, and continuing with the civil rights laws of the 1950's and 1960's.

During the civil rights era of the 1960's, Dr. King was fighting the Democrats who stood in the school house doors, turned skin-burning fire hoses on blacks and let loose vicious dogs. It was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who pushed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools. President Eisenhower also appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court which resulted in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision ending school segregation. Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was President Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military.

Democrat President John F. Kennedy is lauded as a proponent of civil rights. However, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil rights Act while he was a senator, as did Democrat Senator Al Gore, Sr. And after he became president, John F. Kennedy was opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph who was a black Republican. President Kennedy, through his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King. (continue reading)

Yep. Another problem that Nixon deserves credit for.

[diuretic]

Just one point. He wasn't a "black icon". He was a great and good man. Give him the respect he deserves please. "Black icon" makes him sound like Spike whatisname.

[Sitarro]

Just one point. He wasn't a "black icon". He was a great and good man. Give him the respect he deserves please. "Black icon" makes him sound like Spike whatisname.

I don't remember him as a good or great man, just an opportunist like Barrack, Jesse or the Al Sharpton.

[diuretic]

I don't remember him as a good or great man, just an opportunist like Barrack, Jesse or the Al Sharpton.

Perhaps you're too young to actually remember him and I don't mean that to be demeaning. Do you recall what he did in the southern States in the name of freedom for blacks? I mean do you remember watching the tv news, reading the newspaper reports on a contemporary basis I mean. Or are you too young to remember doing those things? If the latter then you're looking at history and will have a different appreciation of what he did.

[Immanuel]

Perhaps you're too young to actually remember him and I don't mean that to be demeaning. Do you recall what he did in the southern States in the name of freedom for blacks? I mean do you remember watching the tv news, reading the newspaper reports on a contemporary basis I mean. Or are you too young to remember doing those things? If the latter then you're looking at history and will have a different appreciation of what he did.

I don't remember those things. I was too young to remember MLK, Jr.

Reading history, I think of MLK Jr. as a great and good man, yet, I can tell you that my parents and a lot of people from their generation see him in a different light. They don't see him as the peace loving man that he has been made out to be by history. I think I do have a different appreciation of what he did than my parents did and to be quite frank about it, I am glad I do. It gives me hope to see that in one generation, things have changed so much. Hope for the future in reference to race relations.

Immie

[Abbey Marie]

Yes, MLK did some impressive things. But does it really make sense that MLK gets his own holiday, while George Washington, without whom arguably we would have no country, has to share his?

[manu1959]

how about "black icon" day...............

[hjmick]

Yes, MLK did some impressive things. But does it really make sense that MLK gets his own holiday, while George Washington, without whom arguably we would have no country, has to share his?

Come on out to California. César Chávez gets his own day out here. All state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed.

[manu1959]

Come on out to California. César Chávez gets his own day out here. All state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed.

three places he never went.......

[Kathianne]

MLKjr, regardless of his shortcomings as a person, his family pays the price for that, he was a great leader for the US. He foretold the promise, that is America, indeed, he put in words for the time, what had only been implied before.

He came to speak in my corner of the world, when I was about 7 years old. My mom dragged all of us to hear him at the local Baptist chuch. Just like when JFK was at York, she had tears in her eyes. I did get his message, we need to care for one another. We need to be responsible for ourselves. We need to support our country.

[emmett]

Perhaps you're too young to actually remember him and I don't mean that to be demeaning. Do you recall what he did in the southern States in the name of freedom for blacks? I mean do you remember watching the tv news, reading the newspaper reports on a contemporary basis I mean. Or are you too young to remember doing those things? If the latter then you're looking at history and will have a different appreciation of what he did.


I grew up in downtown Atlanta in the sixties so I guess I'm as qualified as anyone here to render an opinion about MLK. He was agood man with good intentions and he was also an opportunist. Isn't anyone who gains influence of the magnitude in which he did, somewhat of an opportunist?

To accomplish any task, a poerson must become somewhat of an opportunist! MLK meant to promote an agenda that needed to be heard and he used his opportunities to do so!

I met MLK on three different occasions, one of which was in school at Jim Cherry Elementary only months before he was murdered. Jim Cherry Elementary was a segregated school and I guess was a model school or something because he came there twice in one year. He ate lunch in the lunchroom with the kids, told stories and jokes. He was a very likeable person and I remember it as if it was yesterday. Everybody liked him, even the little white kids who had called him names before he arrived or on the way to the cafeteria, ended up being very impressed by him.

He asked me my name, when I told him I was named Emmett he said he had a good friend named Emmett. I also met Jesse Jackson! Of course today I agree with very little other than the humanitarian aspects of the platform for which they stood in those days, I do remember what an experience that was to meet someone I saw on television all the time.

Most blacks today, or least the ones that i have discussed civil rights with either have a vast knowledge of the man, or none at all and it comes out in what they say. The ones who truely understood the message of MLK speak of liberty, freedom and equality. Those who do not seem to represent something that completely distorts the truth about MLK. He was a good man and unless someone is just a biggot, they know this. MLK didn't distort the message, he delivered it cleanly and with passion, he lived it and felt it. It is others who have taken his hard and pissed on it, usually his own people, for not exercising the core of it's principle.

Ironically, I think there should be a holiday for MLK. I also think it should be called Black American Day if so desired. Why can't black people have a special day for just them so they can celebrate the wonderful ride they have experienced here in America. While it may have started poorly, today black Americans can boast of the highest upgrade in quality of life of any ethnic group in America. They receive a higher percentage of entitlements, more business grants and more educational grants per capita than any other group. Now comes the rest of Mr. King's message. Will they work as hard to see equlity of others as they did for themselves like hounreds of thousands of white Americans did back when it was not popular to do so.

Democrats fought hard to keep MLK's message from becoming a reality. It just goes to show that it's party jumps to whoever they think control the voting blocks so as to attain power. You couldn't tell a black person this today though as they would immediately call you a liar! It's true though.

That's my two cents worth!

[Sitarro]

Perhaps you're too young to actually remember him and I don't mean that to be demeaning. Do you recall what he did in the southern States in the name of freedom for blacks? I mean do you remember watching the tv news, reading the newspaper reports on a contemporary basis I mean. Or are you too young to remember doing those things? If the latter then you're looking at history and will have a different appreciation of what he did.

I remember being in Junior High on the track team and our nearly all white team were scheduled to go to Rialto Junior High School for an away meet. Their school was mostly black with a few mexican kids in a rough area none of us would ever go, for any reason. They were known to hate whitey, would tip over buses from opposing teams and start fights. When it came to meet day, the three black guys that were on our team called in sick for school. It was a very ominous day, overcast and looking like rain. Most of didn't want to admit it but we were scared....... it wasn't like we were going to a place with any law and order. When we got there the stands and grounds were full of what seemed like very angry, intimidating, older kids. I remember the high-jump pit was just sand, nothing to cushion your landing. I ran the 100 and they didn't have enough lanes so they just made one up on the outside of the track. When I was running, all I saw were black hands in front of my face and heard "you aint gonna win white boy!" ......... I didn't. As the meet digressed, the rocks started flying, I was hit in the head and knocked off my feet. The meet was called and we took off for the buses which were pummeled with rocks as we left the parking lot.

As we were leaving the neighborhood we saw a group of very angry older guys with bats and pipes heading in the direction of the school, they saw us and threw whatever they had at us running to try to stop the bus.

When we were in the locker room later, at our school, the coach came down to tell us Martin Luther King had been shot while we were at the track meet.

That wasn't in "the south", that was in the progressive Southern California, where riots by blacks were a common thing. I also went to a High School that was 40 percent black and hispanic. I had numerous black and hispanic friends, boys and girls. I was dating a California blond cheerleader, my sister was one also. A riot broke out one day because we were auditioning 4 bands for a dance at an assembly and there wasn't a black band. An amazing amount of damage was done to the school. We had heard a rumour that the cheerleaders were going to be targets that day and they were wearing their uniforms for a rally so they were pretty easy to spot. We also noticed that all of the black girls, including the cheerleading black girls were wearing jeans. I got my sister and girlfriend off campus just in time, some weren't so lucky and were beaten.

I wasn't into politics back then, I was too busy trying to get laid, but all I saw was extreme violence and Martin Luther King seemed to be leading it as far as I knew, nobody around me was following any peaceful instruction. That was the one thing about moving back to the South from California, it wasn't violent and we all seemed to get along much better.

[diuretic]

I don't remember those things. I was too young to remember MLK, Jr.

Reading history, I think of MLK Jr. as a great and good man, yet, I can tell you that my parents and a lot of people from their generation see him in a different light. They don't see him as the peace loving man that he has been made out to be by history. I think I do have a different appreciation of what he did than my parents did and to be quite frank about it, I am glad I do. It gives me hope to see that in one generation, things have changed so much. Hope for the future in reference to race relations.

Immie

Immie - he had the usual flaws of any human but if we only evaluated someone from their human flaws we wouldn't have anyone to look up to. Dr King paid the ultimate price for his work. He wasn't the only one doing that work of course but he stood head and shoulders above his colleagues and they looked to him for leadership. His aim was equal rights for blacks. Not a big ask.

[diuretic]

Sitarro, I appreciate I can't know what it's like to live in an environment of strained race relations and that's why I try not to make pronouncements on things I can't understand. I've only had one racial (I'm white) run-in in the US and that was in Orlando. But since I am an occasional visitor I have no authority to comment.

As far as Dr King is concerned, I know his flaws, I've read one biography that was definitely not a hagiography but as Kathianne has said, those flaws are for his family to grapple with. I think all great people, truly great people not just the famous or the celebs, have their own personal devils, but their greatness is about what they achieve and not their human flaws. Dr King's achievements stand apart from his human weaknesses.

emmett thank you for that post, lots of perspective there.

[Psychoblues]

All I can tell you, doc, is there are some very sick, lying and imaginative sonofabitches posting in here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Typical Southern United States. These ignorant bastards would gladly fight the Civil War again. 'Nuff said?

:salute::cheers2::clap::laugh2::cheers2::salute:

[Psychoblues]

On Edit, Doc, these ignorant bastards would gladly that your kids, grandkids or mine fight the goddamned civil war again. They reveal themselves in obvious and selfish ways, don't you know?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

:salute::cheers2::clap::laugh2::cheers2::salute:

[Sitarro]

On Edit, Doc, these ignorant bastards would gladly that your kids, grandkids or mine fight the goddamned civil war again. They reveal themselves in obvious and selfish ways, don't you know?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

:salute::cheers2::clap::laugh2::cheers2::salute:

You're so very enlightened sycho......... yea, sure. It's all about the racist South, right. What a joke. If you had read my little story, you would have seen that I was in Southern California at the time, the bastard....errr, I mean, bastion of liberal thought....... the racism was on the part of the black populaton. I also lived in Denver for 10 years where the KKK had rallies on the Capital steps on Hitlers Birthday and MLK Day....... neither really qualify for the generalization of"The South".