My friend at school said that MLK was a great person, but from a political standpoint: communist. He said he read it in a biography. Is this true?
2007-01-23 09:35:42 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
I myself am a skeptic of this statement.
2007-01-23 09:36:34 · update #1
The ideological standpoint of the civil rights movement is completely antithetical to Communism. Communism is an oppressive movement, meant to keep the status quo and often leading to stagnation. The Civil Rights Movement was completely against maintaining the status quo, oppression, or stagnation. Equality doesn't lead to Communism, we've proven that as a country. Hoover was on a campaign to discredit MLK any way he could, and because 1 member of his "team" ( a speech writer) had attended a Communist meeting, Hoover was hell bent on branding MLK a Communist in order to slow down the headway he was making among the White community.
As for Johnson and Kennedy believing he was Communist, this was a lie. Hoover absolutely hated King and succeeded in persuading Bobby Kennedy to allow the wire tapping in his efforts to discredit MLK. In the end they had no evidence. Come on, if they could prove the leader of the Civil Rights movement was a Communist, you would see it in every paper, and he wouldn't be regarded with the same respect he currently has.
2007-01-23 09:50:05 · answer #1 · answered by Mrs. Bass 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 30-40 years ago, if you ever wanted to undermine someone's character behind their back, you would just call them a communist. 50 years ago you called them "communist sympathizers".
This is really old school. Your friend needs to read some new books. MLK was an activist fighting for black equality. There's nothing really communist about that. It's entirely home-grown American people-power democracy.
2007-01-23 09:41:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
He attended the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, TN in the Fifties. The school was started by two Communists. It taught the techniques of confrontation, creating the appearance of popular support, revolutionary parliamentarianism (pressure from the top, and pressure from the bottom), and other Communist tactics. He worked with known Communists, including Jack O'Dell and Bayard Rustin.
I don't think he was ever a Communist, but he was used by the Communists, and he certainly knew it. He used to Civil Riots Movement to promote himself. He was not particularly popular when he has assassinated, and became a martyr.
I personally don't think too much of him. I am opposed to discrimination based on skin color. I think that every person should be looked at as an individual, not as a member of a group.
It is only speculation on my part, but had it not been for King, would "race" not be such a divisive factor today? I think that you make friends by demonstrating your worth, not by confrontation. We'll never know.
2007-01-23 09:48:05 · answer #3 · answered by iraqisax 6 · 1⤊ 4⤋
No he was not a communist, would question the reading material your friend is getting his/her information from
2007-01-24 02:42:13 · answer #4 · answered by joymlcat 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. They put that label to him because current governments didn't like any obstacles against their ambitions.
2007-01-23 10:16:21 · answer #5 · answered by Mysterio 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Democrat presidents JFK & LBJ both thought so.
They had the FBI wiretap King for years.
(But in fairness to King, JFK & LBJ had lots of people wiretapped.)
It is okay to wiretap people if you are a Democrat president. No one complained.
But when Bush had just terrorists wiretapped, Democrats flew into a rage.
2007-01-23 09:43:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋
nope that was a lie put out by j edgar hoover
2007-01-23 09:52:08 · answer #7 · answered by paulisfree2004 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
J. Edgar Hoover thought so. I don't.
2007-01-23 09:38:56 · answer #8 · answered by yupchagee 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Realistically, no.
People enjoy making that idiotic assumption though.
2007-01-23 09:42:48 · answer #9 · answered by Emma 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋
No, he was a wise man, who show to all of us the government lies about the Vietnam war.
2007-01-23 09:42:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋