Was Martin Luther King a Communist?

Question

Martin Luther King surrounded himself with communists from the beginning of his career.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, formed in 1957 and led by Dr. King, also had as its vice president Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth who was at the same time president of the Southern Conference Education Fund, an identified communist front.

King maintained correspondence with Carl Braden (communist, sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for sedition)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Braden

Also on the board of SCLC was Bayard Rustin (member of the Young Communist League)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin

In 1957, King addressed the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tenn. which was originally called Commonwealth College until it was sited by the House Committee on un-American Activities as being a communist front
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_College,_Arkansas

In 1960, King hired Hunter Pitts O’Dell (member of the Communist Party U.S.A ), to work at SCLC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Pitts_O%27Dell

According to the St Louis Globe Democrat (Oct. 26, 1962) “A Communist has infiltrated the top administrative post in the Rev. Martin Luther King’s SCLC"
http://christianparty.net/mlk.htm


It’s strikes me as sad that Dr. King, the most influential leader of the civil rights movement wasn’t an advocate of the capitalism that was already leading to such great economic strides amongst African-Americans in his day.

He sneered at “the profit motive” without explaining why African-Americans shouldn’t seek to profit to the best of their ability

Dr. King’s imperious stand toward his own people would stand in contrast to an advocacy of genuine freedom, the development of self-rule, self-sufficiency, private ownership, and the accumulation of capital resulting from achievement. Dr. King was not advocating the American system of free market capitalism.

Instead, he stood for a system that has stunted the growth of African-Americans as well as the rest of us.

Answer 1

according to the FBI and J. Edgar he was, however some of the evidence is questionable, he certainly espoused some Marxist ideology, and was more likely a socialist than communist if either.

Answer 2

Martin Luther King Communist

Answer 3

I think you have answered your own question with good backup documentation. What I can add, is that "Dr." King was a fraud. In fact, his doctoral thesis was plagiarized. None other than Elizabeth Dole was on the board that awarded him his Doctoral degree. It is my belief that Dr.King was identified early on as the figure-head for the African-American community and great pains were taken to make sure he received such an honor. He surrounded himself with people of questionable integrity, including Jesse Jackson who made sure he was in a "photo-op" situation at the time of King's assassination. Utimately, I am in agreement that Dr. King is a most dubious choice to be used as an example for the African-American people. There are many other black folks who would be a much better role model than he.

Answer 4

You know, you REALLY need to go in and read those articles.

Was O'Dell with both organizations? No, he left one for the other. That's not allowed to happen? He even accepted a lower position because of his previous work.

He addressed a school that had graduates that included a 6-term Governor? And a poet? For shame. That's definitely a communistic act.

Rustin: The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) was originally a strong supporter of the civil rights movement, but in 1941, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin ordered the CPUSA to abandon civil rights work and focus on support for U.S. involvement in World War II. Disillusioned by this betrayal, Rustin began working with anti-Communist Socialists such as A. Philip Randolph, the head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and A. J. Muste, leader of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).

Oh, this is a good one. Carl? All charges were dropped.

How utterly sad that you didn't include all the information.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

I see it more so that communists and socialists have infiltrated and hi-jacked most of the liberal causes, including civil rights.

The world, in general, rejected communism; it survived by morphing into dictatorships, like Russia and Castro. To breed it's poison, into the next generation, communists changed their strategy.

To undermine our way of life and convert the USA to socialism, the strategy is to undermine the fabric of our society- family, marriage, patriotism and faith. It's pretty easy to corrupt liberal special interest groups because their cause is emotionally based. Liberals are attacking these very things but are in total denial; they have no clue that avowed socialists and communists are pulling their strings.

Liberals can't come out and proclaim they support socialism because they really don't believe they are linked arm-in-arm with socialists, but they are. Hollywood liberals have made Joe McCarthy into a monster as if there never has been a communist influence; but history has vindicated McCarthy (Alger Hiss) liberals compare him to puritans from the 1600's conductin witch-hunts. However, hollywood is linked to communism, just look at their list of idiots- Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Timothy Sarandon, Sean Penn- these people embrace any enemy of the USA and then their supporters will cite some ridiculous reason to justify their treason.

The definition of a liberal, is a socialist in denial.

Answer 7

J. Edger Hover was paranoid over the Kin being a communists. Hoover is also the same leader of the FBI that failed to see growth of organized crime when was leader of the FBI. This cross dressing bureaucrat spent far to long as head of the FBI.

Answer 8

Substantial evidence does exist that he associated closely with communists and communist organizations. Part of his anti-Vietnam war message was to encourage people "not to support America's anti-Communist crusades." His message also called for a radical "redistribution of wealth and political power in American society as a way to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, jobs, education and hope for all of our country's people."

Dr. Kings civil rights crusade somewhat masked his underlying political philosophy, which was decidedly communist.

I find the cantcu rant about McCarthyism and the un-American activities committees to be irrevelant to the discussion. It doesn't negate the facts that his political view was what it was. Communist.

Answer 9

If Martin Luther King was a communist, then that would be a positive point for communists, wouldn't it?

But Atheism is generally an important part of communism, and he wasn't an Atheist, so, no.

And this question makes you look like a Old Grouchy Racist. I know that isn't the case, so I think you ought to do a little more proof reading before you ask these questions.

Answer 10

Answer: If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...
You tell us where the smart money is!
I've seen red herring to straw dog responses...the Hollywood ten!...Even Salon magazine had to conclude that after the Appeals and Supreme courts...40 years of mounting evidence that even Alger Hiss Was and Died a communist.
Why do you think that commissions like Kings and Kennedy's Warren commission with hold content for forty years...
To protect the names and crimes of the criminal socialists/Marxist left I'd wager!