“Whenever any black person utters words that make white people adjust their collars, white people unfailingly respond with a variation of the phrase “but not all white people.” If they are bold enough, they might even challenge you with the Super Saiyan Caucasian preamble of all preambles: “What would Martin Luther King say about ...”
MLK fought against white racism. When he made his famous speech in 1963, he was saying that he wanted his kids to live in a world without white racism where they could be seen for the content of their character by WHITES, not that he was talking about some fictional society that ignores racism.
We need to understand that King opposed white racism. We need to understand that almost every word he spoke was in opposition to white racism. Because he spoke against the Vietnam war as well. We need to learn that he was asking whites to stop being racists and that whites start looking at blacks not for the color of their skin but that WHITES begin looking at us for the content of our character.
He was not asking blacks to ignore white racism under the guise of some fake colorblind belief.
That was his dream. The end of white racism. But his life has been deconstruced by right wing racist whites to remake him into a mealy mouthed black conservative republican. When you discuss race in the various social media platforms or society in general, there is always somebody white who thinks they can tell you how what you say would not be approved by King because you are opposing white racism unapologetically and in no uncertain terms. King has been dead for over 50 years now and just like in almost ever other matter of race relations a certain part of the white community has amnesia about King.
I was 7 years old when King was murdered by a white man in 1968. Before his murder, King was organizing a poor peoples march again Washington.
King felt at that time the government of the United States must begin to provide for the economic damage caused by the years of racism against blacks by the government of this country. He pledged that when he went to the White House this time, he was coming to get a check. It is very plain that King was moving in the direction of demanding economic equality and economic justice for blacks. Conservatives who hijack his words miss this reality. Unfortunately King did not make it to Washington. However, that goal of economic equality remains in effect for blacks today.
King was killed because the content of his character dictated that he was required to stand up and oppose injustice. Not that he sits idly by ignoring the whites practicing it so he would not be considered a racist.