The late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered almost 50 years ago. We mark his death with a national holiday to celebrate his life’s work, and both his name and quotes from of his popular speeches are cited today across the political aisle. All over the world, MLK attained reverence for his ceaseless crusade for racial equality.
Ahead of the Trump presidential inauguration, USA Today published an article titled “Whites killed MLK. Now we honor him.” It’s every bit as divisive as the water fountains and segregated schools that divided America so many years ago.
There’s the title, which blames all white people for his assassination. Only one man pulled the trigger: James Earl Ray. He was not ordered to do so by anyone else, and his own attempts to clear his name by claiming to be part of a grand conspiracy to kill MLK was rejected by the United States Department of Justice.
Imagine the outrage if mainstream newspapers used headlines like “Muslims terorrized San Bernardino.” These publications are quick to remind us that no single group of people, or creed, is responsible for the actions of a single terrorist.
The article, penned by Oliver Thomas, who states that the only reason “we” (as in white people) honor MLK’s birthday isn’t to celebrate his life’s work in civil rights, but because “we’re” feeling guilty about his death and trying to make up for it by placing him on a pedestal.
Can’t white people simply celebrate MLK for his life’s work without having it be a product of their white guilt? Apparently not.
“Plus, now we’ve squared everything. The Civil Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act. Come on, we’ve even elected a black president!
That’s why people who look like me have a hard time understanding why so many black people are still angry while others have given up on America altogether.”
Thomas uses a heavy dose of emotional language to argue that white people must continue to be held responsible for the actions of their forefathers—never mind the fact that “white people” are not a monolith.
MLK’s 1963 speech is more important now than ever before. He famously said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
But thanks to articles like the one in USA Today, the only thing certain is that we’re still being judged by the color of our skin.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.