| The Typical Portrait of Dr. King |
In honor of the past holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I was reading an interesting blog post on An American Studies, that caused me to rethink and reexamine what I really thought and knew about the man and the myth behind the memorial day. Why is Dr. King so remembered as one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in American history? Why do they take off school? Why is he immortalized on an annual day of service? The post details a lesser-known speech of King's entitled, Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam, on the grounds of world peace.
Prior to this speech, I was unaware that Dr. King publicly expressed major viewpoints concerning issues besides civil rights. Concerning this issue, I think it really touches on the fine line between storytelling and American mythology: how WE as Americans want our story to be told, remembered and viewed. I think in the past, American mythology views Dr. King as solely a freedom fighter of the 1960's on a mission for change and equal rights for African Americans.
| The Real Story of Dr. King, Not as Perfect as Described |
Along the same lines, I think the reason that Dr. King chose to give a speech about the Vietnam War is that there is a direct correlation between the conflict over seas and the civil rights issues on America's home front. In this particular speech, Dr. King said 'when silence becomes betrayal' is definitely applicable to both issues. Silence, the act of not speaking up, held back the Civil Rights Movement in America and even kept unjust, classified information such as the Myilai Massacre of Vietnam under wraps for so long. I think he also used betrayal to say that if one doesn't voice their honest opinions about an issue, than they are directly hurting others and themselves. Dr. King was clearly a more complex man than American mythology characterizes him as.
The typical American mythological portrait of Dr. King presents him as a determined, almost divine figure that could do no wrong; this is the story we want to believe. In the picture seen to the above left, Dr. King is waving to an adoring crowd of thousands after one of his powerful speeches. In his non-violent protests, Dr. King actually achieved celebrity status for spending a significant amount of time in jail (arrested five times) after participating in events such as a 1960 Atlanta lunch counter sit-in and 1965 Selma, AL voting rights demonstration. To what extent do you think this a fair way to become a famous face on the national media?
Why do you think MLK is remembered as only a civil rights activist? What element of American ideals plays on this level of thought?
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