Martin Luther King Jr., standing at a microphone, looking off into the distance with a solemn expression.

Republicans ‘Celebrated’ the Anniversary of the March on Washington With the Only MLK Quote They Know

We just passed the anniversary of the March on Washington, which was one of the largest and most important political protests in American history. The march, which took place on August 28, 1963, was where many Civil Rights leaders like John Lewis, Whitney Young, Martin Luther King Jr., and so on gathered to fight for their rights. It was also where MLK gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, which sent ripples throughout the country and made a major push towards the Civil Rights Act being signed.

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And, of course, Republicans leapt at the occasion to ruin everything. Republican politician were rampantly cherry-picking and trojan-horsing MLK quotes on the anniversary to promote their awful “colorblind” politics. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy had his own piece to say:

Of course, what McCarthy means is “anti-white racism is rampant in this country.” Republicans don’t care about racial prejudice towards actual marginalized groups. They will use MLK out of context to push their own thinly veiled “reverse racism” agenda. McCarthy has weaponized racism and islamophobia against people of color like Ilhan Omar in the past (via The Intercept). Don’t be fooled by the hollow platitudes dished out by a fascist.

And there are many more where that came from. Lavern Spicer, who is currently running for congress, posted a particularly ugly, racist rant on Twitter, attacking Black people who vote Democrat.

Here’s one by Daniel Cameron, who, in his own words, is a “Trump-Endorsed Republican.” Because anyone who gets Trump’s supposed blessing is definitely pro Civil Rights.

As we’ve talked about before, MLK was a lot more radical than white people think. He was not against anger nor the expression of it via protests. He never condemned violent riots. To him, riots were the language of the brutalized:

But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.

The M.L. King Speech (gphistorical.org)

He was also against assimilation and complacency, even if those things brought peace. To him, this was no different than any other injustice being done to Black people:

I had a long talk with a man the other day about this bus situation. He discussed the peace being destroyed in the community, the destroying of good race relations. I agree that it is more tension now. But peace is not merely the absence of this tension, but the presence of justice. And even if we didn’t have this tension, we still wouldn’t have positive peace. Yes, it is true that if the Negro accepts his place, accepts exploitation and injustice, there will be peace. But it would be a peace boiled down to stagnant complacency, deadening passivity, and if peace means this, I don’t want peace.

When Peace Becomes ObnoxiousSermon by MLK

You won’t ever find these quotes being retweeted by any Republican or, let’s be honest, many white liberals. MLK criticized the complacent white liberal in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”:

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.] (upenn.edu)

White Republicans, as well as white liberals, who would use MLK as a battering ram against protests and riots about racial injustice are complicit in anti-Black violence. Republicans will never learn, never change, but hopefully other white people do.

(featured image: Stephen F. Somerstein/Getty Images)


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Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (he/they) writes about media criticism, race studies, intersectional feminism, and left-wing politics. He has been working with digital media and writing about pop culture since 2014. He enjoys video games, movies, and TV, and often gets into playful arguments with friends over Shonen anime and RPGs. He has experience writing for The Mary Sue, Cracked.com, Bunny Ears, Static Media, and The Crimson White. His Twitter can be found here: https://twitter.com/8bitStereo