Preparing.org - The True Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Among the exclusive ranks of post-emancipation 'black' leadership, the most highly celebrated figure without a doubt, has been the world-renowned Baptist preacher and civil rights leader, the late 'Rev.' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

During the crucial period of the 1950's and '60's, Dr. King was far and away the most influential civil rights leader and social activist in the world.

Beginning with his leadership of the historic Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, and culminating with a national holiday dedicated in his honor; no 'black' leader in the history of 'blacks' in the Americas - and arguably, no leader of any hue during that period - has had such world-changing political, social, and religious impact.

Combining brilliant oratory with the techniques of 'non-violent' civil disobedience popularized by East Indian mystic Mahatmas Gandhi, the 26-year-old King took the fledgling civil rights movement to a whole new level. His initial involvement resulted in an unprecedented early victory over Jim Crow in Montgomery - immediately launching him into national prominence as an eloquent advocate of downtrodden and disenfranchised 'blacks' across the south.

Soon thereafter, the overwhelming majority of the 'black' nation, taking her cue from mainstream media, followed in lock-step behind the charismatic young preacher from Atlanta as the undisputed moral leader of the "Negro" community. And much of mainstream society actually came to embrace Dr. King's vision for America, and received him as the "moral conscience of the nation."

Among the many famous sermons and speeches of Dr. King, the one that best articulates his vision of a fully integrated America, is of course, the famous "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered at the historic March on Washington in 1963.

Although the nationally televised message focused on economic and political empowerment, nevertheless, it's stirring climax is rightfully seen as best representing Dr. King's overall vision and mission at that point. And the substance of the body of his message that day clearly represented a practical means to that end...

Clearly, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a committed integrationist who believed that the U.S. Constitution held within its ideals, the promise of "equal protection under the law" for all its citizens. Dr. King also believed that democracy, particularly in its American form, is God's chosen and divinely anointed form of governance.

Nevertheless, a small but deeply committed contingency in the "Negro" community - the Hebrew Israelite-aware, the Nation of Islam, the Black Panther Party, and other 'black' nationalists in a socio-political sense - rejected out of hand the civil rights movement's programmatic equation that integration into mainstream American society = freedom, justice and equality.

And like all seekers of truth, Dr. King's life experiences, including the growing nationalist sentiments being expressed around him, caused his vision and understanding to expand. At this hour, the 'black' nation would be wise to finally allow for this evolution in Dr. King's consciousness, as we reassess his life and legacy in a fully accurate theological and historical context...

After all, at the time of his assassination in Memphis in 1968, Dr. King was just thirty-nine years old.

The truth is, each of us, no matter how studied or how celebrated, is a work in progress - each one on a unique journey to greater knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

And particularly in the case of Martin Luther King, Jr., any insistence upon holding such an extremely influential man frozen in a moment in time that occurred nearly 42 years ago [and several years before his death], represents a very real and present threat to the liberation and repatriation of the 'black' nation.

Surely, from his initial foray into civil rights in 1955 until his death in 1968, Dr. King's perception of both the civil rights struggle and the world in general expanded far beyond the notion of 'legal' integration and changing racist laws as solutions to the ills of the 'black' nation...

For example, his meetings with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Malcolm X are common knowledge - and yet woefully underreported, and greatly underestimated. And the profound implications of his public stand in support of Muhammad Ali, an avowed Muslim and 'black' nationalist, in Ali's conscientious objection to the Viet Nam war, remain largely ignored.

Indeed, the effect of these seminal events in Dr. King's life can be readily observed in the progressive nationalist ideas he began to include in his sermons and speeches.

As a case in point; on August 16, 1967, less than one year before his death, Dr. King delivered his annual report to the 11th yearly gathering of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [SCLC], the civil rights organization founded by he and other prominent Baptist ministers in 1957.

In his message that day, entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?", he openly expressed his growing nationalist goals and strategies. The very title of his message was itself a recognition of the need for a change in direction away from merely seeking access to 'white' institutions, á la the Civil Rights Bill of 1964...

"The most dramatic success in Chicago has been Operation Breadbasket... not only have we gotten jobs through Operation Breadbasket in Chicago; there was another area through this economic program, and that was the development of financial institutions which were controlled by Negroes and which were sensitive to problems of economic deprivation of the Negro community."

"...I can say to you today that as a result of Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, both of these Negro-operated banks have now more than double their assets, and this has been done in less than a year by the work of Operation Breadbasket...

...In Cleveland, Ohio, a group of ministers have formed an Operation Breadbasket through our program there and have moved against a major dairy company. Their requests include jobs, advertising in Negro newspapers, and depositing funds in Negro financial institutions. ...This is the power of Operation Breadbasket."

Dr. King's vision for Operation Breadbasket was not just to seek access to white America, but in fact, to strengthen the internal economic base of the 'black' community. 'Black' nationalism.

"Finally, SCLC has entered the field of housing. Under the leadership of attorney James Robinson, we have already contracted to build 152 units of low-income housing with apartments for the elderly on a choice downtown Atlanta site under the sponsorship of Ebenezer Baptist Church."

Sounds a lot like what some so-called 'black' conservatives refer to as "self-help" and "personal responsibility" through churches rather than government - the wisdom of such policies being distorted by the so-called faith-based initiative, and decried and denied by much of the remaining old guard civil rights establishment...

"This is the first project of a proposed southwide Housing Development Corporation which we hope to develop in conjunction with SCLC, and through this corporation we hope to build housing from Mississippi to North Carolina using Negro workmen, Negro architects, Negro attorneys, and Negro financial institutions throughout.

And it is our feeling that in the next two or three years (by 1970), we can build right here in the South forty million dollars worth of new housing for Negroes, and with millions and millions of dollars in income coming to the Negro community."

Dr. King's vision for SCLC was not just to seek access to posh white communities, but to build decent housing in the 'black' community. 'Black' nationalism.

Has the modern civil rights establishment been faithful to the Dr. King of 1967-'68; or for reasons of personal advancement, held him static in his '63-'64 understanding of socio-politics? The truth of the matter is becoming increasingly clear...

The crowning achievement in the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. relative to public policy, was the passing of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Of all of Dr. King's efforts at bringing freedom, justice and equality to the 'black' nation - in public accommodations, open housing, and voting rights - only the right to vote will ultimately prove to be a continuing progressive catalyst in our struggle for liberation.

And this 'civil right' must no longer be violated by voting for "the lesser of two evils", which is for the most part, how it's been exercised thus far. But rather, in the fullness of time, its full benefit will finally be realized in voting for authentically pro-'black' nationalist candidates (regardless of "race").

Perhaps most importantly, it was Dr. King's condemnation of the Viet Nam war that demonstrated his total commitment to the spiritual and socio-political evolution he experienced during his final years.

In reality, in addition to his evolving politics, and nationalist-inspired visions for SCLC and Operation Breadbasket, it was his momentous decision to part ways with the Johnson administration that places Dr. King squarely among the ranks of our greatest 'black' nationalist visionaries... Sélah.

After all, he literally chose to stand against the foreign policy of the President of the United States - at that hour, the civil rights movement's greatest ally in transforming not only public accommodations and open housing, but voting rights for 'blacks', from a dream into the law of the land.

Dr. King - selflessly and courageously - took his own ultimate stand, against the Johnson administration; and literally gave his own life in the process...

And yet for all his monumental efforts and remarkable achievements, the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. does not include the establishing of UNITY among the 'black' nation. Why?

Although Dr. King was 'ordained' a "Christian" minister, he was in fact persuaded out of any REAL faith in Y'shua ("Jesus") he no doubt expressed as a child, through so-called "higher education."

Because of his self-admitted longing to be received favorably among intellectual whites, Dr. King aspired to the "highest" levels of white religious academia. And what came forth as a result simply left him groping for the truth, while leading a movement in desperate need of truth...

Perhaps if the truth about Dr. King's views on 'Christianity' were broadly known by the true followers of Christ, again, he could finally be placed in TRUE proper historical context.

For example, Dr. King did NOT believe in the blood atonement of Christ, and therefore was not a "Christian" (a follower of the Anointed One) in the truest sense of the word - nor in the manner understood, if not always accepted, by the vast majority of the 'black' nation.

The following is an excerpt from a paper written during Dr. King's years studying at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chicago entitled, "A View of the Cross Possessing Biblical and Spiritual Justification":

"Turning now to our main objective, I begin with a process of elimination. First we may say that any doctrine which finds the meaning of atonement in the triumph of Christ over such cosmic powers as sin, death, and Satan is inadequate...

The objection to the Latin type of theory--the Anselmic theory of satisfaction, the penal theory of the reformers, and the governmental theory of Grotius--is found in the abstract and impersonal way in which it deals with such ideas as merit, guilt and punishment; the guilt of others and the punishment due them are transferred to Christ and borne by him.

Such views taken literally become bizarre. Merit and guilt are not concrete realities that can be detached from one person and transferred to another. Moreover, no person can morally be punished in place of another. Such ideas as ethical and penal substitution become immoral."

Anselmic theory of satisfaction? The governmental theory of Grotius?

As for the second coming of Christ,

"It is obvious that most twentieth century Christians must frankly and flatly reject any view of a physical return of Christ. To hold such a view would mean denying a Copernican universe, for there can be no physical return unless there is a physical place from which to return. In its literal form this belief belongs to a pre-scientific world view which we cannot accept....

The final doctrine of the second coming is that whenever we turn our lives to the highest and best there for us is the Christ. This is what the early Christians were trying to say."

Clearly, so-called higher education left Dr. King stripped of his faith in Christ, and wearing the title "Christian" in name only. With the best of intentions, he simply allowed his theology to be informed by Gentiles who were never intended nor directly empowered to teach the holy scriptures to the sons of Israel.

And yet to some extent, just as with his politics, Dr. King's spiritual understanding expanded during the final stages of his life. His now famous sermon entitled, "The Drum Major Instinct", delivered on February 4, 1968, clearly reflects a very different Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than the one expressed in his writings from his early days in seminary...

Nevertheless, what is the lesson the 'black' nation at this crucial hour, regardless of her diversity of beliefs, must learn from Dr. King's pursuit of America's theological intellectualism?

Despite the many clear and undeniable public statements of Dr. King in support of a nationalist approach to 'black' politics; the 'black' nation as a whole, rather than honoring him as he was at the time of his death, has until recently, continued to unwittingly follow the romanticized, media-driven "I Have a Dream" image of a static Dr. King - forever frozen on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963...

As for our collective desire to bring righteousness to racist 'whites' - if we as the holy nation had done as Christ commissioned us to do, rather than slavishly deferring to Anglo/Caucasian/'Jewish' patronage, we would've called upon 'white' supremacists to open their HEARTS; and then perhaps - of their own free will - they would've opened their lunch counters and communities as well... Sélah.

The following statement from Dr. King's historic address to SCLC in 1967 is in truth, a real representative summation of his own final, more fully evolved vision for the 'black' man:

"Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery. No Lincolnian Emancipation Proclamation, no Johnsonian civil rights bill can totally bring this kind of freedom. The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own emancipation proclamation."

Indeed. But in the final analysis, the number one solution to the ills that beset the 'black' nation remains to prayerfully and humbly seek the face of YAH, and turn from wickedness; that we may finally, and for all time, affirm not that "I Am A Man", but rather that WE are men; and more importantly, truly the sons of YAH; and thereby regain our collective dignity as a people. Sélah.

For as it is written, "Unless YAH keeps the city, the watchmen wakes but in vain." Ahmein & Amen.

But to reach beyond that; clearly, it has been the inability and/or unwillingness of 'black' leadership to accurately interpret Dr. King beyond his media created image, and the resulting nationalist vs. integrationist divide, that yet continues to hinder our efforts at putting forth sufficient UNITY to take our rightful place among the family of nations...

In order for the 'black' nation to move beyond her present re-awakening and actually attain TRUE freedom, justice, and equality; we must finally fully unite as a people - coalescing not around a common color, or around a common continent, but around a common culture. Around the true hidden legacy of the 'black' nation. Around our true national destiny and purpose as the rightful and legal executors of the holy covenants of Yisrael; and as the primary heirs of the divine promises thereof.

We must then utilize the resulting empowerment of righteousness, sovereignty, and unity, to establish our OWN national political party/platform. We can then proceed to wisely and effectively exercise the right to vote, and/or to otherwise engage the political process - but only for such persons and policies [if any] that represent a genuine, unequivocal and public commitment to our own national agenda...

Hear O 'black' nation, and the world: when the final chapter of history is recorded - beyond the deceptive, blanket media hype, the exploitation of 'black' suffering and the longing for 'black' liberation - it is not racial integration, but 'black' nationalism that will prove to be the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.