Thread by @AlsoACarpenter

It is truly sad how little folks understand about the Civil Rights Movement and message. How could he have not spent the time to read and learn the tradition before beginning his silly inquisition?

And to invoke Dr. King for his cause is just so ignorant. 1/

https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1336750287462273026

2/ What did the REAL King teach?

"The dilemma of white America is the source and cause of the dilemma of Negro America. Just as the ambivalence of white Americans grows out of their oppressor status, the predicament of Negro Americans grows out of their oppressed status." (1967)

3/ Or, how about:

"[O]ne of the great problems that the Negro confronts is his lack of power. From the old plantations of the South to the newer ghettos of the North, the Negro has been confined to a life of voicelessness and powerlessness. Stripped of the right to make

4/ "decisions concerning his life and destiny, he has been subject to the authoritarian and sometimes whimsical decisions of the white power structure. The plantation and the ghetto were created by those who had power both to confine those who had no power and to perpetuate their

5/ "powerlessness. The problem of transforming the ghetto is, therefore, a problem of power—a confrontation between the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to preserving the status quo. ...

6/ "Power, properly understood, is the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political or economic changes. In this sense power is not only desirable but necessary in order to implement the demands of love and justice. …

7/ "There is nothing essentially wrong with power. The problem is that in America power is unequally distributed." (1967)

Is this the Dr. King James is talking about?:

"Even semantics have conspired to make that which is black seem ugly and degrading. In Roget’s Thesaurus there

8/ "are some 120 synonyms for “blackness” and at least 60 of them are offensive—such words as “blot,” “soot,” “grime,” “devil” and “foul.” There are some 134 synonyms for “whiteness,” and all are favorable, expressed in such words as “purity,” “cleanliness,” “chastity” and

9/ ""innocence.” A white lie is better than a black lie. The most degenerate member of a family is the “black sheep,” not the “white sheep.” Ossie Davis has suggested that maybe the English language should be “reconstructed” so that teachers will not be forced to teach the Negro

10/ "child 60 ways to despise himself and thereby perpetuate his false sense of inferiority and the white child 134 ways to adore himself and thereby perpetuate his false sense of superiority." (1967)

Or is this him?:

"We must recognize that we can’t solve our problem now

11/ "until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power…. This means a revolution of values and other things. We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism are all tied together… you can’t really get rid of one without

12/ "getting rid of the others… the whole structure of American life must be changed. America is a hypocritical nation and [we] must put [our] own house in order." (1967)

It's important that people learn the tradition before going on the offensive:

alsoacarpenter.com/2020/06/22/the…

13/ And get to know Dr. King before leveraging his words for the advancement of White supremacy:

alsoacarpenter.com/2019/10/09/app…

14/14 It's also important to learn where folks like James got their poor understanding of the CRM and begin to peal back the White liberal integrationists' distortions:

alsoacarpenter.com/2020/10/13/the…