Profile picture
New York Daily News @NYDailyNews
, 41 tweets, 27 min read Read on Twitter
On this day 50 years ago, an unarmed black man was shot to death by a white man.

If it happened today, you would probably scroll past his name on one of your social media platforms, and it would look like this:

#MartinLutherKingJr.

nydn.us/2JiOdsk #MLK50
When you look at the 50th anniversary of King's assassination from that perspective, it makes it pretty clear that African-Americans are still dealing with the same exact issues that we faced half a century ago.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Throughout this day, you will see people who have no idea what King actually stood for, or would have hated him if he was still alive right now, do what they love to do annually on his national holiday: misrepresent his message.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Donald Trump, Mike Pence, GOP members, and anyone else who has ever denounced, voted or legislated against equality, humanitarian efforts, immigration, or failed to attack racism on every front, or opposed gun control...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...will more than likely release a statement or tweet their favorite King quote that they deem suitable for the day.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Their hypocrisy is a slap in the face to one of the greatest spirits to walk this earth. King was 39 when he was assassinated, and if that version of him was alive today, he'd be public enemy number one.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Just as he was when he was alive.

But, people love to forget that part.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
"I think people only discovered after his death that he was more radical than they actually knew," said Clifford Alexander, Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a recent HBO Documentary titled, "King in the Wilderness."

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
For all the "I Have a Dream" speech references that will be incorrectly used today, I'm here to remind you that the speech was given at a march that focused on job rights and the economy...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...due to all the challenges and inequalities African-Americans were still dealing with 100 years after emancipation.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
But while the "I Have a Dream" speech is thought to be King's most popular one, there's a section from an open letter he wrote a few months earlier called "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
that foreshadowed a foe that African-Americans have been hampered by since slavery: the white moderate.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
"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...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice;

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...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';

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...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.'

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...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."

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Today's version of the white moderate aren't the ones that showed up in Charlottesville, wear "Make America Great Again" hats, or still have Confederate flags flying from their front porch.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
No, the modern white moderates are the ones that "don't see color," try to advise people of color on the "right ways" to protest, and would prefer it if athletes would "stick to sports."

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Fifty years later, and they still don't understand that by not seeing a person's color, you don't see the inequalities they face on a daily basis.

They also forget that King was arrested multiple times for protesting.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Their willful ignorance won't allow them to realize that King would be kneeling next to Colin Kaepernick...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...and calling out NFL owners for not signing free agent Eric Reid because he knelt side-by-side with Kaepernick to bring awareness to police brutality during a song whose third stanza supports slavery.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
"He speaks to this generation clearly, as if he was in yesterday's morning paper," added Rev. Jesse Jackson in the documentary. "His strategies, his philosophy, his world views, remain real today."

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
King would be an advocate for athletes such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant who refuse to "shut up and dribble."

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
"Dr. King was in my mind and heart when I raised my fist on that podium," John Carlos was quoted as saying in a 2010 Sports Illustrated piece on how King understood the importance of sports.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
He would be advising young student-athletes, of all colors, to fight for the rights to compensation from the billion-dollar NCAA, and the freedom to at least profit off their likeness, since everyone else does.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
MLK would answer the phone and offer support to former NBA player Matt Barnes if he had any questions in preparation for last weekend's rally in Sacramento in protest of the killing of Stephon Clark...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by police officers who fired eight bullets in his back and side in his own backyard, because officers used unnecessary lethal force over the belief that a crime had been committed.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Dr. King would also be furious at our justice system, and how a rapper like Meek Mill has become the face of the system that he protested against.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Mill is currently still in jail stemming from an arrest for trying to stop a fight and for doing wheelies on his motorcycle.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Those minor violations broke his probation from a case that happened 10 years ago, which is why he could be facing between two and four years in prison.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
He'd be down in Florida standing with the kids from Parkland, as they're making adults rethink their theories on gun control.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
And while frustrated by the news that the two white police officers in Baton Rouge who killed Alton Sterling back in 2016 won't have charges drawn up against him...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...he'd still be encouraging us to march on and protest in a non-violent way, despite the circumstances.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Why?

Because that's who Dr. King was.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
"As much as he did, he always blamed himself for not doing enough," said Andrew Young, the former executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and a member of King's inner circle.

#MLK50
"He was a kind of workaholic where he was never content. He was driven by a kind of a need for perfection. And he was always feeling that he wasn't doing his best."

#MLK50
From being the face of the Civil Rights Movement to standing next to sanitation workers in Memphis that were on strike for higher pay and better working conditions during his final days...

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
...Martin Luther King Jr. was the man who was always on the side of people who just wanted to be treated fairly and equally.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
He wasn't trying to rock the boat; he just wanted to level it.

So, on this day, 50 years after we lost him, spend the day remembering who Dr. King actually was, instead of using him as a prop to fit your flawed agenda.

#MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
By Daily News columnist @carronJphillips #MLK50 nydn.us/2JiOdsk
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to New York Daily News
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member and get exclusive features!

Premium member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year)

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!