Interesting that martin Luther king jr is seen as

A centrist. Especially by those with right leaning views. But back in his day he was demonised as a communist due to his anti capitalist. anti racist. Anti Vietnam and pro labour rights ideals

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Heartlander · 80-89, M

At the time, Democrats and the KKK were seen as one and the same, and Black Americans were lifted towards equal standings by Eisenhower and the Warren court. It was a Republican president who stood down southern Democrats and sent the US Army to escort Black children to all white schools. Black leaders then were leaning Republican because Republicans were lifting Black southerners towards equal status. It had little to do with anything other than equal rights.

BohemianBabe · M

MLK was also demonized for causing riots, even though the majority of his protests were peaceful.
Basically, everything the Right says about current civil rights movements, they originally said about MLK.

LeopoldBloom · M

Back then, a “communist” was anyone to the left of Jefferson Davis. MLK never advocated for the abolition of private property.

Roundandroundwego · 61-69

@LeopoldBloom the poor people's march on Washington wasn't a communist movement because there's a brutality in the USA that kills danything communist. It wasn't and you use violence to make that what we say.

Roundandroundwego · 61-69

No, liars made the center your only politics. People calling themselves "neo liberal", promote the idea that peace and reason come from the center. Nothing could be more untrue. Centrism is the mask of aggressive corporatists.
King died for being a leftist and a leader. Americans don't need to have a left and practically none of them know a single coherent thing about politics.

BrandNewMan · M

I think the edges of the fringe are farther from the center on both sides than they were then

badminton · 61-69, MVIP

MLK was strongly against Marxist communism. He believed in a sort of Christian socialism.

Guitarman123 · 31-35, M

@badminton marxist communism advocated for labour rights and was anti capitalist. MLK was also influenced by erich fromm

BohemianBabe · M

@badminton Just goes to show you that the Right recycles the same arguments over and over. Less than a decade since America fought Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, the American Right was claiming that MLK was a Marxist trying to use Communism to destroy America.

RachelLia2003 · 22-25, F

[media=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EnTYsWmYnuw]

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Guitarman123 · 31-35, M

@NativePortlander1970 no he wasnt. Nor was he a registered democrat.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@NativePortlander1970

The Republican Party was so diminished in much of the South that registering as a Republican was seen as limiting one’s ability to vote, and the real vote happened in Democrat primaries. So Republicans in the south were often registered Democrats since there were no Republicans on the general election ballots. Growing up in Louisiana, I remember my dad joking about there being only 2 Republicans in the whole parish.

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