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There’s More to Civil Rights Than MLK Jr.
I was at home a couple weeks ago, reveling in the fact that I didn’t have to go to work because it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a thought came to me – why is it that only MLK Jr. has a holiday? No, I didn’t think of that because I’d like more paid time off. Well, that’s not the only reason. Aren’t there more brothers and sisters that are deserving of a celebration or notoriety? My Black card may disappear like that photograph in Back to the Future, but I have to say that Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t the end all be all of the Civil Rights Movement. The only reason he has become the figurehead of this time in history was due to the fact that he believed in peaceful demonstrations against the oppressor instead of more aggressive tactics.
Whew. That felt good.
No this isn’t stemming from the fact that I’m not part of fraternal organization that starts and end with Alpha, no I’m not some pro Black revolutionary and no I haven’t sold out. Not yet anyway, the “man” hasn’t offered up a price up to my liking. I just recall from my reading that there were a lot of other Black men and women who I felt were just as instrumental to the Civil Rights Movement. Unfortunately they have been forgotten over time or belittled to just a street sign or high school in an impoverished, urban neighborhood.
Yes Martin Luther King Jr. was a immense driving force in attaining Civil Rights for Black people everywhere. However, it does us no good to forget the other leaders who weren’t as peaceful but arguably just as effective. Mainstream America celebrates folks like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as they led the American Revolution against England. We should do our part and remember our revolutionary figures even if no one else will.
I was always more motivated by Malcolm X as well as his more progressive identity, El Hajj Malik Shabazz, than Dr. King. Although Malcolm’s techniques were different than King’s, he was still a brother who motivated the youth and old alike, was steadfast and got full communities across the nation rallying behind him. The difference was he met the opposition head on instead of using peaceful tactics. Although his contributions are great, America doesn’t want the youth screaming “By Any Means Necessary” so he only gets a street in Black neighborhoods.
Huey P. Newton is very similar to Malcolm in his attitude, but his reach was on a smaller scale. He was a revolutionary man who felt it was time organize the community and stand against the tyranny that was the Oakland Police. Biased? Perhaps. But you can’t dispute that he didn’t get the inner city folks together to take pride in their community at a time when peaceful demonstrations and passive resistance didn’t appeal to the people of Oakland.
If you want to go real far left, there’s Nat Turner. Another historical figure buried deep in the history books. Why? Well, he led a slave rebellion that killed one hundred White slave owners. I think you can guess why the History books glaze over his contributions to freeing Black people here in America.
There’s many more I can list, but I’d be here all month and we only get one. And it’s short. So, I’m hoping you’ll do that for me. Along with telling me what you think. Am I bugging with my theory? Are there some other folks out there who deserve a holiday as well? Or is Martin Luther King Jr. the most important figure the kids should learn about?
Seattle – Hurry Up, We’ve Only Got 26 Days Left – Washington
26 Responses to “There’s More to Civil Rights Than MLK Jr.”
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You’re absolutely right about MLK Jr. He wasn’t the end all be all for the civil rights movement. The reason he gets a large portion of the credit is because he was willing to be a figurehead for the movement on a national level. There were tons of other MLK’s but none wanted to go national. They were making strides in the local community and were willing to follow someone who would lead a movement. Not saying that being an activist on the local stage couldn’t get you killed, but operating on the national stage for civil rights took heart. Malcolm and Martin took the job of demanding rights on the national stage knowing the risks to them and their family.
MLK was the original Barack. He was an intelligent Negro that wasn’t”scary black” (revolutionary). Whites weren’t scared by him and his “requests for the COnstitution to prevail”. He was just an annoyance. Now Malcolm on the other hand 1. pissed him off by being audacious enough to call whites devils while on national television and DEMAND civil rights 2. he intimidated whites with “by any means necessary”. It probablly reminded them of what they read about slave revolts. lol
I think most young black guys feel as though they were more motivated by Malcolm X. The reason you cited for us not having Malcolm X’s b-day as a national holiday are right… plus he was a Muslim. We all know how the U.S. feels about Muslim leaders…(the GOP campaign this past Fall put the ignorance front and center)
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Seattle Washington Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:22 am
Why do you think young Black guys are more motivated by Malcolm over Martin?
And you’re right. Malcolm’s religion is probably the other reason he wasn’t even thought of for a national holiday.
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Satya Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 am
Both were dynamic public speakers, but Malcolm’s style is more relatable to young men of today. You can tell he is highly intelligent in his speeches but there is a fire and he’s a little rough around the edges. King appeals more to the church folks and older people. Perhaps it is because X went from a negative life in the streets to positive and trying uplift and better his community. King can be viewed as the black kid who grew up in the suburbs and had all the advantages (2 parent home, lived in a house, college educated father, a father that never left, and financial stability). X is more the kid that grew up in the hood that had everyone telling him he wasn’t going to be anything (plus his father was killed when he was young, his mom had anervous breakdown, he was in the foster care system, he chased money and fast women, he had to do a bid but didn’t let it break him). I know that the “hood” is not all young black men’s reality or mentality.
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I was gonna comment about this when you posted on inaug day about Barack not being more important to black people but I had just come from the inauguration and I was tired. What I was gonna say was that MLK was really just the face of the civil rights movement and there were other driving forces (Abernathy, Wilkins, Lewis, etc) who did the background work but never got into the limelight like MLK.
What is different (not more or less important) about Obama is that he managed to successfully execute what King talked about in his letter from the B’ham jail… About bringing people together of all races, religions, beliefs, ages, etc. and especially motivating and mobilizing those who would normally remain silent. Being at the inaug really put that into perspective for me, and made Obama’s presidency all the more important to ALL Americans, including blacks (who can now feel like part of that word… Americans).
Anyways, one thing about King I feel even as a Christian is that he didn’t always practice what he preached. Some of his personal shortcomings (supposed plaigarism, infidelity) make him less of a role model for me as someone like Malcolm X… who really stood by his beliefs and even backed away from the Nation of Islam when he found out about EM’s indiscretions. I also saw him come full circle in his lifetime, and at the end of his life, he wrote (read his autobiography) that he had been wrong about the white/Christian devil and realized that in order for us to move forward, we had to come together in spite of our differences. What he did with his anger/hate was create an alternative for govts and whites to “prefer” King’s plan over X’s. Which was brilliant in hindsight.
Basically, it IS important that we know that King/Rosa Parks and even X were not the only ppl in the civil rights movement. To this day, blacks are making history and should be recognized for their strides. It’s amazing to me how much black people DON’T know their own history; we should take it upon ourselves to educate ourselves and our children, because you’ll never know how far you can go without first knowing how far you’ve come.
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Fabulous post. I made this same argument against your “Barack’s Place in Black History” post but worried how people would react when/if they ever read it (it was a little intense.)
When I think of the Civil Rights Movement the first people I think of are Medgar Evers, Robert F. Williams, and Bayard Rustin.
Evers was one of the forefather’s of the Movement, he was among the first who had the courage to stand up against opression; his legacy is one of a man who had the intelligence to establish a foundation for change, effectively. Having been rejected from law school, he educated himself on the law and lent a strong arm in the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education.
Williams was the inspiration behind the Black Power Movement and great friend of Malcolm X. His autobiography prompted me to read the autobiography of Malcolm X and it was an amazing prelude. As the president of North Carolina’s chapter of the NAACP, he identified the severity of danger from the KKK in the South and propogated armed self defense.
Now for my favorite, Bayard Rustin. He conceptualized the informally known I Have a Dream speech years before Dr. King made it. Not only was it his vision, he largely wrote it and designed its delivery. The reason he’s not known on a large scale is because of his sexuality. His identity as a gay man did not fit the image of what the Movement was trying to build so he was kept behind the scenes. This is going to seem so dramatic, but his book, Down the Line: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin changed my life.
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Great post. My homegirl is taking a Women’s Civil Rights class and has put me up on so much that I’d never known about.
Google: Claudette Colvin or see:
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/bio_colvin.htm
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Hey guys. I’m moderating!
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I think that the Civil Rights Movement started way before the Civil Rights Era. I think it started in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s with the Dubois vs. Booker T debates. These were some of the first documented discussions of how black folk could attain their rights (It always amazed me how their dynamic was very similar to that of X vs MLK).
I think we have to remember the intellectuals that influence both MLK, X and other civil rights leaders like William Leo Hansberry and Frederick Douglass.
I think we have to remember the people who may have taken part in the revolution in their own special way, the Phylis Wheatleys and the Paul Lawrence Dunbars and the Maya Angelous and the James Baldwins and the August Wilsons, who hid their rebellion in their works.
Lest we forget about the black folk who simply achieved against odds placed before them. The Most Honorable Dr. Ernest Everett Just, the Percy Julians, the Garret Morgans, the Carter G. Woodsons, the Colonel Charles Youngs and the Charles Drews
(you know I had to throw in a plug for the frat that begins in an Omega and ends with a Psi Phi).
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Seattle Washington Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:31 am
True sir. We often forget out their predecessors. It’s amazing how similar the debates between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. duBois were to Malcolm and Martin.
I wonder if the kids will forget about Malcolm and Martin now that Barack is here.
Oh and I wouldn’t expect anything else. I had to plug a member of the most prestigious, dimensional fraternity of the world within the post.
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Satya Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Amen. Had me thinking I was in church for a second. You’re right I think a great deal of people have forgotten how similar the DuBois\Washington sparing was to King\X. Is it possible for certain black leaders views to become obsolete? I think both were great men, but Booker T’s views were those of a man barely past slavery. While it is true that we do need black people to be blue collar workers I think this argument has become scape goat for some young men. My cousin is in his late 20s and his highest career goal in life is to get a job working for NYC Transit. Is there anything wrong with this? Not at all. He cites Booker T when you ask him why is that your highest goal at 27. Clearly he’s intelligent b\c he even knows part of T’s argument, but lazy. Both should be remembered but not necessarily practiced
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Cant think of anything to rhyme with Peyso Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Your cousin is not who Booker T was talking about and his on the surface knowledge of Booker T proves that. Booker T was talking about people with limited potential not people who simply chose to do less.
Black leaders do become obsolete just like leaders of other colors do too. Young white folk aint really talkin about FDR anymore. You dont hear the name Gandhi that much anymore.
I hope they learn about Malcolm and Martin (and their transgressions) first before they forget about them
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Lovely, Mr. Seattle Washington. A Malcolm X holiday. That’ll be the day. I will give whomever makes this so
a terrorist fist bumpa big fat hug and kiss. Negative points if it is in February, though.“If you want to go real far left, there’s Nat Turner. Another historical figure buried deep in the history books. Why? Well, he led a slave rebellion that killed one hundred White slave owners. I think you can guess why the History books glaze over his contributions to freeing Black people here in America.”
And I wish a 2520 WOULD justify this exclusion with “Well, MLK was non-violent, that’s why he gets the holiday and Mr. Turner doesn’t?”. I mean, that’s the only thing they could come up with. Not even knowing that those 2520s George Washington and Thomas Jefferson got their holidays due to violence. It’s just a matter of who was doing the violence and who the violence was being done to. I mean, of course us Black folks are more proned to be violent. *eye rollin’ so much I now actually have eyes in the back of my head*
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missjess Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
My mother actually works for a black school district, and their students get the day off for Malcolm X’s birthday. I always found that interesting, because my brother and I were in a predominately white one, and never got that day off, nor was it even acknowledged that X might be important enough for a holiday.
Then again, the “black history” that we were taught in the 2520 district was completely different from what my mom’s students would have been taught, had their students had the proper resources to learn, but that’s an entirely different issue.
The issue about the holidays being based off nonviolence should just be laid to rest, because here in Illinois, we get a day off in March for Casmir Pulaski, a Polish Revolutionary War Hero…odd, I know, but apparently there is a large concentration of Polish in this state.
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Cheekie Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
“My mother actually works for a black school district, and their students get the day off for Malcolm X’s birthday. ”
Wow, that’s wonderful! Hoping the rest of the country catches up.
“The issue about the holidays being based off nonviolence should just be laid to rest, because here in Illinois, we get a day off in March for Casmir Pulaski, a Polish Revolutionary War Hero…odd, I know, but apparently there is a large concentration of Polish in this state.”
As a fellow Illinoisian, I co-sign wholeheartedly.
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I don’t know if we do anybody a special service by naming a day after them. If we were in the habit of doing that, all our days would be named for someone of importance as so many of our modern inventions and concepts were introduced by black people. What I’m more concerned/worried about is the huge gap that exists in our and our children’s understanding of what is means to black in America, the continuum of struggle that started as a spark and that still steadily burns, contrary to the current media portrayal that the United States, the world, is particularly accepting of, alright with and willing to celebrate diversity. Our children are lost. I teach 6th grade. In honor of the great local people who are lesser known, but whose contributions greatly impact our city, I designed a research project with my students around “Notable Black Memphians”. “What’s a Memphian?” was one of the first questions that was asked. HUH?? Then, I became so saddened by my students’ disinterest and closed-minded attitudes about the project, specifically, and learning their history, in general. When will Black History be an appropriate component of American History? It should be in our school’s curriculums nationwide. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here.
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Cheekie Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
“When will Black History be an appropriate component of American History?”
This is a question I hope is answered sooner rather than later. Especially with our new President. Not saying he could specifically make this so, but since the very ideals (i.e. his impact on Black Men, Black families, etc) are swimming around nowadays because of him, expanding Black History to more than just a month should be one of those ideals.
So many events that are considered Black History helped shaped the history of America itself and I’m appalled at how often my wee little Black sisters and brothers have to venture outside of school or take an “elective” class in order to learn about themselves.
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Cant think of anything to rhyme with Peyso Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Though we may see Black history as a part of American history, it will never be considered a component of American history because I firmly believe that in this country we will never be seen as anything other than “other”. How can someone acknowledge our history as a part of theirs when they barely see us as a part of them?
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Being raised with the influences of Nation of Islam, my brother- in law, would have me spend most of my early teenage years engaged in readings of Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. I never subscribed to the doctrines of MLK.
While “By Any Means Necessary” might be a famous mantra that most people know Brother Malcolm for, it was quite difficult as an adolescent to memorize that
” I have a Dream Speech” with my upbringing. Of course the non-threatening “Negro” is what mainstream wants to see. And so we have it…
All Civil Rights Leaders from the 60′s ever get is an elementary school/junior high school in the urban community or street that Cops never want to be assigned to.
..
All Civil Rights Leaders from the 60′s ever get is an elementary school/junior high school in the urban community or street that Cops never want to be assigned to.
just my thoughts….
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I don’t have the time or knowledge really for a long response, but I just wanted you to know that this was very well written and I totally agree.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Much appreciated Ms. Sprinkles.
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Agreed. As with anything there will always be nameless, faceless individuals who don’t get the credit they are due. It’s the price you pay for change.
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Great post…
To answer your questions:
Malcolm was too potentially violent (for white people)
Huey was too potentially violent (and gay)
Nat just killed way too many white folks (bastards!)
It’s a shame that we not only have one holiday (two if you live in DC, because we have Emancipation Day).
Also, as we’re throwing out names of important people, let’s not forget the women who RARELY are ever mentioned… not the first black woman to sing something, or act somewhere (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but the scholars and activists who not only raised children, and held down their families but were also out there fighting just as hard as Malcolm, Martin, and Huey…
Harriet Tubman
Ida B. Wells (my personal favorite)
Sojourner Truth
Fannie Lou Hamer
Septima Poinsette Clark
Mary Church Terrell
Nannie Helen Burroughs
Angela Davis
Assata Shakur (on a real note, now that Obama is in office can we please FINALLY pardon Assata?)
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as a Chicano, I feel that MLK is the only one from the civil rights movement that speaks to all people, not just blacks, his “I have a dream” speech is the best speech in all the English language
because he spoke about equality of all, not just for blacks, whites, but for everybody
the Brown Power movement grew from the example of the black civil rights movement
we have our own heroes, but they do not transcend our own people, I don’t expect you to understand Cesar Chavez or honor him in more than a perfunctory way if you live in California, but to farmworkers/Mexicans he was big
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Seattle Washington Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
First off, welcome to Three Ways Chago.
Second, you’re right. Black people often forget about MLK Jr’s affect on other races that the other leaders may not have had. It’s amazing that he inspired so many that we don’t even think about. Happy to have your perspective on the issue and hope to see you again on the site fam.
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Agreed. Extremely well written. The only thing wrong with having a national holiday as we do for MLK is the fact that most people don’t observe it in any way. I try to do something service oriented, read or listen to his speeches, or at the very least attend or watch some programs. We used to have marches and all day workshops locally (yes, in Iowa…lol) , but they have been scaled back in recent years. I plan to do something about that really soon.
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thx Seattle Washington & Golden Lady
I hope to contribute in a positive way to future discussions
I believe that without MLK, the Civil Rights movement would still be stalled until someone was able to articulate the hopes & aspirations of black people in a way that transcends race. Because any other way, would have stirred animosity, fear & hatred among the majority whites that supported the power elite.
Malcolm X, “by any means necessary” comes to mind, how far would blacks have come if that had been the rallying cry?
anyway, there’s more to be done for equality, but thats another post
peace, love
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