Our current age of mass information tends to mean that no legacy is safe. Every holiday comes with a period of reflection that, combined with new information, usually means that there are reasons to reanalyze the importance and significance of certain public figures. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is no different. I have always viewed MLK as an inspirational figure, someone that achieved massive gains for the civil rights movement through nonviolent means. He used creative methods to bring together people from all walks of life in pursuit of racial equality. Despite all his efforts though, Black people in America still have a long way to go in the fight for equality and justice.
As an activist myself, MLK’s teachings are very important to me. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by the police in 2020, I led a march that culminated at the MLK memorial in D.C. Once there, I gave a tear-filled speech in which I encouraged everyone to sit and reflect on what exactly we were fighting for. I reminded participants of the importance of perseverance and determination, especially considering all those that fought before us and how long the fight has been going on.
MLK was hugely influential to me during that time, we lead various marches, rallies, and public disruptions that, like those before us, were often met with violence from the state. The actions and responses from some of our comrades were then used to justify these methods. Peaceful protests were classified as violent riots. The words of MLK were used to condemn the very same people that were carrying on his legacy. My respect and appreciation for MLK is limitless but I am now very wary of those that attempt to use his message to suppress the very same movements that he would have championed.
One of the loudest voices in the D.C. community is Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, leader of the “Long Live GoGo” movement, organizer of “Moechella”, and much more. Yaddiya views MLK as a human first, someone with flaws and inconsistencies. He acknowledges that MLK was a trailblazer and advocate for unity and peaceful demonstrations in the struggle for equal rights, particularly when it came to voting. Yaddiya is skeptical though, of the power of peaceful protest.
“If it was always possible to settle matters with nonviolence then there would be no wars, and that is was this country and world is built upon.” He later clarifies that “peacefully demonstrating is something that I truly believe in, but at the same time there are levels to this and it depends on how radical you want to get. Disruption always draws attention, and that’s what you need sometimes.”
Yaddiya doesn’t think that anyone would know how MLK’s politics would have evolved, “Any time you talk about history, it’s like a game of telephone. A lot of times the narrative or the person’s true sentiments get lost in translation and we just have a bunch of people assuming what this person would probably want.”
He does however believe that he would have expanded and connected with other leaders that had other ideas on how to change things. He would have been open to different ideologies and methods of change.
No matter what you think of the man, Martin Luther King Jr. has influenced countless movements and activists over the past 50 years and continues to be a bastion of civil rights and the fight for equality for all people.
