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   From: rkoch@banmlkday.com   
      
   “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem   
   brings us face to face with another problem.” – Martin Luther   
   King, Jr.   
      
   On Monday, January 19, 2015, the U.S. will celebrate Martin   
   Luther King jr. This man who sang along with his Baptist church   
   at the premiere of Gone With The Wind in 1939, is known as the   
   most famous American Civil Rights leader in history. The   
   Reverend and Doctor, Martin Luther King jr. is celebrated every   
   January as a hero and an icon. What does he mean today, however,   
   in a racially charged 2015? The truth is slippery and   
   problematic, and so many other deserving names of our   
   forefathers and foremothers have been lost in the distant sea of   
   time.   
      
   Plagiarism ?   
   The fact of the matter is Black History is stained with cases of   
   plagiarism. Some theorize this was a natural response to an   
   unwelcoming academic world. In the case of the Reverend Dr.   
   Martin Luther King Jr., the New York Times reported in 1990 that   
   Clayborne Carson, the Stamford historian researching Dr. King’s   
   papers found “a pattern of appropriation, of textual   
   appropriation,” in his PhD dissertation. This discovery came   
   right at the time secrets and truths began to become uncovered   
   about the man and his sexual misdeeds.   
      
   Sex ?   
   Most of the shocking Sex scandal accusations were raised by J.   
   Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s also problematic leader. There are   
   obviously exaggerated allegations of sex parties, adultery, and   
   worse. A recently discovered uncensored  letter from the FBI   
   denounces MLK’s  “evil playmates and… orgies.” Now, I believe   
   people should have as much fun as they want, assuming everyone   
   is a consenting adult. But King prided himself on being a   
   spiritual leader, and this is contrary to what he preached.   
      
   Christianity ?   
   The Civil Rights movement led by the Black Church in the 1960's   
   is problematic for me as a Pagan woman of color — for sure. Even   
   within this public struggle for equality, first hand accounts   
   often tell of women left to run the kitchen and the home. Who   
   has to be in the kitchen, who has to be in the back of the bus…   
   when the lower status positions are determined based on the   
   color of one’s skin, or what is or isn’t hanging between their   
   legs — we have a problem. Christianity, despite its doctrine, is   
   not always the most welcoming of religions. Civil rights takes   
   on a new character when viewed through the lens of continued   
   religious intolerance. While Christianity is for many a uniting   
   beacon, unfortunately it has been a weapon too, and for those   
   who have been hurt, this is hard to ignore.   
      
   History is written by the winners, and anyone paying attention   
   today can see that the Civil Rights struggle was not won after   
   the 1963 March on Washington, and is still a struggle today. So   
   what gets remembered will always continue to be spotty… I   
   certainly never learned in grade school that this legend was   
   possibly a Republican ??? Or that he and Coretta spent their   
   wedding night in a funeral home. I’m not saying this man isn’t   
   worthy of tribute, but let’s expand our knowledge and focus to   
   include some of the other pioneers of Black History – Marcus   
   Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston (Anthropologist and Folklorist),   
   Stuart Hall (Godfather of Multiculturalism), and others. We all   
   need a hero, I need a hero… I’m holding out for one, but maybe   
   St. Martin just isn’t it.   
      
   Leader, Problem, Adulterer, or Icon, what do you think? I would   
   love to hear your comments below. And remember don’t forget to   
   share the problem (this post).   
      
   http://www.patheos.com/blogs/voodoouniverse/2015/01/pondering-   
   the-problem-with-saint-martin-luther-king-jr/   
                   
      
      
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