Freedom Rider: Obama is Not King

by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

"The cheap artwork and mindless sentimentality that seeks to elevate Obama to the level of King and Malcolm X is an affront to the memory of those men."

In 2009, the official celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday will take place on January 19^th. Barack Obama will be inaugurated president of the United States on the following day. Obama's election is seen by many as the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream of a just society providing equal rights to all of its citizens. Despite the frenzied and dishonest efforts to link the two men, it is clear that Obama's elevation to power symbolizes not that King's hopes have been realized, but that they have been dashed.

It is right that King's birth should be celebrated as a national holiday. Unfortunately the nature of that celebration does little to tell us what King's actual achievements were or how they should be remembered. The man who is continually painted as a mere starry eyed dreamer was anything but. He did not want to end segregation solely for the purpose of elevating black people into high positions, as the Obama worshippers would have us believe. King never strayed from his goal of giving every American full citizenship rights, ending grinding poverty, and making the United States act as a force for justice in the world.

Despite the enormous odds against him, King succeeded in unleashing the pent up anger and righteous demands of millions of oppressed people. Because of those demands, President Lyndon Johnson and other politicians were forced to reckon with that movement and with King himself. Not only were the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act enacted because of popular pressure, but the very nature of American political life and society changed in ways that are still being felt.

"King never strayed from his goal of giving every American full citizenship rights, ending grinding poverty, and making the United States act as a force for justice in the world."

The power unleashed by the demands of millions of people gave King access to the highest office in the land. He was regularly consulted by the president and members of his cabinet when federal policy decisions were being made. King was in an unenviable position, which he used in the interests of the people who had put their trust in him. He is probably the only person in American history who gave up a close relationship with a president because his convictions demanded it.

King's opposition to the war had been growing and on April 4, 1967, a year to the date before his assassination, he made his strongest comments in a speech at Riverside Church. He denounced the war in Vietnam, and the country's reliance on "racism, materialism and militarism." King's decision to speak out on Vietnam effectively severed his ties with the most powerful politician on earth. In comparison, Barack Obama fought tooth and nail to become the president, the person who righteous people end up fighting against.

Not only did King make the hard choice to discard his partnership with Johnson, but in so doing he brought down the wrath of previously supportive politicians, and of some of his closest confidantes. The NAACP denounced King and disassociated themselves from his statement. Other SCLC leaders were angry that he chose to end his silence instead of compromising with the powerful.

"King is probably the only person in American history who gave up a close relationship with a president because his convictions demanded it."

Anyone who wins a presidential election does much more than compromise. The recent disclosure that the Obama campaign raised $750 million is proof. A would be president must spend years currying favor with wealthy, powerful people and promise them that the items on their agenda will always be front and center when policy decisions are made.

It is simply impossible to be both a fighter for justice and president of the United States. The two roles are diametrically opposed and inherently incompatible. The cheap artwork and mindless sentimentality that seeks to elevate Obama to the level of King and Malcolm X is an affront to the memory of those men who relentlessly fought powerful interests and paid with their lives in the process.

The proximity of the King Day celebration and the inauguration is a sadly ironic twist of fate. While Martin Luther King demanded that America behave as a civilized nation, Barack Obama is committed to preserving its corruption. The man who denounced war should not be seen in the same light as the man who vows to maintain "the strongest military on the planet."

The ignorance of history that elevates the corrupt with the incorruptible is terribly dangerous. The King day celebration was getting worse every year, and in 2009 it will symbolize the political nadir of black Americans. After giving all their votes to a man who offered them nothing, they now discard the memory of a man who ceaselessly fought for them. January 19^th and 20^th should not be celebrated. They should be days of mourning.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com. More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.

More Stories