Was going to order the book anyway, but this post got me to preorder. Coleman, your voice is a much needed breath of fresh air. (But don’t let that go to your head) :-)
Coleman, thanks for such a brief but powerful essay. I'm a 75 year-old white guy, raised in a lower-middle-class family, becoming upper-middle-class as an adult by dint of being blessed with a high IQ and becoming a family doctor. My first wife was from the "ruling class", which I embraced at first but ultimately saw through, and I, like you and Dr. King, came to identify class struggle as more encompassing than race struggle.
If you have five minutes, consider giving a look at my Substack essay for Black History Month from 2021, "Heroes, Hoaxers, and Haters"-- https://williame72.substack.com/p/heroes-hoaxers-and-haters . Have you ever heard of Madame C. J. Walker (nee Sarah Breedlove), the first self-made black millionaire? Or inventor Elijah McCoy, whose invention gave rise to the term "the real McCoy"? Did you know Jesse Owens set three world records in track and tied a fourth, all in a span of 45 minutes?
Keep up your marvelous work, Coleman, which is amazing stuff from a guy so young. Some day you'll be a worthy successor to Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and other luminaries.
Thank you Coleman! An article in The Free Press yesterday about MLK’s speech writer, Clarence Jones, included a Comment noting that MLK’s famous quote, preferring the content of character to the colour of skin as a basis for judgment, was about his own black children and was not intended to apply to all races. Interpreting it broadly as a dream of racial equality was wrong. Reading MLK’s later writings here indicates the narrow reading of his quote to be incorrect. Hallelujah!!
I’m reeeeaally looking forward to reading this book! There are so few voices out there that sound correct right now. It’ll be like unclogging the bathtub reading this book.
It’s a little known fact that immediately after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, his staff made sure to get rid of his cigarettes and tell his mistress to go home.
King hid his smoking habit from the public to avoid tarnishing not just his image, but also the Civil Rights Movement he was leading. He also kept it from his children for fear that they might pick up the vice themselves. As for his relationships with women, the reverend was quietly notorious for his extramarital affairs and his sexism. It’s reported that on the night before he died King was with two women, and got into a possibly violent argument with a third.
I don’t bring these sordid details up to vilify or malign King. On the contrary, I do it to revere him in a way his current status as a martyr, myth, and messiah doesn’t allow.
Was going to order the book anyway, but this post got me to preorder. Coleman, your voice is a much needed breath of fresh air. (But don’t let that go to your head) :-)
I am really looking forward to getting your book.
These are great points that should be clear to anyone who has read MLK. Unfortunately, most people don't anymore.
Coleman, thanks for such a brief but powerful essay. I'm a 75 year-old white guy, raised in a lower-middle-class family, becoming upper-middle-class as an adult by dint of being blessed with a high IQ and becoming a family doctor. My first wife was from the "ruling class", which I embraced at first but ultimately saw through, and I, like you and Dr. King, came to identify class struggle as more encompassing than race struggle.
If you have five minutes, consider giving a look at my Substack essay for Black History Month from 2021, "Heroes, Hoaxers, and Haters"-- https://williame72.substack.com/p/heroes-hoaxers-and-haters . Have you ever heard of Madame C. J. Walker (nee Sarah Breedlove), the first self-made black millionaire? Or inventor Elijah McCoy, whose invention gave rise to the term "the real McCoy"? Did you know Jesse Owens set three world records in track and tied a fourth, all in a span of 45 minutes?
Keep up your marvelous work, Coleman, which is amazing stuff from a guy so young. Some day you'll be a worthy successor to Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and other luminaries.
Thank you Coleman! An article in The Free Press yesterday about MLK’s speech writer, Clarence Jones, included a Comment noting that MLK’s famous quote, preferring the content of character to the colour of skin as a basis for judgment, was about his own black children and was not intended to apply to all races. Interpreting it broadly as a dream of racial equality was wrong. Reading MLK’s later writings here indicates the narrow reading of his quote to be incorrect. Hallelujah!!
Pre-ordered the book, eagerly awaiting it. Keep up the good work.
What an excellent statement to share on my Facebook page. Book is on order.
Well said!
Amen!
I’m reeeeaally looking forward to reading this book! There are so few voices out there that sound correct right now. It’ll be like unclogging the bathtub reading this book.
Here's how King is being remembered over at the substack of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism:
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It’s a little known fact that immediately after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, his staff made sure to get rid of his cigarettes and tell his mistress to go home.
King hid his smoking habit from the public to avoid tarnishing not just his image, but also the Civil Rights Movement he was leading. He also kept it from his children for fear that they might pick up the vice themselves. As for his relationships with women, the reverend was quietly notorious for his extramarital affairs and his sexism. It’s reported that on the night before he died King was with two women, and got into a possibly violent argument with a third.
I don’t bring these sordid details up to vilify or malign King. On the contrary, I do it to revere him in a way his current status as a martyr, myth, and messiah doesn’t allow.
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The rest of the piece can be found here: https://news.fairforall.org/p/mlk-wasnt-a-myth-or-messiah-he-was