As has been customary for decades, millions of Americans celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. last week. But his legacy goes well beyond a single day.
40 years ago, after one of the longest legislative battles in its modern history, the U.S. established Martin Luther King Jr. Day in recognition not only of Dr. King’s leadership but also of the Civil Rights Movement’s moral force. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the national holiday.
Despite the increasingly hostile racial climate and backlash the Trump administration is engineering, America is considerably more racially integrated than the hyper-racially segregated nation in which Dr. King resided. Almost 60 years after his brutal assassination, the nation has witnessed Black Americans become mayors of the majority of its largest cities as well as governors, senators, vice president and president.
In 1954, upon receiving his doctorate from Boston University, Dr. King could have pursued a relatively comfortable life as a pastor by becoming part of the leadership of Ebenezer Baptist Church, following in his father’s footsteps. He could have led a well-respected, upscale, middle-class lifestyle in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Although he was the product of upper-middle-class southern Blacks, Dr. King opted to begin his own ministry as the spiritual leader of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Sadly, there are many individuals today quick to quote King’s rhetoric and messages. Members of the political right have feverishly attempted to rail against and disassemble the policies King supported. More than a few perversely invoke his landmark 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he stated his hope that children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” to denounce DEI and programs designed to help historically marginalized groups. Such disingenuous interpretations grossly misrepresent Dr. King’s true feelings about the issue of race. He steadfastly perceived race to be a crucial and pertinent factor in American life that had to be aggressively confronted, not minimized.
In a statement after the Trump administration released her father’s files last summer, Dr. King’s daughter, Bernice King, commented, “A 1967 poll reflected that he was one of the most hated men in America.” She further stated, “Many who quote him now and evoke him to deter justice today would likely hate, and may already hate, the authentic King.”
Speaking of hate, Dr. King would undoubtedly have been a vociferous critic of the alarming nationalist and fascist ideology increasingly saturating and dramatically capturing the conservative right’s political soul in America and the Western hemisphere.
To be sure, there are individuals across the political spectrum who perceive Dr. King’s efforts (and the Civil Rights movement) as a failure or, at best, a pyrrhic victory. These people believe America, as a nation, is so vehemently racist that Black Americans will never achieve genuine equality and freedom. They believe that, in spite of good and noble intentions, the Civil Rights Movement accomplished little to nothing in eradicating endemic structures of domination.
Although Dr. King would have been 97 years old this year, his age wouldn’t have stopped him from being on the front lines with other activists to denounce ongoing injustices. Unlike many of today’s so-called leaders, he would not have sacrificed his people or political constituencies for his own personal gain, but would have seen that, despite the progress made, there was still considerable work to do to “get to the Promised Land.”
Given the fact Dr. King has been dead for almost 60 years, many people tend to forget the progressive messages he attempted to convey. He was an ardent champion of economic justice, a fierce anti-militarist, and a tireless proponent for revolutionary and systematic transformation that confronted racism, anti-Semitism, poverty, and war. Unlike many of today’s so-called leaders, Dr. King was willing to confront standard orthodoxies of the status quo and endure personal consequences for his beliefs.
Today’s public figures could take a page from Dr. King’s playbook.
Copyright 2026 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.
