Forty Years After the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Has martyrdom distorted the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.? That is one theory University of Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson examines in April 4, 1968, a superbly written eye-opening book. The first three chapters explore how death defined the great man's life; and how he learned to accept the probability that he might not make it to the mountaintop of the Promised Land he referred to the night before a bullet ended his life.

Also, when taking King's death into account, it is important to remember that threats of bombs and sniper fire preceded King wherever he went during the entire course of his life as a Civil Rights leader, which began in 1957. Long before his appearance in Memphis, his sermons and speeches clearly indicated that he placed more value on gaining social justice for black people than he did on his own life or a desire for longevity. It is also important to recognize that at the time of his death, King was less revered than he had been when he was named Man of the Year by Time and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963.

The press had begun to vilify him for speaking out against the Vietnam War. Financial support was slipping, and President Johnson had lost patience with the reverend, thinking King should have been appeased when he used his presidential powers to push forward the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Furthermore, King was planning the Poor People's Campaign--a march on Washington---organizing the poor of all races, which was certain to be a disruptive event of undetermined length in the capital city. Consequently, the public's perception of him as well as grumbling within his circle of trusted advisors, were beginning to take a toll on King's psyche and his ability to effectively lead in a new atmosphere of progressive militancy, marked by the rise of The Black Panther Party. Add to those troubling circumstances, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had instructed his agents to withhold information concerning plots against King's life. At the same time, Hoover was doing his best to discredit King as a flagrant adulterer with Communists ties.

From this historic perspective, Dyson believes posthumous manipulation of King's legacy has distorted his image. He asserts that, "Many whites want him clawless; many blacks want him flawless." The author reminds us of one of King's most controversial declarations: materialism, militarism and racism abolish any hope of true equality for blacks in America? King made other poignant observations that were considered radical; noting that when the government awarded grants to white immigrants, or gave financial aide to farmers, the programs were written off as subsidies. Money distributed to blacks, however, was called welfare. Mass unemployment among whites is a depression. Identical conditions in the black community, however, are labeled a social problem. Then there are the many white families who have benefited by wealthy inheritances passed down from the gains earned at the expense of slave labor.

Forty years after his death, looking at the numbers, King would not like what they tell us about the progress made since his departure from the scene. There has been a major decline in the median income of black families compared to whites. Children of poor blacks tend to remain in a state of impoverishment and are less likely than their white peers to match their parent's earnings, complete high school, own a home or live as long as whites. The only statistical category that blacks lead when it comes to gross numbers is how many of us are incarcerated and those who die violent deaths. These are but a few of the alarming statistics Dyson presents within the 290 pages of his book.

It is also noteworthy to add that Martin Luther King Jr. once described the Unites States of American as the greatest purveyor of violence the world has ever known. Although these sentiments were echoed in the recent recorded rants made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, King used such negatives as a means of identifying social problems that needed solutions and not as a preacher of doom. King knew that a redistribution of wealth and a major change in white people's attitudes about race were merely a few steps needed on a long march to any Promised Land. But he also knew that as long as some blacks, who rise to a level of affluence, castigate those less fortunate and mired in poverty, poor blacks with few aspirations and absent of hope, will always be with us and so will the lure of inner-city crime. Therefore, he often called on the upper-echelon of the black community to do more to help their less fortunate brothers and sisters.

Concerning King's legacy, perhaps we should all remind ourselves that the poor-of all races--were never far from his radar screen. And although he was a man born to privilege, he refused to own more than three suits. He donated all the earnings from his book sales to his former college and was known to spend more time talking to a janitor, who had crossed his path, than the time he often allotted to the press.

April 4, 1968 is well researched, thought provoking book that presents many starling facts in an easy to read manner. Hopefully, enough people will learn by reading it how far we have left to go as a nation when it comes to defeating poverty and racism--to become a true world beacon as the land of the free and the home of the brave.