I’m sick and tired of censorship, not because censorship is inherently bad, but because the social contract I was given as a student included a lot of bullshit, but also the addition: at least you can say anything you want. The Woke Empire has revoked the contract without my consent, so there I go.
The moderators at Reddid deleted this post that I’m pasting underneath, and that’s the reason why I’m doing this. I have nothing to do with the post, and I don’t know how accurate it is. I just want this information to be out there for people to be able to research and make up their own minds.
Martin Luther King Jr.: A wife-beating, alcoholic fraud? A comprehensive update in 2021.
Mecca of Badhistory por /u/Granimal-Boofluff
[Note to self and reader: an update in 6 years will be greatly appreciated once the FBI recordings of MLK Jr are released to the public (2027). Some information has also been removed from this reuploaded post to fit the rules of this community. The comment section of the original is pretty insightful though.]
This will be an update on the MLK Jr controversies given new information and some new perspectives in the last 6 years.
6 years ago in the post (129) Martin Luther King Jr.: A wife-beating, alcoholic fraud? Gish Galloping at its finest., the user u/FFSausername addressed many extreme claims about Martin Luther King Jr which could have involved this figure in what is referred to as “cancel culture” [2].
This will be a brief update on the MLK Jr controversies given new information and some new perspectives in the last 6 years, especially about MLK Jr’s predatory behavior. I will be referring to specific claims the user makes and may include more relevant claims, as well as some concluding thoughts about this subject matter.
Trigger warning: there may be some difficult information about rape, but I believe it to be necessary for addressing some issues today.
Plagiarism and Fraud
The original post’s conclusion stands. Although King often lacked citation in almost all of his academic works (which is a direct definition of academic plagiarism), this behavior was not present during his professional scholarship [3].
Marital Abuse
The original post’s conclusion stands. There is no evidence I can find of MLK Jr abusing his spouse.
Sexual Abuse and Other Sexual Scandals
This is the main issue since the release of the FBI files in 2019. Puliter-prize author David J. Garrow summarized the series of FBI documents of MLK Jr’s sexual behavior [4]:
- Present during, and encouraging the rape of a woman [5]
- Multiple affairs with married and unmarried women
- Participation in orgies
- Direct exchange of money for sex (prostitution)
One report of King quotes him saying that he “started the ‘International Association for the Advancement of Pussy Eaters’” [6].
Many sources, often left-leaning, have moved to immediately discredit this claim. One post by the Washington Post has called this “irresponsible” while sources on the right have used this information to incite political opponents [7].
While some assert that the FBI may have fabricated a series of false statements and documents in an effort to undermine the civil rights movements (consistent with the FBI’s blackmail of MLK Jr), it is worth noting that none of these documents were leaked or spread until their release in 2018 – decades after his death [8][9]. In fact, the purpose and behavior of these documents corroborate the nature of Hoover’s FBI [9].
And past descriptions of MLK Jr from his close allies also support this view of him [10].
Whether or not these 50,000+ FBI documents remain true will be determined by the release of the surveillance footage and audio tapes of MLK in 2027.
Conclusion
[Removed – related to modern politics]
References
- (129) Martin Luther King Jr.: A wife-beating, alcoholic fraud? Gish Galloping at its finest. : badhistory (reddit.com)
- The Long and Tortured History of Cancel Culture – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Dissertation of Martin Luther King, Jr. | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute (stanford.edu)
- DJGStandpoint2019.pdf (davidgarrow.com)
- docid-32989551.pdf (archives.gov)
- docid-32989551.pdf (archives.gov)
- Martin Luther King Jr. sex allegations: David Garrow’s FBI evidence outrages historian – The Washington Post
- FBI–King suicide letter
- How to Make Sense of the Shocking New MLK Documents – POLITICO Magazine
- Black Leaders Demand Abernathy Retract Account of King (apnews.com)
- [Removed – related to modern politics]