“We forget now, but during his life, Dr. King wasn't always considered a unifying figure. Even after rising to prominence, even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. King was vilified by many, denounced as a rabble rouser and an agitator, a communist and a radical. He was even attacked by his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast or those who felt he was going too slow; by those who felt he shouldn't meddle in issues like the Vietnam War or the rights of union workers.” PeopleWarWinningFeltForgetIssuesRightsFiguresKingsUnionsWorkersRadicalRisingPrizeCommunistVietnamDrsVietnam WarNobelUnifyingNobel Peace PrizeProminence Author:Barack Obama
“I think he [King Edward] was a modernizer who was a new thinker. The things he intended to do - unify the country, expand it all from coast to coast - were very modern and radical in those days. Also, the fact that he married who he did and that he managed to deal with the consequences and ramifications of that marriage and stay on the throne until the day he died, that shows skill.” ThinkingCountryFactsShowsDealsModernKingsSkillsMarriedConsequenceDiedRadicalThinkerThronesCoastRamifications Author:Max Irons
“Martin Luther King was only an activist for 13 years and every year he changed and every year he became more radical. By the end he was calling for revolution. People don't know this because they go to too many prayer breakfasts on his birthday.” PeopleKnowsYearsEndsPrayerChangedRevolutionKingsCallingRadicalActivistBreakfastLuther Author:Bill Ayers
“If you read Martin Luther King speeches and sermons in the last two years of his life - you might want to - when I read these to my students, they think it's Malcom X because it's so radical. And if you read nothing else - if your viewers read nothing else - then the April 4, 1967, speech at Riverside Church called "Beyond Vietnam," that's where he says the greatest purveyor of violence on earth is my country. And he connects the triplets of evil, racism, militarism, and materialism, and that connection makes him a radical.” IfsThinkingWantYearsTwoCountryMightEarthLastsEvilChurchViolenceStudentsKingsSpeechRacismConnectionsRadicalTwo YearsMaterialismVietnamViewersSermonsLutherAprilMilitarismKings SpeechTripletRiverside Author:Bill Ayers
“[Martin Luther King] King was a socialist and King was an activist who was really a radical by the end.” EndsKingsRadicalActivistSocialistLuther Author:Bill Ayers
“In that respect, Martin Luther King, whom A.J.[Muste] advised in the civil rights movement, was also a radical pacifist.” RightsMovementKingsCivil RightsRadicalLutherCivil Rights MovementPacifist Author:Nat Hentoff
“I think it's important not to view Martin Luther King Jr. in a narrow political manner. His fundamental commitment is to a radical love of humanity, and especially of poor and working people. And that radical love leads him to a radical analysis of power, domination and oppression. What's difficult is to situate him ideologically under a particular category.” PeopleThinkingImportantPoliticalHumanityDifficultPoorViewsParticularKingsCommitmentFundamentalsOppressionRadicalAnalysisCategoriesDominationLuther Author:Cornel West
“It's clear that he was incredibly courageous in his critique of white supremacy, wealth inequality, and imperial power as it relates to war in particular. But it's easy to deodorize Martin King, to sanitize or sterilize him. And I simply want to reveal his radical love and his radical analysis as what they really were.” WantWarEasyWealthWhiteClearParticularKingsInequalityRadicalRelateAnalysisCourageousWhite SupremacyCritiqueSupremacyWealth Inequality Author:Cornel West
“The American Dream is individualistic. Martin Luther King's dream was collective. The American Dream says, "I can engage in upward mobility and live the good life." King's dream was fundamentally Christian. His commitment to radical love had everything to do with his commitment to Jesus of Nazareth, and his dream had everything to do with community, with a "we" consciousness that included poor and working people around the world, not just black people.” PeopleWorldI CanDreamChristianJesusBlackCommunityPoorConsciousnessKingsCommitmentAround The WorldRadicalCollectivesGood LifeBlack PeopleAmerican DreamLutherMobilityIndividualisticNazarethUpward Mobility Author:Cornel West
“Martin Luther King was a radical democrat, by which I mean someone who is a foe of wealth inequality.” MeanWealthKingsDemocratInequalityRadicalFoeLutherWealth Inequality Author:Cornel West
“Martin Luther King was not a Marxist or a communist, but his radical love leads him to put poor and working people at the center.” PeoplePoorKingsRadicalCommunistLutherMarxist Author:Cornel West
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” YearsSoulSpiritualNationsSocialChangeMoneyMilitaryKingsProgramInjusticeDefenseCivil RightsRadicalUpliftingJailMore MoneyDoomVietnam WarPeace WarPeace And JusticeMilitarismInspirational MilitaryWar CrimesEconomic JusticeBreaking SilenceKings SpeechSpiritual DeathSoul ForceSocial ProgramsMilitary SpendingEvils Of WarLesser KnownMilitary Discipline Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.