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The MLK Day of Service Forgets What King Stood For
The federal holiday needs a rebrand
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
In the half century since Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the civil rights icon’s legacy has been transformed. A revolutionary prophet has become a symbol of peace and colorblindness for the appeasement of White guilt. And much of that distortion stems from the federal holiday that carries his name.
Nearly 37 years after the enactment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (which was rebranded Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in 1994), King’s radical vision has been severely diminished. Instead of remembering one of the truth-telling, agitating anchors of the struggle against racial oppression, we’re left with a desensitized, neutered version of King that mischaracterizes the essence of his vision.
King’s analysis of racism and White supremacy as interwoven into the fabric of American culture has been baptized in the murky waters of an I-don’t-see-color ideology, one that erases his rightful anger and hunger for justice. The federal government and retail institutions alike have commercialized his image, diluting what was, in truth, the man’s radical political agenda. In its place is a softened, distilled…
