Martin Luther King was a Brother
In the midst of the out-of-context quotes, old video clips and photos and historical amnesia that we usually see on Martin Luther King Day, it can be easy for us to interpret him as being a distant, nearly-mythological figure.
Mainstream media narratives tend to portray him as a one-dimensional, platitude-spewing, peace-loving “magical Negro” who was distinctly different from the rest of Black folks. However, that narrative is often ahistorical and does King’s legacy, and Black folks, a disservice.
It’s important to remind ourselves that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Brother. I don’t say “Brother” just in the sense that he was Black. That part is obvious, I mean that MLK was regular Black folk, and most importantly a human being.
And, in being regular Black folk and a human being, he did a lot of regular, human stuff.
First, we have to remember that King was country. Many people often broadly paint all of the South as being politically backward, neglecting the fact that some of the brightest and Blackest people to influence this world are children of the South.
Born and raised in Atlanta, he spoke with a slow, Southern drawl. He was fluent in the slang of his time, he could cuss when he wanted to, and didn’t always necessarily use the King’s English… no pun intended.
