Which avoided assassination would've had the greater impact on our country, specifically dealing with race relations and civil rights?

 

Would the likes of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson even be relevant today? Would there be a need for groups like the NAACP, or things such as Affirmative Action? How would things be different than they are today?

I think President Lincoln.

 

MLK had such a great message and positive message, but it was harder for Lincoln imo because he was going against the grain when going against the was ripping the country apart. Not to sound racist either, but I think a white man standing up for african american rights is also a lot tougher than a african american standing up for their rights.

I think President Lincoln.

 

MLK had such a great message and positive message, but it was harder for Lincoln imo because he was going against the grain when going against the was ripping the country apart. Not to sound racist either, but I think a white man standing up for african american rights is also a lot tougher than a african american standing up for their rights.

 

 

This is part of my point as well. MLK had a platform. I'd say that 99% of black people at that time felt the same way as he did. He just had a platform to deliver the message.

MLK because if he had lived longer my gut tells me more African Americans would be voting Republican today. That's my selfish viewpoint.

 

In reality both were great men in our history and its travesty both lives were ended well before they should have been.

MLK because if he had lived longer my gut tells me more African Americans would be voting Republican today. That's my selfish viewpoint.

 

In reality both were great men in our history and its travesty both lives were ended well before they should have been.

 

Plenty of his followers are still alive and they vote democrat. That's always been a myth that he voted republican. Everything I have found has said that he never openly declared one way or the other. If you have links that prove otherwise I am wide open. I still think he is one of the most overrated folks in history. Along with Ghandi.

I ain't mad. I just remembered his rant when you said that. :lol: Rosa Parks too. :lol:

Cedric the Entertainer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always felt that way though. MLK is a great story for the history books as he provides some balance so the books aren't so whitewashed but in reality he's no different than Jesse and Al. He was a black man with a platform that white people happened to like and admire. He was also a known womanizer. And how did he make money? I'm fairly certain his family was well off.

 

 

I get that MLK was an inspirational figure and all but there is no comparison between him and Lincoln. Lincoln did more than just talk. Lincoln did more for me in 2013 than MLK ever could have.

 

MLK wasn't a racist like Al. That is the big difference I see between the two.

 

Plenty of his followers are still alive and they vote democrat. That's always been a myth that he voted republican. Everything I have found has said that he never openly declared one way or the other. If you have links that prove otherwise I am wide open. I still think he is one of the most overrated folks in history. Along with Ghandi.

 

I have to disagree with you on your view on MLK and Ghandi. They certainly became the face of their respective movements, but I don't think either would have happened at their times without their leadership. And I think both of their movements were tremendously important.

I have to disagree with you on your view on MLK and Ghandi. They certainly became the face of their respective movements, but I don't think either would have happened at their times without their leadership. And I think both of their movements were tremendously important.

 

I think both movements would have happened without them. I admittedly know very little about Ghandi but it seems he was a shrewd politician who in the game of politics used his image of seeking peace to defeat foes at all costs behind the scenes. MLK said some great things and did some great things but it wasn't him there would have been someone else. There are millions of blacks who were just as brilliant as he was believed to be that had less character flaws. He just had a bigger platform to speak to the masses. My father would have been a much better version of MLK if he wouldn't have been so awestruck by MLK and had the same platform. I'll never believe that MLK was or is more important than Tupac was in relation to their generations.

I think people need to give MLK more credit for what he accomplished.

 

He got the issue to the forefront and forced whites, many of them who we would not consider to be racists, to think about the plight of their black brothers and sisters. It was easy to assume it wasn't as bad as it really was. MLK's ability to challenge that thinking was key to progress IMO. He didn't have an impact on true racists. Their minds weren't going to be changed. However, for those who hadn't given it much thought he forced them to think and acknowledge that "hey, maybe I should be paying more attention to this."

 

That's a big accomplishment.

I think both movements would have happened without them. I admittedly know very little about Ghandi but it seems he was a shrewd politician who in the game of politics used his image of seeking peace to defeat foes at all costs behind the scenes. MLK said some great things and did some great things but it wasn't him there would have been someone else. There are millions of blacks who were just as brilliant as he was believed to be that had less character flaws. He just had a bigger platform to speak to the masses. My father would have been a much better version of MLK if he wouldn't have been so awestruck by MLK and had the same platform. I'll never believe that MLK was or is more important than Tupac was in relation to their generations.

 

I don't think there would have been someone who would have stepped in his place. He certainly had flaws and I'm not trying to write anything different about him, but there were many, many people at the time, including black leaders and most whites, that thought the whole civil rights idea was moving too fast (read his letter from a Birmingham jail). King was not only able to organize some of the important black organizations to join his in pursuing complete legal equality instead of some softer goal but to also participate in his non-violent movement and distance themselves from those who sought violence as a source of change. I believe MLK's nonviolent protests forced not only white America into dealing with the inhumanity of the racial discrimination of this country, but inspired black leaders that the time was right as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with its Voting Rights Act counterpart, was one of the most sweeping and important bills in this country's history and was passed by a hair, overcoming epic Southern filibusters. I don't believe Congress would have even taken it up had it not have been for MLK. Obviously, those bills and the civil rights movement didn't end racism by any stretch and maybe one could argue "they moved too fast," but it's hard to argue they would have existed the way they did without MLK. I think codified legal equality would have happened eventually without MLK, but not at that time and who knows when.

I don't think there would have been someone who would have stepped in his place. He certainly had flaws and I'm not trying to write anything different about him, but there were many, many people at the time, including black leaders and most whites, that thought the whole civil rights idea was moving too fast (read his letter from a Birmingham jail). King was not only able to organize some of the important black organizations to join his in pursuing complete legal equality instead of some softer goal but to also participate in his non-violent movement and distance themselves from those who sought violence as a source of change. I believe MLK's nonviolent protests forced not only white America into dealing with the inhumanity of the racial discrimination of this country, but inspired black leaders that the time was right as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with its Voting Rights Act counterpart, was one of the most sweeping and important bills in this country's history and was passed by a hair, overcoming epic Southern filibusters. I don't believe Congress would have even taken it up had it not have been for MLK. Obviously, those bills and the civil rights movement didn't end racism by any stretch and maybe one could argue "they moved too fast," but it's hard to argue they would have existed the way they did without MLK. I think codified legal equality would have happened eventually without MLK, but not at that time and who knows when.

 

 

That's a very convincing and informative post. Granted it is still speculation in some parts but I can give MLK a little credit for influencing congress to act at a time when they didn't have to. It does seem like MLK provided that motivation so I'll give you that.

Seemed slow? Way too slow. MLK gets a pass because he was liked and admired. If he was alive today he'd be louder than Jesse and Al when discussing Trayvon Martin. I'd LOVE to see reaction to that.

 

Coming from the white perspective, MLK seemed more proactive and less reactive. He, and the civic leader groups that held Dr. King as their voice, had a plan to bring National attention to police brutality and such in the deep south. He stayed progressive in his approach, from the municipal strike to serving a short prison sentence for PEACEFUL resistance. Jesse and Al, in my humble opinion, are looking to make a buck off of every crisis involving blacks. They are very reactive and are not ahead of anything besides the 9am rush at the bank to cash their checks. MLK's opinion on Trayvon would have been debated, but it would carry much more water than the Jesse and Al show.

Let's not forget, also, who the Emancipation Proclamation freed. It wasn't the slaves in Kentucky. That happened w/ the 13th Amendment.

Coming from the white perspective, MLK seemed more proactive and less reactive. He, and the civic leader groups that held Dr. King as their voice, had a plan to bring National attention to police brutality and such in the deep south. He stayed progressive in his approach, from the municipal strike to serving a short prison sentence for PEACEFUL resistance. Jesse and Al, in my humble opinion, are looking to make a buck off of every crisis involving blacks. They are very reactive and are not ahead of anything besides the 9am rush at the bank to cash their checks. MLK's opinion on Trayvon would have been debated, but it would carry much more water than the Jesse and Al show.

 

 

That's Jesse and Al now though. Didn't they both march with MLK? Wasn't Jesse at the hotel when MLK was assassinated? Are they not MLK disciples? Why should I believe he would be any different than them in 2013?

That's Jesse and Al now though. Didn't they both march with MLK? Wasn't Jesse at the hotel when MLK was assassinated? Are they not MLK disciples? Why should I believe he would be any different than them in 2013?

 

B/c it is easier to be a follower than a leader. They were never leaders, but once they were given the "baton" so to speak, their character was revealed. MLK's character had already been revealed. You know who he was.

B/c it is easier to be a follower than a leader. They were never leaders, but once they were given the "baton" so to speak, their character was revealed. MLK's character had already been revealed. You know who he was.

 

Yeah, a plagiarizing womanizer who made a few good speeches.