View this email in your browser
Hello John,

Between the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday observance on Monday and the inauguration of a vice president with a multi-ethnic background on Wednesday, race will undoubtedly be a topic of much discussion in the week ahead.

And, considering the racial rioting over the last year – coupled with concerns about the recent breach of the Capitol – conversations will inevitably gravitate to the topic of protesting, and specifically what degrees of protest are acceptable.

On the one hand, there are the nonviolent protests for which Rev. King advocated. On the other hand, before she became vice president-elect, Kamala Harris advocated for a bail fund to help out rioters arrested in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd.

In PragerU videos, Project 21 member Derryck Green has previously discussed the history of racial protest in America – and especially the difference between modern-day Black Lives Matter protesters and the Civil Rights and Black Power activists of 50+ years ago.

Derryck notes that there is a definite distinction between today’s racial activists and the King legacy. He says:

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was a staunch advocate of Christian nonviolence.

Rev. King believed that – in refusing to respond in kind to violent attacks – civil rights activists would be living testimonies to the strength of nonviolent direct action, to Christian character and to the morality of their position.

Before the momentous march in Birmingham, Alabama, activists signed a statement promising to – among other things – refrain from violence, pray for freedom, seek service for others, be courteous and remember that they sought justice and reconciliation.

In contrasting Rev. King with Black Lives Matter, Derryck points out the negative consequences of modern protests:

Civil Rights Movement activists were strikingly different from today’s racial activists. Love isn’t on the agenda these days. Retribution is.

As we saw this past summer, contemporary racial activists reject nonviolence in favor of entitlement. These activists have a long list of grievances that they believe must be paid. This is how the violence, looting, rioting and vandalism are rationalized despite the social and economic costs to low-income residents who continue to suffer the long-term consequences of these destructive behaviors.

That isn’t reflective of the dignity of Rev. King’s civil rights activism. It’s reflective of the counterproductive tantrums of the Black Power movement of the 60s and 70s.

Derryck concludes, “The left has appropriated the morality of Rev. King’s public ministry to shield it from facing criticism for having undermined much of what the civil rights icon accomplished.”

READ ON OUR WEBSITE
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Help support The National Center
A gift to The National Center will be used to fund critically-important programs not offered by any other group, including:
  • The Free Enterprise Project (FEP), the liberty movement’s only full-service shareholder and activism group that’s effective in pushing corporate America to the right;
  • Project 21, the liberty movement’s only public relations agency for black conservatives and libertarians that has already created over 40,000 media opportunities;
  • The Environment and Enterprise Institute (EEI), which counters misinformation being spread by the environmental left.
DONATE NOW

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.

READ MORE FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER
CONNECT WITH US
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Website
Copyright © 2021 The National Center for Public Policy Research, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The National Center for Public Policy Research
20 F Street NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.