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Cartoons From the 1960s Reveal A Harsher Look At Martin Luther King Jr.

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Cartoons, political and otherwise, of the 1960s reveal a very different look at Martin Luther King Jr. than conventional wisdom espouses.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, CBR reposted a story from last year that looks at the scrutiny he endured while alive that widely differs from contemporary history.

Writer Brian Cronin notes: One of the frustrating things about the Black Lives Matter protests is that there seems to be a recurring theme of “That’s not how you’re supposed to protest.” We saw it back when Colin Kaapernick first knelt in protest during the National Anthem a few years ago. That was considered to be outrageous, but when more protests took place over this summer in reaction to George Floyd being killed, then it was “Why doesn’t everyone just peacefully protest?” until the various professional sports leagues all returned and, again, their peaceful protests were derided.

He continues: The irony, of course, is that when Martin Luther King was actually alive, that was not how the general public saw him and it was especially not how he was viewed by the sort of person who would be criticizing the Black Lives Matter protests today. It is fair to note that, for a time, Martin Luther King was, in fact, viewed by a large portion of the United States in the same way that he is currently viewed – as a hero (King currently has about a 90% approval rating among the American public). The famous comic book, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, was published in 1957 by the pacifist group Fellowship of Reconciliation (it was written by Alfred Hassler and Benton Resnik and drawn by Sy Barry) and it was widely distributed around the United States and much of the country, particularly the Northern states, greatly admired King.

However, after the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed in 1964 and 1965, respectively, public support shifted against King. King was no longer centering his protests towards the South, but was also protesting in the North and was beginning to address other issues, such as economic disparity (it is important to note that the famous March on Washington in 1963 was specifically titled “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” – people tend to forget the economic aspect of that event) and the war in Vietnam. A number of critics felt that King should stick to one sort of protest.

Read the full story here.

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