Martin Luther King, Jr. in feminist perspective then and now“I found an interesting paper by G

Martin Luther King, Jr. in feminist perspective then and now“I found an interesting paper by Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons titled: "Martin Luther King, Jr. Revisited: A Black Power Feminist Pays Homage to the King.”I urge you to read Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons’ paper in its entirety. It can be found in the JSTOR database available at university libraries. Visit jstor.org for a list of participating institutions.Simmons says King was sexist, but wisely goes on to “contextualize it within the historical period.” Judgments must be made in that context.“Sexism was definitely a problem throughout all civil rights organizations. Dr. King, not surprisingly – like most if not all men in the movement who were products of the Black Church and American culture was sexist. … The civil rights movement was hardly a model of female inclusion in the area of leadership. Patriarchy plagued the black freedom struggle on all sides. …All men had difficulty seeing women in leadership roles.”She goes on to say that “Kings inability to see movement women as his peers and even mentors prevented him from forging strong connections with radical black women who could have been his greatest allies in the struggle he was about to launch against economic oppression." She is speaking here about King’s "Poor People’s Campaign for Jobs and Income (PPC).”However, the wisdom of later life has prompts Simmons to say this, “ … I believe that if he had not been shot down in the prime of his life when his political and social thought was undergoing profound transformations, it is justifiable to think he would have advanced his consciousness about the social construction of gender roles and the injustice of patriarchy and sexism…" Read the full piece hereI’m not sharing this to dishonor Dr. King in any way - he’s one of my all-time heroes - but to show that we all have areas to work on, and that when an ally messes up, we need to lovingly call them out on it.Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons interviewed for the Civil Rights History projectGwendolyn Zoharah Simmons on PBS’ "This Far by Faith” -- source link

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