(This column was originally posted more than a year ago on May 26, 2019, but it could have been written yesterday. We have watched left-wing protesters tear down statues of our American heroes like Washington and Jefferson because they were flawed human beings, yet there seems to be a double standard. No one on the radical left is talking about tearing down the statues of Martin Luther King Jr. even though he too was deeply flawed. He was an adulterer and apparently condoned the sex crime committed by one of his followers in his presence, yet his statues remain. For the record I am in favor of keeping all the statues of our former leaders because they are meant to honor their strengths, not to erase their weaknesses.)
Will they tear down statues of Martin Luther King Jr. now?
It has long been rumored that civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was a deeply flawed human being who engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior, but that has not diminished King’s stature as a history-changing figure who increased liberty for millions of people.
Now, however, a King biographer who is a member of the Democratic Socialist Party, has written of disturbing evidence that King not only engaged in extramarital sex, but also listened and encouraged as a colleague raped a female parishioner.
Supposedly the FBI secretly taped King and his associates in a hotel room in January 1964. The tapes are being held in the National Archives until 2027, but author David Garrow was able to gain access to FBI summaries of the tapes and presumably other incidents involving King. Garrow won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1986 book, “Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.”
According to the Daily Mail, “Writing in British magazine Standpoint, Garrow says that the shocking files could lead to a ‘painful historical reckoning’ for the man who is celebrated across the world for his campaign against racial injustice.”
Here are more graphic details from the Mail’s report:
“The shocking files claim that King watched on and laughed while his pastor friend raped a parishioner
“The recording from the Willard Hotel near the White House shows how King was accompanied his friend Logan Kearse, the pastor of Baltimore’s Cornerstone Baptist church who died in 1991, along with several female parishioners of his church.
“In King’s hotel room, the files claim they then ‘discussed which women among the parishioners would be suitable for natural and unnatural sex acts’.
“The FBI document says: ‘When one of the women protested that she did not approve, the Baptist minister immediately and forcefully raped her’ as King watched.
“He is alleged to have ‘looked on, laugh and offered advice’ during the encounter.
“FBI agents were in the room next door but did not intervene.
“The following day, King and a dozen others allegedly participated in a ‘sex orgy’ engaging in ‘acts of degeneracy and depravity’.
“When one woman showed reluctance, King was allegedly heard saying that performing the act ‘would help your soul’.”
If true, this will put to the test the Democrats’ position of no-tolerance for misbehavior among historical figures. Over the past several years, numerous statues have been torn down across the country as people have become aware that such historically significant people as Thomas Jefferson were also flawed human beings.
It sounds like King was more flawed than usual. How will the progressive left react? Denial? Projection? Anger? Will they tear down his statues?
I for one am happy to thank King for his contributions to American society. If he was flawed, so was President Kennedy, so was Thomas Jefferson, so was George Washington. So indeed were all historical figures except Jesus. The good and the bad have to be weighed against each other. We cannot pretend that people are perfect.
But if the Democrats give MLK a pass, but continue to tear down statues of Jefferson and others, then they will be exposed as hypocritical fools.
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Heartland Diary is solely operated by Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana. If you enjoy reading these daily essays, I hope you will consider purchasing one of my books. They are available through the following Amazon links. My new book is “How We Got Here: The Left’s Assault on the Constitution” and is now available in paperback and as an eBook. It’s 536 pages and chock full of research on the progressive movement and the patriotic heroes who have fought against it. My earlier books include “The Media Matrix: What if everything you know is fake?” and the “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy. Part 1 is subtitled “Bush’s Global Failure: Half Right.” Part 2 is “Obama’s Fundamental Transformation: Far Left.” Part 3 is “Trump’s American Vision: Just Right.” As an Amazon Associate, I may earn referral fees for qualifying purchases through links on my website. Also consider subscribing to Heartland Diary on YouTube by clicking here for News Every Conservative Can Use. My goal is to reach 1,000 subscribers.
