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On this MLK Day, it’s worth remembering that the conservative movement in the 1960s drew much of its energy from the white backlash AGAINST MLK and the civil rights movement more generally. The anti-BLM discourse of today is just a continuation of the anti-MLK talk of yesteryear.
A thread with more detail. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1278717570355302400
Many commentators at the time, and not just liberals, noted that Goldwater’s GOP seemed to be self-consciously branding itself, at the height of the civil rights movement, as “a white man’s party.” https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1272264794846814208
Here’s a thread on why the overwhelmingly Republican student body at Willamette University in Oregon rejected Goldwater in 1964. Because they thought his stance on civil rights knowingly courted bigots. And they did not like bigotry. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1279812134759575558
MLK was redbaited mercilessly by conservatives, even after his death. Here’s Reagan talking about this in 1983. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1335635119768391680
Here’s a thread on how the White Citizens Council radio show in Jackson, MS covered the 1963 March on Washington where MLK delivered the “I have a dream speech.” It might ring a few bells. https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1116784187116150784
