Here are some comments on the facebook page of Dr. Boyce Watkins in response to the article on Dr. Martin Luther King that was written for TheGrio.com.
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Ariel Louise his personal life absolutely does NOT damage his legacy .... the sins of his flesh were just that .... not sins of his heart or conviction re social change local and global
10 hours ago · Like ·
6 people -
Donna Turner I am not ready to read this quite yet. However, I am looking forward to doing so tomorrow.
10 hours ago · Like
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Tina Tee I don't understand why this is a topic for discussion! How could RUMORS of infidelity in a personal relationship tarnish the legacy and life of Dr. King?!?! This is silly...smh. I would expect this on FAUX news..
10 hours ago · Like ·
2 people -
Xamytykr Belle-Scott He paid the Ultimate Price for his People, DEATH. An Alleged adultery can not touch Rev. Dr. King and the Mrs. Corretta Scott King Leagacy.
-Job Well Done -MLK & MSK my good and faithful servants.10 hours ago · Like ·
2 people -
Gloria Wesson Menyweather-Woods 1. The slant of the article was not necessary...2. Research his life before you say he should have never married....he was married and Pastoring when he was thrust into the leadership position for the boycott. He did not go to the meeting looking to become the leader and almost lost his Pastorate because of it.....3. WE CAN NEVER BE AS GREAT AS DR. KING.....SOME THINK THEY CAN BUT I PERSONALLY DO NOT BELIEVE IT WILL EVER HAPPEN!!!
10 hours ago · Like ·
2 people -
Goldie Taylor III He dies years ago. Why does anyone care who he slept with?
10 hours ago · Like
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Donna Turner Tina, he probably did have extra-marital affairs. Does that really discount the incredible impact this man's life had on humanity? I say no.
10 hours ago · Like
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#*%^ --I'm so tired of this! Granted, like Dr. King-We are all humans, we all have flaws.. shall Dr. Kings adultry be an openbook? Do I want to read "said" book? NO! I wish they leave Dr. King alone! Bring Peace to this matter, i don't w.....See More
10 hours ago · Like
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Goldie Taylor III Why dont people ever do a story on the hoes that go after married men or hoes that sleep with preachers? Take away the product, eliminate the problem!!
10 hours ago · Like ·
1 person -
Donna Turner "Cause the "hoes" had nothing to lose and everything to gain by sleeping with a man of power? Maybe??? You tell me, LOL.
10 hours ago · Like ·
1 person -
Christyles Nikki "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. "
10 hours ago · Like
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Tina Tee @Donna- that is my point..even if the rumors are true, it does not trivialize the impact that made has made. However, the discussion is based on RUMORS..it makes it even more ridiculous!!!!
10 hours ago · Like ·
1 person -
Theodore Foster good piece for the grio...I was a little worried at first...although we never have discussed the courage of Coretta in this equation. This holiday is dedicated to a man who by all accounts was a great man through her as an intelligent, savvy, Black woman who supported him through his adultery(Elizabeth Roberts did not, who may be an apples and oranges example) but it's a topic that deserves some discussion of Black women in these situations
10 hours ago · Like
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Donna Turner @ Tina: what if the claims could be substantiated? What would that change?
10 hours ago · Like
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Tina Tee @ Donna- not a thing(as mentioned above)
10 hours ago · Like
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I don't put Dr King on a pedestal. I see him as a man who saw the need to sacrifice himself to bring about change in this land that would otherwise not have come for a very long time. That sacrifice meant not only his life, but also meant ...See More
10 hours ago · Like ·
4 people -
Theodore Foster @ Tina, they are not rumors, the facts have been documented in Taylor Branch's trilogy of books on Dr. King, esp the last book At Canaan's Edge, there's a lot of reasons why he may or may not have been adulterous but like Dr. Watkin's article reads, it doesn't diminish him and if anything puts his tremendous work in greater historical perspective
10 hours ago · Like
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Tina Tee ALL- the point is...IT DOES NOT MATTER! Rumors or substantiated fodder...neither diminishes the impact of Dr. King!!
* Good Night!9 hours ago · Like ·
2 people -
Scotty Reid Why is Jerry Springer one of the most watched shows, why is divorce court a popular program. People like reading about or hearing about others peoples problems and dirt. Does the Bible say something about idle conversations and gossip? I think it does and so that is another flaw among humans, we love to pick through others people garbage. Perhaps talking about his good deeds isn't enough to generate views on a website or make people pick up a paper so for the sake of profit, lets print rumors or cast stones.
9 hours ago · Like ·
1 person -
Tony Rivers Why wait until the one day that you celebrate a man to ask this question? Dr. Boyce personally I think your timing is off and there is much more to focus on.
8 hours ago · Like ·
3 people -
Gloria Wesson Menyweather-Woods
@Darryl....I agree with you on why as a people do we always tear down each other. We will search for things to use. It does not look well for us assisting our causaion counterparts with disparging remarks about Dr. King and President Oba...See More
7 hours ago · Like ·
2 people -
Edgar James no, no connection and ditto t tivers a gwmwoods. never thought he was other than a man!
5 hours ago · Like
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Dwayne Jenkins Great job Dr. Watkins. I don't believe most of the people who posted comments read your article. I will admit , at first I thought this would be disasterous...but upon reading the article you were professional, informative and serious in your tone. I'm happy that you treated your audience like adults and woke them out of the " dream state " they have been lulled.
4 hours ago · Like
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I thin Dr. King was human like every other man I know, which if statistics are any indication most have, are, or will cheat. Now with that said, his courage and conviction set him apart--and part of his legacy is that he knew he would die f...See More
3 hours ago via Facebook Mobile · Like ·
1 person -
We make mistakes because we are human and we live in an imperfect world run by imperfect humans; it's that simple. No man, not even Dr. King was or is perfect and no man, no country, no group nor any organization has all of the answers. We ...See More
about an hour ago · Like
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Michael White Why haven't they asked you to research who really killed Dr. King and the conspiracy sourronding it all.
19 minutes ago · Like ·
1 person -
These are really interesting comments. Here are some quick thoughts:
1) Dr. King is not a God - we can all be as great as him if we believe in ourselves. That's what he would want us to believe - he'd be repulsed at us sitting back and worshipping him the way that some people do.
2) His adultery has been researched and confirmed, I believe it. But that doesn't take away from his contributions to society.
3) I wasn't writing the article to research nor highlight the details of his relations with women. I wrote it to give a perspective on how our community might deal with the fact that he was less perfect than we've been taught to believe. We can't let people do a "Tiger Woods" on him and must remain focused on his contributions. But the best way to make people start thinking about something is to tell them not to think about it. So, by telling people to sit quietly and ignore the truth about King's life only makes them more intrigued and fixated on it. I say if we put it out there, there won't be a scandal.
The article was written with due respect to Dr. King. When I am dead and gone, if someone cares enough to remember my legacy, I want them to remember everything about Boyce Watkins, not just the good stuff. I need them to know that I am flawed in certain ways and overcame some of those flaws to try to make a contribution. I also want all of the kids who know anything about me to realize that not only can they match my accomplishments, they should expect to exceed them. That's what passing a torch is all about.
Stop putting King on a pedestal. He wouldn't want that. Also, the notion of having a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on our religious leaders' private behavior makes all of us look silly. If we can't talk about King in his entirety, then let's not talk about him at all. King Day Celebrations have not become honest reflections on a great man's life. They've become "we shall overcome" fests with all of us lying about America's past and present and about the life of Dr. King. We must be more intelligent than that - and we can all be as great as Dr. King....at least that's what I'm telling my kids: Emulate and learn from him, don't worship.
1 comment:
It is not a matter of putting King on a pedestal but if anyone deserves to be would be a good candidate just as his picture adorns the walls of many African Americans. It is also not a matter of not being able to discuss his human failings, it is the timing that is at question. Such an article would be expected on a Fox News website, not an outlet that should be sensitive to importance of celebrating his life around the the time of his birthday and National holiday. I am sure that on President's day African Americans discuss the hypocrisy of many of the slave holding Presidents, or the hypocrisy of the 4th of July, but again, many of do not understand why a website whose readership is predominately African American would chose this time to print such a piece.
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