When the federal government declassified and released the FBI files on Martin Luther King Jr. on July 21, the impact hit home in Atlanta.
There is no other place in the world that has such a strong bond as Atlanta and its native son, MLK. And the reverse is true. No place stands to lose as much as Atlanta if attacks on King’s character and legacy go unchecked.
In conversations with several Atlanta dignitaries and civil rights leaders, a theme emerged. Atlanta and the King family must defend the amazing legacy of the civil rights leader.
“The City of Atlanta, the state, the country and the world are all better places today because of King’s legacy,” Egbert Perry, founder of the Integral Group, said in a brief interview on July 28. “There are very few people in history who would be able to claim having a greater positive influence in the world than Dr. King.”
Perry, who was born in Antigua and moved to Atlanta in January 1980, understands the special relationship Atlanta enjoys with the King legacy and the civil rights movement. That’s why he agreed to succeed former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin as board chair of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR).
“Atlanta should defend against any efforts to discredit the King legacy on which we all benefit,” Perry said. “King’s legacy was great for our souls and our pockets as well as our standing in the world.”
After the FBI files were released, the two living children of MLK and Coretta Scott King — Bernice King and Martin Luther King III — issued a statement criticizing the release of the FBI files.
“The King Center believes it is unfortunate and ill-timed, given the myriad of pressing issues and injustices affecting the United States and the global society, to distract from the critical needs and traumatic outcomes resulting from these issues and injustices,” the statement read. “If we are not careful, that is what the release of the FBI files could precipitate for many.”
The statement went on to say that the King Center is prepared for a heightened focus on King and his work to fight the “triple evils” of racism, poverty and militarism.”
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who worked side-by-side with King during the civil rights movement, said it was no secret that the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover sought to discredit King during the 1960s.
“I took the other position of just ignoring it, which is what I’ve done all along,” Young said. “I knew I needed to continue Dr. King’s work. I didn’t need to look back. I needed to look forward.”
But Young said the attacks today are not just about destroying King’s legacy.
“I’m concerned that Atlanta is the most visible success of Martin Luther King’s legacy,” Young said in a telephone interview on July 26. “It’s about destroying Atlanta. Atlanta is a danger to what [President Donald] Trump is trying to do because it’s been a successful city.
I’m concerned that Atlanta is the most visible success of Martin Luther King’s legacy.”
Jill Savitt, NCCHR’s president and CEO, said it is also important to remember the FBI was not neutral under Hoover. It sought to smear and undermine King as well as discredit the movement.
In its statement, the King Center recalled a memo dated Sept. 25, 1963, written by William Sullivan, the FBI’s deputy director, describing King as “the most dangerous and effective Negro in the country.”
Savitt said it’s important to remember that the FBI files were political documents aimed at discrediting King and the movement.
“There’s no doubt that the Trump administration is trying to attack the idea of civil rights and social justice,” Savitt said in a telephone interview also on July 26. “The King holiday, therefore, is threatened in this campaign to deny history.”
King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, fought hard to get King’s birthday recognized as a federal holiday. Legislation to do so was passed in 1983 during the administration of Republican President Ronald Reagan.
During his second inauguration on Jan. 20, which coincidentally fell on the King holiday, Trump blasted diversity, equity and inclusion, sending a message that his administration looked disparagingly on those attributes.
It wasn’t the first time Trump had used the King holiday weekend to share his views that ran counter to the civil rights leader and the movement.
On Jan. 14, 2017, Trump shot back at Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who had questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s election victory.
In a tweet, Trump said: “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results.”
The district of the late John Lewis incorporates much of the City of Atlanta. That tweet led CNN to issue a fact check countering that the 5th district was not in horrible shape.
On June 23, Trump also used the Juneteenth holiday, the day that commemorates the end of slavery, to declare there were “too many nonworking holidays.” Obviously, he was speaking against the Juneteenth holiday, but some are concerned he was also referring to the King holiday.
“The holiday is threatened. Dr. King’s legacy is threatened. The idea of civil rights is threatened,” Savitt said. “Atlanta, as the birthplace and brain trust of the civil rights movement, has a responsibility to protect the truth of history and its connection to society today.”
As Shirley Franklin sees it, most Atlantans have “embraced the King legacy” of fighting for justice.
“Dr. King, Coretta and the entire King family made their home in Atlanta for two, three generations,” Franklin said in a phone interview July 27. “The legacy doesn’t just make me and us proud. It’s motivation for us to try to live by those principles.”
She didn’t even want to “utter the thought” that the holiday honoring Atlanta’s “native son” was threatened.
Although Atlanta is “not a perfect city,” Franklin said it strives to live up to MLK’s ideals.
“People from all backgrounds have embraced the principles that were espoused by Dr. King and Coretta Scott King,” she said. “We strive to live it day in and day out.”
Young said it’s important to remember King was still a young man when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
“I refuse to believe that MLK, who didn’t live 40 years, has to defend what he did,” Young said. “Despite all the mistakes we made, I’m really proud of how we came out.”
For people who care about Atlanta’s civil rights history — we never would have won the 1996 Summer Olympics Game without that legacy — we must honor King and defend his legacy.
“Atlanta has a great brand around civil rights, logistics, business and progressive leadership — cooperation between business and government,” Franklin said. “Dr. King stands tall in that legacy.”
Click here to see a montage of Kelly Jordan’s photographs showing tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. around Atlanta.
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