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MLK and Malcom X
March 8, 2011 - 2:46pm
Malcom X and Martin Luther King were great men who spoke with great insight about issues of great importance. They gave hope and solace to many people challenged the established order, all the while speaking from a position of faith. They are both dead now, and there doesn't seem to be anyone to take their place. Lewis Farakan and Clarence Thomas are both right wing Lunatics, and Jesse Jackson, while he may be left-wing doesn't have the same fire that Martin and Malcom did. Why are there no theologically driven firebrands on the left? Have the prophets of progressive change all died out, or have they just been stifled by the mainstream media?
CMOT Dibbler: I think you should consider the role of Desmond Tutu. While I have very little use for any position driven by theology, I think Tutu fits the criteria you are laying out - he has reconciled theological considerations with a progressive human-rights driven vision of life. Apart from his work against Apartheid (Marks 1 & 2), his continuing contributions to the defence of the LGBT communities in the face of attack from established theological positions should never be underestimated.
Of course I doubt he would characterize himself as a "firebrand".
i agree i just don't think they're in america right now. Also, faith based activists are less visible with the decline in religion, and i think we tend to look at the work of movements more than an individual. But there are mass movements all over the place agitating for change much in the same way that mlk or malcom x did. i just think as time and the situation in a country changes, so do the tactics for activism.
Nowadays it seems there are just too many voices for one individual to have such a great impact, and the level of government propaganda is off the scales.
Or perhaps when the target audience is too middle class/well off they just don't get serious enough until they're destitute and are forced to pay attention, like during the depression or the civil rights era.
Michael Moore has about the biggest platform these days. I don't know how influential he is, though.
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/20/theyve_got_to_kill_me_they_cant_afford_t...