I’m fed up with people hijacking Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy to stifle lawful protest

George Floyd’s murder is one tragic link in a seemingly unending chain of murders of black people by white men who believe that there is no accountability for their actions as long as the victim’s skin is black.

But, as is always the case when a black man is unjustly killed, there are certain powerful (white) forces within our country who now utilize painstakingly curated Martin Luther King Jr. quotes as a tactical shield against direct action, protest and the right to assemble. All of which are expressly granted in our Constitution.

Of course, we can’t ask Dr. King about it. He was gunned down on a motel balcony in Memphis before his 40th birthday, his life cut short by bullets from a white man’s gun. Those who would have been his fiercest opponents back then now feel free to pick and choose King quotes from an air-brushed and diluted King canon that we teach in our schools and repeat on his birthday.

I’m fed up with the half-truth. You should be too.

Now, more than ever, we should be talking about what happened to King, the most prominent civil rights figure in our nation’s history, on that motel balcony in Memphis.

It’s a tough, tough conversation to have. It doesn’t fit well into the simple, formulaic way that we “address” our sordid history on race. But the time for simple and formulaic came and went a hundred times in the eight minutes that that police officer’s knee was slowly, systematically shutting down George Floyd’s breath.

Open up your window, take a look out on your balcony, and really think about what it would’ve been like to have been King at that moment. To know that they were coming for you, that nobody in our government thought one of our nation’s most thoughtful leaders was worth protecting. To know that they only saw him as a threat.

What King said in his last speech is perhaps all we should be thinking about in this moment. He did indeed reach the mountain top. And We The People were the ones who sat idly by, letting him get gunned down at his pinnacle.

So, I ask that before you take to social media with “Gee, well, what would Dr. King say!” — just take a second to remind yourself that he’s unavailable for comment.

Adam Gunther, Uptown

George Floyd, Kent State

The killing of George Floyd conjures up memories from 50 years ago. That event has parallels to the Floyd killing, including its association with a haunting visual image that resulted in widespread outrage.

On May 4, 1970, students at Kent State University were protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia when Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on them. Thirteen were shot. Four died. An iconic photo shows a girl kneeling beside the body of one of those killed. For many, that photo said that the toll of the war had reached the point at which enough was enough.

After Kent State, it was almost three years before the U.S. finally ended military operations in Vietnam. Let us fervently hope that it will be far, far less than three years before police misconduct toward people of color is put behind us.

Gerald Weisberg, M.D., Lake View

Signs for pride?

Keeana Barber states she wants to give black businesses a sign “to be proud to identify themselves.” She also states her “goal isn’t to send would-be looters to other businesses.” Then finally, “There’s nothing wrong with identifying ourselves to protect ourselves.”

Pick one, Ms. Barber. Are the signs for pride, or are they for protection, as in “skip ours?”

No business deserves to be destroyed. All people have the right to keep what they’ve worked hard for.

C.J. Martello, Pullman