Martin Luther King Jr.

==Ideas, influences, and political stances==

===Christianity===
[[File:Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann in a crowd.) - NARA - 542015 - Restoration.jpg|thumb|King at the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C.]]

As a Christian minister, King's main influence was [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]] and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his speeches. King's faith was strongly based in the [[Golden Rule]], loving God above all, and loving your enemies. His [[nonviolence|nonviolent]] thought was also based in the injunction to ''[[turn the other cheek]]'' in the [[Sermon on the Mount]], and Jesus' teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace |title=Martin Luther King Jr., Justice Without Violence&nbsp;– April 3, 1957 |publisher=Mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu |access-date=July 9, 2013 |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908025618/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace |url-status=dead }}</ref> In his [[Letter from Birmingham Jail]], King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus' "extremist" love, and also quoted numerous other [[Christian pacifism|Christian pacifist]] authors. In another sermon, he stated:

{{blockquote|Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don't plan to run for any political office. I don't plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-06-11|title=Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/about-papers-project|access-date=2022-03-18|website=The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute|publisher=Stanford University|language=en|archive-date=November 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101092930/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/voter_education_project/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-gift-of-love-martin-luther-king-sermons-from-strength-to-love-excerpt_n_2499321 | title='A Gift Of Love': Martin Luther King's Sermons From Strength To Love (Excerpt) | first=Josh | last=Fleet | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=January 21, 2013 | access-date=April 26, 2020 | archive-date=April 27, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427213240/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-gift-of-love-martin-luther-king-sermons-from-strength-to-love-excerpt_n_2499321 | url-status=live }}</ref>}}

King's private writings show that he rejected [[biblical literalism]]; he described the Bible as "[[Christian mythology|mythological]]", doubted that Jesus was [[virgin birth of Jesus|born of a virgin]] and did not believe that the [[Book of Jonah|story of Jonah and the whale]] was true.<ref>{{cite web |work= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |url= https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Writings-show-King-as-liberal-Christian-2623685.php |first= Matthai |last= Chakko Kuruvila |title= Writings show King as liberal Christian, rejecting literalism |date= January 15, 2007 |access-date= June 5, 2019 |archive-date= June 29, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220629204128/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Writings-show-King-as-liberal-Christian-2623685.php |url-status= live }}</ref>

Among the thinkers who influeced King's theological outlook were [[L. Harold DeWolf]], [[Edgar Brightman]], [[Peter Bertocci]], [[Walter George Muelder]], [[Walter Rauschenbusch]], and [[Reinhold Niebuhr]].<ref name=Ansbro>{{cite book|last=Ansbro|first=John J.|title=Martin Luther King, Jr.: Nonviolent Strategies and Tactics for Social Change|publisher=Madison Books|date=2000}}</ref>

==== ''The Measure of a Man'' ====
In 1959, King published a short book called ''The Measure of a Man'', which contained his sermons "[[What Is Man? (King essay)|What is Man?]]" and "The Dimensions of a Complete Life". The sermons argued for man's need for God's love and criticized the racial injustices of Western civilization.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/measure-man |title=Measure of a Man, The |encyclopedia=King Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Stanford University#Research centers and institutes|Stanford University {{!}} Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute]] |date=June 2017 |access-date=December 18, 2018 |archive-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212105149/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/measure-man |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nonviolence===
[[File:BayardRustinAug1963-LibraryOfCongress crop.jpg|upright|thumb|alt=A close-up of Rustin|King worked alongside Quakers such as [[Bayard Rustin]] to develop nonviolent tactics.]]
{{quote box|width=23em|World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.|salign=right|source=—Martin Luther King Jr.<ref name=Amherst>{{cite web|last1=Luther King|first1=Martin Jr.|title=Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at The New School|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace|access-date=21 Jan 2013|archive-date=September 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908025618/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

African-American civil rights activist [[Bayard Rustin]] was King's first regular advisor on [[nonviolence]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Spirit of the Sixties: Making Postwar Radicalism| last= Farrell|first= James J.|page= 90|isbn= 0-415-91385-3|publisher= Routledge| year= 1997}}</ref> King was also advised by the white activists [[Harris Wofford]] and [[Glenn Smiley]].<ref name="wofford">{{cite web|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/wofford-harris-llewellyn|title=Wofford, Harris Llewellyn|access-date=December 3, 2019|date=July 5, 2017|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203095816/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/wofford-harris-llewellyn|url-status=live}}</ref> Rustin and Smiley came from the [[Christian pacifist]] tradition, and Wofford and Rustin both studied [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s teachings. Rustin had applied nonviolence with the [[Journey of Reconciliation]] campaign in the 1940s,<ref>{{cite news|title=Book Review: Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've Seen |last=Kahlenberg |first=Richard D. |work=Washington Monthly |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v29/ai_19279952 |access-date=June 12, 2008 |year=1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005121547/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v29/ai_19279952 |archive-date=October 5, 2008 }}</ref> and Wofford had been promoting [[Gandhism]] to Southern blacks since the early 1950s.<ref name="wofford"/>

King initially knew little about Gandhi and rarely used the term "nonviolence" during his early activism. King initially believed in and practiced self-defense, even obtaining guns to defend against possible attackers. The pacifists showing him the alternative of [[Nonviolent revolution|nonviolent resistance]], arguing that this would be a better means to accomplish his goals. King then vowed to no longer personally use arms.<ref>{{cite web|last=Enger|first=Mark and Paul|title=When Martin Luther King Jr. gave up his guns|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/01/20/when_martin_luther_king_jr_gave_up_his_guns_partner/|date=January 20, 2014|access-date=June 24, 2014|archive-date=February 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224035720/http://www.salon.com/2014/01/20/when_martin_luther_king_jr_gave_up_his_guns_partner/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| page= 217| last=Bennett | first=Scott H.| title=Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915–1963 | publisher=Syracuse University Press| year=2003| isbn=0-8156-3003-4}}</ref>

In a chapter of ''[[Stride Toward Freedom]]'', King outlined his understanding of nonviolence, which seeks to win an opponent to friendship, rather than to humiliate or defeat him. The chapter draws from an address by Wofford, with Rustin and [[Stanley Levison]] also providing guidance and ghostwriting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/stride-toward-freedom-montgomery-story|title=Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story|access-date=December 3, 2019|date=July 5, 2017|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211142835/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/stride-toward-freedom-montgomery-story|url-status=live}}</ref>

King was inspired by Gandhi and his success with nonviolent activism, and as a theology student, King described Gandhi as being one of the "individuals who greatly reveal the working of the Spirit of God".<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 25, 2017|title=Gandhi, Mohandas K.|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/gandhi-mohandas-k|access-date=March 18, 2022|website=The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute|publisher=Stanford University|language=en|archive-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324053637/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/gandhi-mohandas-k|url-status=live}}</ref> King had "for a long time&nbsp;... wanted to take a trip to India."<ref>{{cite book|last1=King |first1=Martin Luther Jr. |first2=Clayborne |last2=Carson |title=The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr., Volume V: Threshold of a New Decade, January 1959&nbsp;– December 1960 |publisher=University of California Press |year=2005 |page=231 |url=http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol5/July1959_MyTriptotheLandofGandhi.pdf |isbn=0-520-24239-4 |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615084051/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol5/July1959_MyTriptotheLandofGandhi.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2013 }}</ref> With assistance from Harris Wofford, the [[American Friends Service Committee]], and other supporters, he was able to fund the journey in April 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/india-trip|title=India Trip (1959)|date=June 20, 2017|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211144903/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/india-trip|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|King|1992|p=13}} The trip deepened his understanding of [[nonviolent resistance]] and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his final evening in India, King reflected, "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity."

When receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, King hailed the "successful precedent" of using nonviolence "in a magnificent way by Mohandas K. Gandhi to challenge the might of the British Empire&nbsp;... He struggled only with the weapons of truth, soul force, non-injury and courage."<ref>{{cite web|title=Nobel Lecture by MLK|date=December 11, 1964|author=Martin Luther King|page=12|url=http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/nobel-lecture-mlk|publisher=The King Center|access-date=August 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315071306/http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/nobel-lecture-mlk|archive-date=March 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another influence for King's nonviolent method was [[Henry David Thoreau]]'s essay ''[[Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)|On Civil Disobedience]]'' and its theme of refusing to cooperate with an evil system.<ref>King, M. L. Morehouse College (Chapter 2 of The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.)</ref> He also was greatly influenced by the works of Protestant theologians [[Reinhold Niebuhr]] and [[Paul Tillich]],<ref>Reinhold Niebuhr and Contemporary Politics: God and Power</ref> and said that [[Walter Rauschenbusch]]'s ''Christianity and the Social Crisis'' left an "indelible imprint" on his thinking by giving him a theological grounding for his social concerns.<ref name="Ansbro 1982 p. 163">{{cite book | last=Ansbro | first=J.J. | title=Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Making of a Mind | publisher=Orbis Books | chapter=Ch. 5: The Social Mission of the Christian Church | year=1982 | isbn=0-88344-333-3 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking0000ansb_j7f7/page/163 | page=[https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking0000ansb/page/163 163] | url=https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking0000ansb | url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="Baldwin Burrow Fairclough 2013 p. 133">{{cite book | last1=Baldwin | first1=L.V. | last2=Burrow | first2=R. | last3=Fairclough | first3=A. | title=The Domestication of Martin Luther King Jr.: Clarence B. Jones, Right-Wing Conservatism, and the Manipulation of the King Legacy | publisher=Cascade Books | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-61097-954-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c15NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 | page=133 | access-date=February 22, 2018 | archive-date=July 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727202906/https://books.google.com/books?id=c15NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 | url-status=live }}</ref> King was moved by Rauschenbusch's vision of Christians spreading social unrest in "perpetual but friendly conflict" with the state, simultaneously critiquing it and calling it to act as an instrument of justice.<ref name="Long 2002 p. 53">{{cite book | last=Long | first=M.G. | title=Against Us, But for Us: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the State | publisher=Mercer University Press | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-86554-768-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJpVWyQGKbsC&pg=PA53 | page=53 | access-date=February 22, 2018 | archive-date=July 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727203409/https://books.google.com/books?id=XJpVWyQGKbsC&pg=PA53 | url-status=live }}</ref> However, he was apparently unaware of the [[Pacifism in the United States|American tradition]] of [[Christian pacifism]] exemplified by [[Adin Ballou]] and [[William Lloyd Garrison]].<ref name="Perry 1973 p. 4">{{cite book | last=Perry | first=L. | title=[[Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought]] | publisher=University of Tennessee Press | year=1973 | isbn= 978-0-8014-0754-3 | page=[https://archive.org/details/radicalabolition00lewi/page/4 4]}}</ref> King frequently referred to Jesus' [[Sermon on the Mount]] as central for his work.<ref name="Baldwin Burrow Fairclough 2013 p. 133" /><ref name="Burrow 2014 p. 313">{{cite book | last=Burrow | first=R. | title=Extremist for Love: Martin Luther King Jr., Man of Ideas and Nonviolent Social Action | publisher=Fortress Press | series=Book collections on Project MUSE | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4514-8027-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVffAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT313 | page=313 | access-date=February 22, 2018 | archive-date=July 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727203419/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVffAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT313 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Deats Lenker Perry 2004 p. 37">{{cite book | last1=Deats | first1=S.M. | last2=Lenker | first2=L.T. | last3=Perry | first3=M.G. | title=War and Words: Horror and Heroism in the Literature of Warfare | publisher=Lexington Books | series=G – Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-7391-0579-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-mkw-NBGbAC&pg=PA37 | page=37 | access-date=February 22, 2018 | archive-date=July 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727203921/https://books.google.com/books?id=v-mkw-NBGbAC&pg=PA37 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stott 2004 p. 149">{{cite book | last=Stott | first=J. | title=The Incomparable Christ | publisher=InterVarsity Press | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8308-3222-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPYUUaYZH_UC&pg=PA149 | page=149 | access-date=February 22, 2018 | archive-date=July 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727203934/https://books.google.com/books?id=kPYUUaYZH_UC&pg=PA149 | url-status=live }}</ref> Before 1960, King also sometimes used the concept of "[[agape]]" (brotherly Christian love).<ref>{{cite web|title=Agape|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/agape|website=Martin Luther King Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle|publisher=The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute|access-date=December 3, 2019|date=April 24, 2017|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203095827/https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/agape|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Wang|first1=Lisa|title=Martin Luther King Jr.'s Troubled Attitude toward Nonviolent Resistance|url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~expose/issues/issue_2011/pdf/2010_wang.pdf|website=Exposé|publisher=Harvard College Writing Program|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120044541/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~expose/issues/issue_2011/pdf/2010_wang.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Even after renouncing personal use of guns, King had a complex relationship with self-defense in the movement. He publicly discouraged it as a widespread practice but acknowledged that it was sometimes necessary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/nonviolence-the-only-road-to-freedom/|title=Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom&nbsp;– Teaching American History|work=teachingamericanhistory.org|access-date=May 8, 2015|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111133412/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/nonviolence-the-only-road-to-freedom/|url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout his career King was frequently protected by other civil rights activists who carried arms, such as [[Colonel Stone Johnson]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/birmingham_civil_rights_activi.html|title=Birmingham civil rights activist Colonel Stone Johnson has died (slideshow)|work=AL.com|date=January 19, 2012|access-date=May 8, 2015|archive-date=January 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122083911/http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/birmingham_civil_rights_activi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[St. Augustine Movement|Robert Hayling]], and the [[Deacons for Defense and Justice]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prospect.org/article/armed-resistance-civil-rights-movement-charles-e-cobb-and-danielle-l-mcguire-forgotten|title=Armed Resistance in the Civil Rights Movement: Charles E. Cobb and Danielle L. McGuire on Forgotten History|work=The American Prospect|date=June 11, 2014|access-date=May 8, 2015|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121811/http://prospect.org/article/armed-resistance-civil-rights-movement-charles-e-cobb-and-danielle-l-mcguire-forgotten|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H9Me8LZ488C&pg=PA246 |first=Lance |last=Hill |title=The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |pages=245–250 |year=2006 |access-date=July 12, 2016 |isbn=978-0-8078-5702-1 |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727204458/https://books.google.com/books?id=8H9Me8LZ488C&pg=PA246 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Criticism within the movement ===
King was criticized by other black leaders in the civil rights movement. This included more militant thinkers such as [[Nation of Islam (religious movement)|Nation of Islam]] member [[Malcolm X]].<ref>{{cite book|page= 105| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7425-2928-1|last=Bobbitt|first=David|title=The Rhetoric of Redemption: Kenneth Burke's Redemption Drama and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech}}</ref> [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] founder [[Ella Baker]] regarded King as a charismatic [[Charismatic authority|media figure]] who lost touch with the grassroots of the movement<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7ljj_iyQcwC&pg=PA298|title=I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr|last1=Dyson|first1=Michael Eric|last2=Jagerman|first2=David L.|date=2000|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-86776-2|pages=297–299|language=en|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=January 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123123946/https://books.google.com/books?id=F7ljj_iyQcwC&pg=PA298#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> as he became close to elite figures like [[Nelson Rockefeller]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theroot.com/a-close-alliance-between-mlk-and-nelson-rockefeller-rev-1790858451|title=A Close Alliance Between MLK and Nelson Rockefeller Revealed|last=Burke|first=Kevin M.|website=The Root|date=January 11, 2015|language=en-us|access-date=January 30, 2020|archive-date=January 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130173509/https://www.theroot.com/a-close-alliance-between-mlk-and-nelson-rockefeller-rev-1790858451|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Stokely Carmichael]], a protege of Baker's, became a black [[Black separatism|separatist]] and disagreed with King's plea for [[racial integration]] because he considered it an insult to a uniquely [[African-American culture]].<ref>{{cite book|title= Martin Luther King, Jr. |url= https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking00ling |url-access= registration | last=Ling| first= Peter J. | pages=[https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking00ling/page/250 250–51]|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=0-415-21664-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.apspuhuru.org/publications/repnow/ReparationsNow-OCR.txt| title= Abbreviated Report from the International Tribunal on Reparations for Black People in the U.S.|publisher=African People's Socialist Party| access-date=June 15, 2008|last=Yeshitela|first=Omali |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517082245/http://www.apspuhuru.org/publications/repnow/ReparationsNow-OCR.txt | archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref> He also took issue that King's non-violence approach depended on appealing to America's conscience, feeling America had none to appeal to.<ref name="blackpower">{{cite web |last1=Bates |first1=Karen |title=Stokely Carmichael, A Philosopher Behind The Black Power Movement |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/03/10/287320160/stokely-carmichael-a-philosopher-behind-the-black-power-movement |website=NPR |access-date=March 10, 2014 |archive-date=June 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605070410/http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/03/10/287320160/stokely-carmichael-a-philosopher-behind-the-black-power-movement |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Activism and involvement with Native Americans===
King was an avid supporter of Native American rights and Native Americans were active supporters of King's [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Ross | first=Gyasi | title=Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black People and Indigenous People: How We Cash This Damn Check | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-black-people-and-indigenous_b_5a57c671e4b03a1e6098bc6d | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=January 11, 2018 | access-date=April 26, 2020 | archive-date=July 11, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711002150/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-black-people-and-indigenous_b_5a57c671e4b03a1e6098bc6d | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Native American Rights Fund]] (NARF) was patterned after the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund.<ref name="kingcreek">{{cite web |last1=Bender |first1=Albert |title=Dr. King spoke out against the genocide of Native Americans |url=http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |website=People's World |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=February 13, 2014 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625114956/https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) was especially supportive in King's campaigns especially the [[Poor People's Campaign]] in 1968.<ref name="scielo.org.za">{{cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Kevin |title=The American Indian Civil Rights Movement: A case study in Civil Society Protest |journal=Yesterday and Today |date=December 1, 2014 |volume=12 |pages=60–74 |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862014000200004 |access-date=November 25, 2018 |issn=2309-9003 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411091513/http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862014000200004 |url-status=live }}</ref> In King's book ''[[Why We Can't Wait]]'' he writes:

<blockquote>Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.<ref name="kingnatspeech">{{cite web |last1=Rickert |first1=Levi |title=Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Our Nation was Born in Genocide |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |website=Native News Online |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=January 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126092832/https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |url-status=dead }}</ref></blockquote>

In the late 1950, the remaining [[Creek tribe|Creek]] in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools. Light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride buses to previously all-white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from the same buses.<ref name="kingcreek"/> Tribal leaders, hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, contacted him for assistance. Through his intervention the problem was quickly resolved.<ref name="kingcreek"/>

In September 1959, after giving a speech at the [[University of Arizona]] on the ideals of using nonviolent methods in creating social change, King stated his belief that one must not use force in this struggle "but match the violence of his opponents with his suffering."<ref name="kingindrez">{{cite web |last1=Leighton |first1=David |title=Street Smarts: MLK Jr. visited 'Papago' reservation near Tucson, was fascinated |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/street-smarts-mlk-jr-visited-papago-reservation-near-tucson-was/article_cbc4d8f3-6d53-54f3-a783-359646fe2c82.html |website=The Arizona Daily Star |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=April 2, 2017 |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704085258/https://tucson.com/news/local/street-smarts-mlk-jr-visited-papago-reservation-near-tucson-was/article_cbc4d8f3-6d53-54f3-a783-359646fe2c82.html |url-status=live }}</ref> King then went to Southside Presbyterian, a predominantly Native American church, and was fascinated by their photos; he wanted to go to an Indian Reservation to meet the people so Casper Glenn took King to the Papago Indian Reservation.<ref name="kingindrez"/> He met with all the tribal leaders, visited another Presbyterian church near the reservation, and preached there, attracting a Native American crowd.<ref name="kingindrez"/> He later returned to Old Pueblo in March 1962 where he preached again to a Native American congregation.<ref name="kingindrez"/> King would continue to attract the attention of Native Americans throughout the civil rights movement. During the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|1963 March on Washington]] there was a sizable Native American contingent, including many from South Dakota and from the [[Navajo nation]].<ref name="kingcreek"/><ref name="navtimes">{{cite web |last1=Pineo |first1=Christopher |title=Navajos and locals in Gallup celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day |url=https://www.navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |website=Navajo Times |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=January 21, 2016 |archive-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918181926/https://navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

King was a major inspiration, along with the [[civil rights movement]], of the [[Native American rights movement]] of the 1960s and many of its leaders.<ref name="kingcreek"/> John Echohawk, a member of the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee tribe]] who was the executive director and a founder of the Native American Rights Fund, stated:

<blockquote>Inspired by Dr. King, who was advancing the civil rights agenda of equality under the laws of this country, we thought that we could also use the laws to advance our Indianship, to live as tribes in our territories governed by our own laws under the principles of tribal sovereignty that had been with us ever since 1831. We believed that we could fight for a policy of self-determination that was consistent with U.S. law and that we could govern our own affairs, define our own ways and continue to survive in this society.<ref name="amiss">{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Roy |title='I have a dream for all God's children,' Martin Luther King Jr. Day |url=http://americanindiansource.com/mlkechohawk.html |website=American Indian Source |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref></blockquote>

===Politics===
As the leader of the SCLC, King maintained a policy of not publicly endorsing a U.S. political party or candidate: "I feel someone must remain in the position of non-alignment, so that he can look objectively at both parties and be the conscience of both—not the servant or master of either."<ref name="Oates1993">{{cite book|first=Stephen B.|last=Oates|title=Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr|url=https://archive.org/details/lettrumpetsound00step/page/159|year=1993|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-452-25627-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/lettrumpetsound00step/page/159 159]}}
</ref> In a 1958 interview, he expressed his view that neither party was perfect, saying, "I don't think the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican party]] is a party full of the almighty God nor is the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]]. They both have weaknesses&nbsp;... And I'm not inextricably bound to either party."<ref name="King-Carson2000p364">{{cite book|first=Martin Luther Jr.|last=King|editor1-first=Clayborne|editor1-last=Carson|editor2-first=Peter|editor2-last=Holloran|editor3-first=Ralph|editor3-last=Luker|editor4-first=Penny A.|editor4-last=Russell|title=The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr: Symbol of the Movement, January 1957&nbsp;– December 1958|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qW-NYdIefPgC&pg=PA364|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22231-1|page=364}}</ref> King did praise Democratic Senator [[Paul Douglas]] of Illinois as being the "greatest of all senators" because of his fierce advocacy for civil rights causes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Merriner|first1=James L.|title=Illinois' liberal giant, Paul Douglas|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-03-09/entertainment/0303080081_1_illinois-gov-paul-douglas-liberal/2|access-date=May 17, 2015|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=March 9, 2003}}</ref>

King critiqued both parties' performance on promoting racial equality:

{{blockquote|Actually, the Negro has been betrayed by both the Republican and the Democratic party. The Democrats have betrayed him by capitulating to the whims and caprices of the Southern [[Dixiecrats]]. The Republicans have betrayed him by capitulating to the blatant hypocrisy of [[reactionary]] right-wing northern Republicans. And this [[Conservative coalition|coalition of southern Dixiecrats and right-wing reactionary northern Republicans]] defeats every bill and every move towards liberal legislation in the area of civil rights.<ref name="King-Carson2000p84">{{cite book|first=Martin Luther Jr.|last=King|editor1-first=Clayborne|editor1-last=Carson|editor2-first=Peter|editor2-last=Holloran|editor3-first=Ralph|editor3-last=Luker|editor4-first=Penny A.|editor4-last=Russell|title=The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr: Symbol of the Movement, January 1957&nbsp;– December 1958|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qW-NYdIefPgC&pg=PA84|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22231-1|page=84}}</ref>}}

Although King never publicly supported a political party or candidate for president, in a letter to a civil rights supporter in October 1956 he said that he had not decided whether he would vote for Democrat [[Adlai Stevenson II]] or Republican [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at the [[1956 United States presidential election|1956 presidential election]], but that "In the past, I always voted the Democratic ticket."{{sfn|King|1992|p=384}} In his autobiography, King says that in [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]] he privately voted for Democratic candidate [[John F. Kennedy]]: "I felt that Kennedy would make the best president. I never came out with an endorsement. My father did, but I never made one." King adds that he likely would have made an exception to his non-endorsement policy for a second Kennedy term, saying "Had President Kennedy lived, I would probably have endorsed him in 1964."<ref name="King-Carson1998p187">{{cite book|first1=Martin Luther Jr.|last1=King|first2=Clayborne|last2=Carson|title=The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.|url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00king/page/187|year=1998|publisher=Hachette Digital|isbn=978-0-446-52412-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00king/page/187 187]}}</ref>

In [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]], King urged his supporters "and all people of goodwill" to vote against Republican Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] for president, saying that his election "would be a tragedy, and certainly suicidal almost, for the nation and the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJyWWM9OHKA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/JJyWWM9OHKA| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Mr. Conservative: Barry Goldwater's opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964|website=YouTube|date=September 18, 2006|access-date=May 17, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> King believed [[Robert F. Kennedy]] would make for a good president, but also believed that he wouldn't beat Johnson in the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He also expressed support for the possible presidential candidacies of Republicans [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[George W. Romney|George Romney]] and [[Charles H. Percy|Charles Percy]]. <ref>MLK: An American Legacy: Bearing the Cross, Protest at Selma, and the FBI, and Martin Luther King, Jr.</ref>

King rejected both [[Laissez-faire|''laissez-faire'' capitalism]] and [[communism]]; King had read [[Karl Marx|Marx]] while at Morehouse but rejected communism because of its "[[Historical materialism|materialistic interpretation of history]]" that denied religion, its "[[Moral relativism|ethical relativism]]", and its "[[Totalitarianism|political totalitarianism]]". He stated that one focused too much on the individual while [[Marxism|the other]] focused too much on the collective.<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Martin Luther Jr. |url=https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking00king_0/page/39 |title=The Martin Luther King Jr. Companion: Quotations from the Speeches, Essays, and Books of Martin Luther King, Jr. |last2=King |first2=Coretta Scott |last3=King |first3=Dexter Scott |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-312-19990-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/martinlutherking00king_0/page/39 39]}}</ref> The American philosopher [[Tommie Shelby]] has described King as a [[Social democracy|social democrat]] who advocated for advocating [[Economic interventionism|economic]] and [[social intervention]]s to promote [[social justice]] within the framework of a [[liberal-democratic]] [[polity]] and a [[capitalist]]-oriented [[mixed economy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Terry |first=Brandon |last2=Shelby |first2=Tommie |date=April 4, 2018 |title=The Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr |url=https://jacobin.com/2018/04/martin-luther-king-rhetoric-political-philosophy |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |language=en-US}}</ref> However, he was often reluctant to speak directly of this support due to the [[anti-communist]] sentiment being projected throughout the United States at the time, and the association of social democratic ("socialist") movements with [[communism]]. King believed that a ''laissez-faire'' economic system would not adequately provide the necessities of many American people, particularly African Americans.<ref name="Sturm1990"/>

In a 1952 letter to Coretta Scott, he said: "I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic&nbsp;..."<ref>{{cite book |last=Laurent |first= Sylvie |date=2019 |title=King and the Other America: The Poor People's Campaign and the Quest for Economic Equality |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0JvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |location= |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |page=82 |isbn=978-0520288577}}</ref><ref name=AntiCapitalism>{{cite news | first=Obery M. | last=Hendricks Jr. | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-uncompromising-anti-capitalism-of-martin-luther-king-jr_b_4629609 | title=The Uncompromising Anti-Capitalism of Martin Luther King Jr. | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=January 20, 2014}}</ref> In one speech, he stated that "something is wrong with capitalism" and said, "There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism."<ref>{{cite book|title=Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought|last=Franklin|first=Robert Michael|page= 125| publisher =Fortress Press|year=1990|isbn=0-8006-2392-4}}</ref> King further said that "capitalism has outlived its usefulness" and "failed to meet the needs of the masses".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Loggins|first1= Jared A.|last2=Douglas|first2=Andrew J.|title=Prophet of Discontent: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Critique of Racial Capitalism |date=2021 |publisher=[[University of Georgia Press]]|url= |page=44|isbn=978-0820360171}}</ref>

===Compensation===
{{See also|Reparations for slavery debate in the United States}}
King stated that black Americans, as well as other disadvantaged Americans, should be compensated for historical wrongs. In an interview conducted for ''[[Playboy]]'' in 1965, he said that granting black Americans only equality could not realistically close the economic gap between them and whites. King said that he did not seek a full restitution of wages lost to slavery, which he believed impossible, but proposed a government compensatory program of $50&nbsp;billion over ten years to all disadvantaged groups.{{sfn|Washington|1991|p=366}}

He posited that "the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils."{{sfn|Washington|1991|pp=365–67}} He presented this idea as an application of the [[common law]] regarding settlement of unpaid labor but clarified that he felt that the money should not be spent exclusively on blacks. He stated, "It should benefit the disadvantaged of ''all'' races."{{sfn|Washington|1991|pp=367–68}}

===Television===
Actress [[Nichelle Nichols]] planned to leave the science-fiction television series ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' in 1967 after [[Star Trek: The Original Series (season 1)|its first season]].<ref name="nprcode">{{cite news| title= Zoë Saldaña Climbed Into Lt. Uhura's Chair, Reluctantly | url= https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/08/176594781/zo-salda-a-climbed-into-lt-uhuras-chair-reluctantly | first= Gene |last=Demby| date=April 8, 2013| work= Code Switch (blog) | publisher= NPR| access-date= April 10, 2013}}</ref> She changed her mind after talking to King,<ref name="25th">{{cite video | people=Beck, Donald R. (Director) |date=1991| title=Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special}}</ref> who was a fan of the show. King explained that her character signified a future of greater racial cooperation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/nichelle_nichols_tells_neil_degrasse_tyson_how_martin_luther_king_convinced_her_to_stay_on_star_trek.html|title=Nichelle Nichols Explains How Martin Luther King Convinced Her to Stay on Star Trek|work=Open Culture|date=January 21, 2013}}</ref> King told Nichols, "You are our image of where we're going, you're 300 years from now, and that means that's where we are and it takes place now. Keep doing what you're doing, you are our inspiration."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gene-roddenberry-son-star-trek_n_1119119 | title=Gene Roddenberry's Son Reveals Unhappy 'Star Trek' Family Life | first=Lee | last=Speigel | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=November 30, 2011}}</ref> As Nichols recounted: <blockquote>''Star Trek'' was one of the only shows that [King] and his wife [[Coretta Scott King|Coretta]] would allow their little children to watch. And I thanked him and I told him I was leaving the show. All the smile came off his face. And he said, 'Don't you understand for the first time we're seen as we should be seen. You don't have a black role. You have an equal role.'<ref name="nprcode"/></blockquote> The series' creator, [[Gene Roddenberry]], was deeply moved upon learning of King's support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://o.canada.com/entertainment/nichelle-nichols-on-playing-star-treks-lt-uhura-and-meeting-dr-king|title=Nichelle Nichols on playing Star Trek's Lt. Uhura and meeting Dr. King|last=Strachan|first=Alex|date=August 5, 2010|website=Canada.com|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216223502/https://o.canada.com/entertainment/nichelle-nichols-on-playing-star-treks-lt-uhura-and-meeting-dr-king|archive-date=February 16, 2020|access-date=February 16, 2020|quote=Now, Gene Roddenberry was a 6-foot-3 guy with muscles. ... And he sat there with tears in his eyes. He said, 'Thank God that someone knows what I'm trying to do. Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King.'}}</ref>