The Valuable Lesson Martin Luther King Learned About Who To Trust
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 October 2024
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Martin Luther King, Jr. couldn’t believe it. After everything, he’d been double-crossed by one of the most liberal and supportive white friends he had – JFK! But there was a silver lining to this rain cloud – and a powerful lesson was learned.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Martin Luther King Jr. couldn't believe it. |
| 0:04.0 | After everything, he'd been double-crossed by one of the most liberal and supportive white friends he had, John F. Kennedy. |
| 0:13.0 | But there was a silver lining to this rain cloud and a powerful lesson was learned. |
| 0:19.0 | This is Two-Minute Black History, What You Didn't Learn in School. |
| 0:26.6 | Martin Luther King wanted segregation outlawed. |
| 0:29.6 | During a meeting at the White House, he asked President Kennedy about the possibility of a second Emancipation Proclamation, which would ensure racial equality. |
| 0:42.1 | Surely Kennedy, who claimed to be supportive of civil rights, would agree, correct? |
| 0:47.8 | Not so much. Kennedy's response was shady at best. He was polite, but refused to give a definite answer. |
| 0:59.0 | So, MLK went the extra step and had a proclamation drawn up for Kennedy to sign. |
| 1:06.0 | Did that do the trick? |
| 1:08.0 | Nope. |
| 1:09.0 | Kennedy didn't even acknowledge the document. |
| 1:12.6 | But he did take the time to invite King to the White House to commemorate Lincoln's signing of the first Emancipation Proclamation. |
| 1:22.6 | That invite let Martin Luther King know where Kennedy really stood on equality. |
| 1:29.3 | Kennedy wasn't sincere, so King refused to attend the event and instead called upon trusted black organizers to put in work. |
| 1:40.3 | They planned the Children's Crusade so the world could see how the United States mistreated its black children. |
| 1:49.0 | After the outcry, Kennedy finally lent his political support and federal resources for civil rights legislation. |
| 1:59.0 | As MLK learned, regardless of how nice or supportive white people may appear to be, the truth |
| 2:07.3 | is that our liberation is usually up to us. |
| 2:12.0 | Other people can't always be trusted in the battle for our freedom. |
| 2:16.9 | In order to move towards the future, you've got to look |
| 2:20.1 | to the past. This has been Two-Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black. Show your support by |
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