Americans need to take an American History class.
Posted on 08/30/2011 2:01:32 PM PDT by NoLibZone
t the dedication for the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, the civil rights leader’s daughter made an interesting mistake regarding Abraham Lincoln. According to her, Lincoln is best known for signing the Declaration of Independence.
“But as I close, I close with the recognition that daddy is standing, Lincoln is seated,” Bernice King said. “Lincoln remembered for signing the Declaration of Independence. Daddy being remembered as standing up for truth and standing up for justice and standing up for righteousness and standing up for peace and standing up for freedom. Daddy is now standing on the National Mall in our nation’s capital.”
Watch it below:
The historical mistake could be simply an honest one that happens all the time when people speak in front of crowds. She probably just meant to say “Emancipation Proclamation.”
But it’s curious that Bernice — who has been labeled a conservative on some issues — would draw the juxtaposition that her father is now immortalized as someone who is standing while Lincoln is immortalized as someone who is sitting. It seems she wants to draw a distinction, and may even want to go as far as to point out her father‘s legacy is grander than Lincoln’s — and their memorials now recognize that.
Comparing legacies is difficult. But her seeming attempt to do so begs the question: Is Bernice King saying that MLK stood for civil rights while Lincoln just sat around? And if she is, would that mean the simple case of misspeaking is something more? Is it actually a misguided attack on Lincoln, trying to lump him into the group of Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration and who are often ridiculed as being racists?
The difference is that MLK was assassinated for standing up for the truth while Abraham Lincoln was, ugh, what, how did he die anyway?
And, to advance the cause of equality, men and women defied the KKK during the civil rights movement, and during Lincoln’s day, what did they do, nobody even knows anymore. Maybe they were just eating their mayonnaise on white bread and sitting around listening to that white music of theirs.
And, my daddy counseled people not to be angry or let past injustice poison human relations. And what did the Lincoln fellow ever do to bind the nation’s wounds?
As you can see, now that we have a monument to my daddy, I can finally be proud of this country, about which I have no idea that anything good ever transpired before.
Americans need to take an American History class.
I also believe Bernice King is a strong believer and defender of traditional marriage.
God bless her.
Classmate of Barry Soetoro???
My comment wasn’t about Beck. I was just interpreting her comment.
Why point out the standing/sitting thing?
“Classmate of Barry Soetoro???”
You betcha.
“”Lincoln sat to sign the Emancipation Proclamation””
At a desk now in the Lincoln bedroom in the WH. michelle obama said at the time of the election that her girls wanted to do their homework at that desk. My reaction then and now is HORRORS! I have no idea if they do use it but I can’t imagine allowing it.
Because they’re both heroes to the Black community? One is defending them by sitting to sign their liberation document and one is standing to give the speech that secured it? I don’t know, but I think its a mistake to assume she making a negative point. (Most of) the King women aren’t idiots like the sons and nephews.
The reason I referenced Beck was because this is from his site and he talked about it on his show this morning. I think he’s wrong.
What is it about Democrats and the Lincoln bedroom? First Linda Bloodworth Thomason and Markey Post delight in jumping on the bed together and now the Obama girls do their homework on the desk he used to sign the Emancipation Declaration.
Perhaps she would swear on a stack of Bibles that the USA has “57 States”
It’s a subliminal message. She’s trying to say that Lincoln is sitting, back there in that monument, hidden and irrelevant to today.
Her daddy is standing tall on the Tidal Basin, relevant and victorious.
The problem with that, is that the imagery of the King Memorial doesn’t even compare to the Lincoln Memorial in stature and majesty, and she knows it.
Also, in terms of historical significance, Lincoln will always overshadow King, and she knows that as well.
I believe part of the problem that black Americans have had since King’s death is that there has never been another historical figure to come along to replace him. Obama isn’t that figure and he probably won’t be in the future. It’s easy to guess that in terms of their history and the way that they tell their story, that they won’t have another to raise up to King’s level and erect a monument to for a very, very long time. They know this and they find this frustrating. They haven’t found another hero.
And King stands among the giants of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson, Washington and all of the Founding Fathers whose memories are in the very fabric of Washington DC. Everywhere you go in the nation’s capitol you’re reminded that this nation was built by for us by the Founding Fathers and it is a system that has endured for over two hundred years.
I think she felt kind of tiny when standing at the Tidal Basin. I have no doubt that she loves and misses her father. I do think, though, that she missed an opportunity to be more gracious. But, I didn’t lose my father as a young girl by an assassin’s bullet. So I do understand that when she speaks of her father, she is speaking through a great deal of pain.
Did he use a Steam Punk Time Machine?
LLS
Apparently, we are supposed to decry Beck’s site and not wonder if she’s trying to make Lincoln seem comparatively small.
If I was MLK’s kids, personally, I’d be upset that every time you drive through a major city and see MLK Boulevard, Rd, Dr... you know that you have to hold your pee because you don’t want to take that exit because it’s usually the hood.
LLS
We must and we will much...
“Stand up, Abe. Let ‘em see ya!”
Yep, I recall that, he gave me the pen he used.
Forskor and sevn yeerz agoe our faadherz braut forth on this kontinent a nue naeshon, konseevd in liberty, and dedikaeted to the propozishon that aul men ar kreaeted eequal………
They don’t recognize Thomas as a historical figure. Did they really recognize Thurgood Marshall that much historically? I see Rosa Parks, King, Jackson and Cosby held in much higher esteem. If you asked most youth today to name the nine Justices could they?
He is a conservative, black, Supreme Court justice that was appointed by a Republican that sits on the highest court of the land. With that resume he is the considered the devil by all liberals. In terms of a lasting impact in the nation, I would argue that he has more power than Obama. And because of this, no one will recognize him. If he helps to end Obamacare and other legislation that impacts the Obama administration, he will help defeat Obama significantly.
We know that Obama personally dislikes Thomas. Obama has even said that he doesn’t think that Thomas is intelligent enough to serve on the court. (I’m paraphrasing here.) Which is a hysterical statement, because Obama is no constitutional heavy weight.
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