Every year, around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, social media erupts with claims that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican. Here’s a sample of the assertions that happen each year in mid January, and sometimes at other times throughout the year as be seen by the dates in the screenshot of social media posts below.
Looking into this claim reveals there is no evidence that can be found to justify it. Historical records and King’s own statements and actions actually reveal evidence to the contrary.
What’s this claim about?
Inevitably, the claim is made by individuals affiliated with the modern Republican Party. The claim always seems to be made in an attempt to dispel the idea that the modern GOP is a racist party or harbors racists within its ranks.
It’s my guess that by associating their Republican label with one of the most prominent fighters against racism, it will help mitigate the perception that the Republican party is synonymous with racism in modern times. This harks back to the history of the Republican Party as the political faction that indeed championed the emancipation of slaves after the Civil War; the party that fought for liberation. However, the issue with this is that it relies on events from around a hundred and sixty years ago to argue against a contemporary perception of the party.
By aligning their political party with Martin Luther King Jr., they believe it provides them with a shield against the accusation that they are the party of racists or harbor racist beliefs themselves.
They subscribe to the myth or simplistic notion of “hey, the Republican Party advocated for the freedom of slaves during the civil war and civil rights during the Jim Crow era and the civil rights movement, so that means Martin Luther King Jr. must have been a Republican. He’s one of us.”
This narrative oversimplifies the complex history of civil rights struggles and the political landscape of the time.
King’s Voter Registration
The most obvious way to show that King was a Republican is his voter registration. But, there is no record of Martin Luther King Jr’s voter registration. Oh sure, there are assertions that he registered as a Republican in 1956, by the NBRA for one. But, according to Pulitzer Prize Winner and King Biographer Taylor Branch, he found no evidence to support that claim.1 King was not a politician or elected official so there is no record that confirms his political party registration. It’s not like claiming JFK was a Republican which can be disproved with actual documentation and evidence related to that specific claim.
Even if his voter registration could be found to have been Republican, that would just mean it was the selection he checked off when registering to vote. If his actions or words didn’t support Republicans of the time, then he would have been what modern people call a RINO. On a personal note, when I was a child, my step-father at the time always voted Republican. Always! He always spoke out against the Democrats. Talked about how bad things would be if the Democratic candidate got into office, But, I found out he was actually registered as a Democrat. Perhaps when he registered to vote in the 60’s he thought the Democratic party aligned more with his beliefs? I can only speculate.
More crucial than merely checking a box on a registration form, when individuals assert that King was a Republican, they are insinuating that he supported Republicans and their ideas. By extension, those in the present who make this claim are implying that King would have endorsed today’s Republican party. While this is speculative, it can also be speculated with confidence given the evidence, that is even more absurd than the assertion that King was a Republican in his own time.
Where Does The Claim That King Was A Republican Come From?
Based on my experience with this topic, there are 3 main “sources” for this claim.
1) Martin Luther King’s Niece said so.
King’s Niece, Alveda King said her uncle was a Republican. But this anecdotal claim is contradicted by Dr. King’s own son, Martin Luther King III who said “It is disingenuous to imply that my father was a Republican. He never endorsed any presidential candidate, and there is certainly no evidence that he ever even voted for a Republican. It is even more outrageous to suggest that he would support the Republican Party of today, which has spent so much time and effort trying to suppress African American votes in Florida and many other states.”2
It important to note that Alveda King, today is a member of the Republican party and supported former President Trump in 2016, and 2020. But, this is not how her political career began. From 1979 to 1982, Alveda King represented the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat. In 1984 she ran in the Democratic primary for Georgia’s 5th congressional district. She competed against eventual winner Wyche Fowler, but also against one of her uncle’s most trusted associates Hosea Williams – running as a Democrat. In 1984 she would support Jessie Jackson for President. Another one of her uncle’s associates, and another Democrat. Jackson had worked for her uncle in the 1960’s and participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches. It is worth noting that after Wyche Fowler, the next person to represent the 5th congressional district was John Lewis, another civil rights leader from Dr. King’s circle – who was also a Democrat.
Given these facts, there is no reason to believe her claim. Especially the speculation that King would have supported the Republican party of today, and Donald Trump.
2) His Father Was a Republican
This seems to be a half true statement and irrelevant as far as the political party his son was registered to or supported. I say it is half true, because Martin Luther King Sr. does seem to have been a Republican until 1960.3 At this time Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested at a sit in in Atlanta. Robert Kennedy helped get MLK Jr. released. MLK Sr. was appreciative of this and switched his support to John Kennedy for the 1960 election. King Sr. was a supporter of liberal Republican, Nelson Rockefeller, (yes, there was still a liberal wing of the Republican party at that time) and when King Sr. was asked for his support at to speak at the Democratic National Convention by Jimmy Carter4, he did so only after Nelson Rockefeller declined to run for President. He also spoke at the Democratic convention in 1980.
3) Republicans Were For Civil Rights and Democrats Were The Racists and the Party of the KKK
This argument deals with the modern push by certain political pundits that the “party switch” is a myth and never took place. The argument goes something like this:
The Confederates of the civil war, who were fighting to keep slavery, were mostly Democrats and the North who were fighting to abolish slavery were mostly Republicans therefore, King was a Republican.
If the time period in question were the 1850’s and 60’s instead of the 1950’s and 60’s that argument would be more believable. Otherwise it is just the non sequitur logical fallacy.
The argument continues with the assertion that goes something like this: “The Republicans have always been the party of civil rights. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Democrats were against it.”
This part is not exactly true.
First, it was a Democratic President that began the fight for that bill and then it was another Democratic President that was pushing hard for that bill to get passed. If you look at the voting results for the bill by political party, it does indeed seem like Republicans were more in favor of the bill. However, political parties of sixty years ago were not as they are today. They were not as tribal. It wasn’t as simple as “The Democrats were the left wing party and the Republicans were the right wing party. Each political party had a more liberal and a more conservative faction. There were also regional factions. When you break down the voting results by region and party, and then by region alone, it truly becomes clear that the correlation about who was for and against this bill is much stronger when you look at the voting results by region rather than by political party.
1964 Civil Rights Act Voting Results:
House Voting by Party: Yes – No
Democratic Party: 153–91 (63%–37%)
Republican Party: 136–35 (80%–20%)
Senate Voting by Party
Democrats: 46 – 21 (69% – 31%)
Republicans: 27 -6 (82% – 18%)
House Voting by Region and Party
Northern Democrats: 145 – 8 (95% – 5%)
Southern Democrats: 8 – 83 (9% – 91%)
Northern Republicans: 136 – 24 (85% – 15%)
Southern Republicans: 0 – 11 (0% – 100%)
All North: 281 – 32 (90% – 10%)
All South: 8 – 94 (8% – 92%)
Senate Voting by Region and Party
Northern Democrats: 45 – 1 (98% – 2%)
Southern Democrats: 1 – 20 (5% – 95%)
Northern Republicans: 27 – 5 (84% – 16%)
Southern Republicans: 0 – 1 (0% – 100%)
All North: 72 – 6 (92% – 8%)
All South: 1 – 21(5% – 95%)
Not one Republican member of congress from the House or Senate voted for the Civil Rights bill. In the entire south, only 1 Senator from the south voted in favor of it. A Democrat from Texas named Thomas Yarborough who was the leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic party of that time. The passage of this bill led to Democrat Strom Thurmond switching his Politcal Party to Republican to work on the campaign of Barry Goldwater for the 1964 Presidential election. The first time a Republican had done so well in the former confederacy states since the odd election of 1872
Evidence Against the Claim that Martin Luther King Jr. “Was a Republican.”
King’s Own Words and Actions
While many in today’s GOP continually quote, what is likely the only quote of his that they know – “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – MLK was not a man who spent 13 years fighting affirmative action despite what those in today’s GOP have morphed him into.
You never see those same GOP members quoting this often-overlooked part of the “I Have a Dream” speech, about policing and criminal justice reform: “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” 5
Martin Luther King Jr. was a vocal advocate for civil rights and social justice, leading the charge in the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout his public life, King focused on issues of racial equality, economic justice, and nonviolent resistance. While he often spoke on social and political matters, King rarely identified with a specific political party and criticized both parties when he felt the need for it.
One time he supported a decision by President Eisenhower in 1957. Days after criticizing the president as “wishy-washy” on the Little Rock situation at a speaking engagement in Macon, Georgia, King applauds Eisenhower’s decision, announced in a 24 September radio and television address, to use federal troops to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.6
In his autobiography, King stated, “The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction and extremism.” This statement was a scathing one directed at the 1964 Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.
On TV, on the Program Face The Nation in 1964 Dr King was asked if he thought the Republican party was in danger of becoming “The white man’s party.” See this question and hear his response in this video below.
He never refers to the Republican party as “my party” or “the party I have supported” or anything of the kind.
In fact, King supported Lyndon Johnson in the Presidential election of 1964. Johnson won a decisive victory in the 1964 election, garnering the widest popular margin in presidential history. King had campaigned actively for Johnson and welcomed the victory, saying, “The forces of good will and progress have triumphed” (King, 4 November 1964). 7
Baptist minister. That idea has been repeated often, but videos that claim to show that Martin Luther King, Jr. is Republican have been proven not to do so. King’s son Martin Luther King III said in 2008 that it’s “disingenuous” to insist he was when there is no evidence of him casting a Republican vote. “It is even more outrageous to suggest that he would support the Republican Party of today,” the younger King added, “which has spent so much time and effort trying to suppress African American votes in Florida and many other states.”8
Political Landscape of the Time:
It’s crucial to consider the historical context in which King lived and worked. The civil rights movement unfolded during a period when the Democratic Party was undergoing significant changes in its stance on civil rights issues. King’s association with the Democratic Party during this transformative era does not automatically imply a strong party allegiance but rather reflects the shifting dynamics of the time.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the claim that Martin Luther King Jr. is not supported by any evidence. King himself critiqued both major parties for their shortcomings on civil rights issues. King was from the South and not one Southern Republican member of congress voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act that he fought so hard for.
With such a lack of any decent hard evidence we are left to conclude that there is no reason to think Martin Luther King was either a registered member or a supporter of the Republican party.
Notes
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-king-a-registered-repu_b_38108 ↩︎
- https://web.archive.org/web/20190122220737/https://www.baystatebanner.com/2008/07/16/group-claims-mlk-was-a-republican/ ↩︎
- https://books.google.com/books?id=Ig8cDQAAQBAJ&q=%22king+sr%22+nixon+kennedy+republican&pg=PA111#v=snippet&q=%22king%20sr%22%20nixon%20kennedy%20republican&f=false ↩︎
- https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-martin-luther-king-bernice-9e9c411825a23c592a561331559cd4f9 ↩︎
- https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/534612-what-would-mlk-say-about-trump-and-the-republican-party/ ↩︎
- Stanford – The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/dwight-d-eisenhower-0#fn1 ↩︎ - Stanford – The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/johnson-lyndon-baines#:~:text=Later%20that%20year%20Johnson%20won,King%2C%204%20November%201964). ↩︎ - Time.com
https://time.com/5764282/martin-luther-king-jr-politics/ ↩︎