The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement

The misuse of Martin Luther King's legacy divides us and undermines democracy. White, right-wing social movements have claimed the collective memory of civil rights to portray themselves as the newly oppressed minorities, distorting history and threatening the foundations of multicultural democracy. Hajar Yazdiha's book "The Struggle for the Peoples King" documents the consequential reimagining of the civil rights movement in American political culture from 1980 to today, showing how the public memory of King and civil rights has transformed into a vacated, sanitized collective memory that evades social reality and perpetuates racial inequality.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 286 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, a diverse array of groups have emerged with civil rights claims that mirror the aspirations of Black activists from the 1960s. These groups include individuals with disabilities, women's rights advocates, and LGBTQ coalitions, among others. Since the 1980s, white, right-wing social movements, ranging from family values coalitions to the alt-right, have increasingly appropriated the collective memory of civil rights to portray themselves as the newly oppressed minorities.

The book "The Struggle for the Peoples King" delves into the ways in which these powerful groups manipulate collective memory to serve their political agendas. It highlights how they create distorted versions of history that undermine the foundations of multicultural democracy. White conservatives, for instance, reimagine gun rights activists as the modern-day Rosa Parks, anti-abortion activists as freedom riders, and antigay groups as defenders of Martin Luther King's Christian vision.

Through a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of evidence, including newspaper articles, organizational documents, television transcripts, press releases, and focus groups, Hajar Yazdiha meticulously documents the consequential reimagining of the civil rights movement in American political culture from 1980 to the present. She reveals how the public memory of King and civil rights has been transformed into a vacated, sanitized collective memory that evades social reality and perpetuates racial inequality.

"The Struggle for the Peoples King" is a powerful and persuasive book that demonstrates the detrimental impact of these oppositional uses of memory on our collective understanding of who we are, how we arrived at this point, and where we should be heading. It serves as a timely reminder of the importance of preserving the true legacy of civil rights and ensuring that it is used to promote equality and justice for all.

Weight: 456g
Dimension: 155 x 235 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691246475