Even while millions will pay tribute to him today, Martin Luther-King's liberal approach has gone out of fashion.
A few years ago, when I appealed to his "judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" at a speech at my old university, my remarks were received with cold hostility and some people walked out.
These days we are frequently told that MLK's suggestion that we should strive to make race irrelevant, is wrong. Even Frederick Douglas (a freed slave) who said much the same thing, and pleaded for society mostly to leave freed slaves alone to make their way in the world of open commerce, is being vilified.
Racial justice is today seen as requiring *a heightened race consciousness*, and affirmative discrimination legal intrusions, generalized contrition and entitlement, depending on your race. In short, racial justice is a kind of "historically justified racism". This is the line being vigorously pushed by the Democratic party today. Predictably it started in the academy but has now spread to the streets and into Congress.
There are many dissenters, black and white. In the piece featured below MLK's vision is reaffirmed.
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-left-hijacked-civil-rights-11610748711
Here are links to two other relevant pieces.
>https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mlks-content-of-character-quote-inspires-debate
>https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-new-nihilism-11591225713