# What if Martin Luther King had not been assassinated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 18, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447 "2010-01-18T18:06:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/1 "2010-01-18T18:06:17Z")
An obvious question to ask on King Day. I’m interested in one aspect in particular (but feel free to add your own to the discussion): Toward the end of his life, King was shifting his focus from race to class. He started a [Poor People’s Campaign,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People's_Campaign) with a big march on Washington planned, to demand an “economic bill of rights.” It kind of fizzled out after his death, and nothing of the kind with such a high profile has since emerged in America. (Nowadays, “populism” in American politics means focusing on middle-class and to some lesser degree working-class concerns; anybody below that gets ignored.) Would that have gone any differently if King had lived? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/2 "2010-01-18T18:25:36Z")
For a more recent discussion of the idea of an economic bill of rights, see [here.](http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2010/01/11/second_bill_of_rights/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/3 "2010-01-18T20:38:41Z")
I believe this hypothesis [was already covered](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_the_King_(The_Boondocks)). ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/4 "2010-01-18T21:58:05Z")
If what I’ve read is correct, they probably would have taken his doctorate back for plagiarism. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/5 "2010-01-18T22:11:32Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > I believe this hypothesis [was already covered](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_the_King_(The_Boondocks)). But my hypothetical leaves out the coma. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/6 "2010-01-18T22:30:25Z")
I believe the more success he found, the more he would be discredited. It is just the way the system reacts to change. Programs such as [COINTELPRO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO) and well-funded campaigns against his cause from those of the elite class would find something to use against him. Things such as alleged infidelity and the above cited plagiarism (I am not familiar with that charge) would undoubtedly be examples of this. While he would have gone on to be an even more successful civil rights leader, his star would not have risen as high as we now view it. I guess I am just cynical. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/7 "2010-01-18T22:33:14Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > I believe the more success he found, the more he would be discredited. It is just the way the system reacts to change. Programs such as [COINTELPRO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO) and well-funded campaigns against his cause from those of the elite class would find something to use against him. Things such as alleged infidelity and the above cited plagiarism (I am not familiar with that charge) would undoubtedly be examples of this. While he would have gone on to be an even more successful civil rights leader, his star would not have risen as high as we now view it. I guess I am just cynical. But, [COINTELPRO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cointelpro) was discontinued in 1971. (Or so they say . . .) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/8 "2010-01-19T01:41:26Z")
He would be denigrated much like all the so-called “black” leaders are today. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/9 "2010-01-19T01:55:20Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > He would be denigrated much like all the so-called “black” leaders are today. . . . Is this a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/10 "2010-01-19T01:57:04Z")
No. Why? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/11 "2010-01-19T02:21:07Z")
He’d be right there with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. His cheating on his wife would be front page news. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/12 "2010-01-19T02:25:28Z")
I think **monstro** is right. He would be villified and caricaturized by the Rush Limbaughs of the world, and the fact that he was a human being would have eventually have eroded his iconic status until he died of old age, at which point he would be lionized all over again. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/13 "2010-01-19T02:36:39Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > No. Why? The “so-called ‘black’” part raised suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/14 "2010-01-19T02:42:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The “so-called ‘black’” part raised suspicion. It’s the “leader” part that the demagogues really like to tout. Black people are all mindless lemmings who can’t form an opinion without looking to Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. Targeting “black leaders” is a tactic utilized to dismiss opinions of the black community as being illegitimate and controlled. It’s also a simple way to attack black people in general by pretending they’re just attacking these so-called “black leaders.” Note that they sometimes try to put Barack Obama into this category too, althoughl he is plainly of a much different generation and temperament. At times he will be accused of sounding like a “black preacher,” for instance, even though he has never sounded anything of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/15 "2010-01-19T03:30:00Z")
If he hadn’t been assassinated, he would have just turned 71 on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/16 "2010-01-19T03:33:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > If he hadn’t been assassinated, he would have just turned 71 on Friday. Hmm . . Not so old, nowadays, especially not in public life. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/17 "2010-01-19T05:03:06Z")
No [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGKW3O6EpMo)! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/18 "2010-01-19T05:19:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > If he hadn’t been assassinated, he would have just turned 71 on Friday. Oops, sorry. 81. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/19 "2010-01-20T18:39:51Z")
My guess is we’d feel _unbelievably bad_ about having buried him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-martin-luther-king-had-not-been-assassinated/525447/20 "2010-01-20T18:51:23Z")
Does anybody have any opinions about how the Poor People’s Campaign (see OP) would have gone if King had survived to lead it?