“Yet you don’t speak out…”
Millions of Americans celebrated the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
The White House recognized the day with a video containing rare footage of the civil rights icon:
“Dr. King’s dream is our dream. It is the American Dream. It’s the promise stitched into the fabric of our Nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind.” pic.twitter.com/tyUZGTecDY
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 15,2018
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared a very personal message:
Twenty years ago as a student at Central High I watched President @BillClinton and my dad @GovMikeHuckabee open the doors for the Little Rock Nine – the same doors that had previously been closed to them because they were black. A moment I’ll never forget. #MLKDay
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 15,2018
Central High is now one of the most racially diverse and high achieving schools in the state, and black unemployment in America just hit an all time low. Far more to be done, but let’s honor MLK’s great legacy by empowering all Americans with better schools and better opportunity https://t.co/4snzMRX5Y4
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 15,2018
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), in a series of tweets, delivered a very powerful tribute to Dr. King:
Dr. King – I was just two years old when you were tragically killed in April 1968. You were born in the same decade as my grandfather, another black man born in the Jim Crow South. #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
But even though you were stolen from this world too young, your legacy endures. The change we have seen since you and my grandfather were born in the 1920s, not just in the South but across the country, has been massive. #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
There are obvious ways, such as the end of Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Act, but also ways we perhaps do not think about…ways your legacy has endured, even through tragedy. #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
When nine parishioners were killed at Mother Emanuel in 2015, the killer sought a race war. Perhaps at some point in our nation’s history, his plan would have worked. But not now. We are stronger from your teachings, more unified by your passion, & fortified by your words.
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” The Charleston shooter failed, and as the families of those killed stood with such grace and righteousness, your legacy shone as bright as ever. #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
So while we certainly still have much work to do, we continue to step forward. Sometimes imperceptibly so, sometimes in a leap, but forward nonetheless. #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
#ThankYouMLK50, for your passion, your strength, your unending quest for justice, your blood, sweat and tears, your ultimate sacrifice, and for being someone who truly left the world a better place than when they entered it.
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
While we honor you today, your memory is imprinted on the fabric of our nation every single day. For every child of color who dreams of a brighter future and every American who works to strengthen our foundations, #ThankYouMLK50
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15,2018
It wasn’t long until critics started calling Scott a racist — but not because of the comments he made Monday. They focused on the fact he has supported President Donald Trump and that he is a Republican:
Let’s be clear: Liberals aren’t mad at Tim Scott because he’s black. We’re mad at him because he’s sold out working/poor people-many black/brown like him-to transfer $$ to ppl who don’t really need it. Stop trotting out MLK to cover shitty legislation. https://t.co/Uyvsgo8a0N
— Rob Fields (@robfields) December 23,2017
SIGH: Sen. Tim Scott’s AWESOME tribute to #MartinLutherKing brings out the HATEFUL Left in frothy droves https://t.co/OZAlWurnsW
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 15,2018
You want to honor MLK then quit the Republican Party.
— d. jons (@dpjonestown) January 15,2018
Sen. Tim Scott Writes A Beautiful Tribute To MLK, Liberals Call Him An ‘Uncle Tom’ And A… Racist??? https://t.co/yFx7BgEIbL @chicksonright
— All American Girl (@AIIAmericanGirI) January 15,2018
Scott has often been criticized for his conservative positions — ironically embodying another of Dr. King’s quotations from “ Strength to Love ”: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
