Lauren Boebert joined the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations on X, but her comments were met with fierce backlash due to the GOP’s opposition to DEI.
Boebert shared two posts
Initially, the Colorado firebrand wrote, “This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we celebrate the life of a man who led a movement for freedom and prosperity for all. The fight was for equality, not equity. His dream is the American Dream.”
Boebert’s on MLK’s dream
The Colorado Republican, heading the 3rd congressional district but campaigning in the fourth, shared on her campaign account, “Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that we would all be equal in America. Equity had no part of that dream. It was about equality. Let’s end the woke movement in America in honor of MLK Jr.”
The origins of “woke”
Despite what the term represents today, it was “alert to racial prejudice and discrimination” in the King’s era. The term originated likely in the 30s, in a song by a Black artist, Lead Belly.
The story behind the song
The term was used in his song Scottsboro Boys, which speaks about nine Black teens falsely accused of assaulting two White women in Alabama.
Many mocked Boebert’s posts
“Hey, @laurenboebert, Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome,” wrote a user under the handle @KellDA.
Pick and chose
“You are a literal fool. You can’t pick and choose the parts of MLK you want to agree with. He demanded equality as well as equity,” Torrence Williams responded to one of Boebert’s posts.
More responses
One person told Boebert that King was “synonymous with everything woke is about.” Someone asked Bobert to “try learning about what MLK stood for.”
The backlash continued on Reddit
Reddit posters were more vicious, with one writing, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Another said, “In her defense, she is really dumb.” Third chimed in, “The end of old racism is the beginning of new racism.”
Boebert’s “campaigning”
“She’s campaigning. The people in her (new) district eat this stuff up,” this Reddit user stated, while another Reddit poster joked, “GPT won’t write me a limerick about MLK, vaping and inappropriate touching. Why do we even have AI?”
King’s son, Martin Luther King III, shared love for his father
“Dad, I will always remember the joy you brought to our home and community. I remember your unwavering dedication to peace, justice & equity. I know that we will one day realize your dream because the arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice. Happy birthday, Dad,” wrote Martin Luther King III on X.
MLK Day fell on his 95th birthday
MLK Day is celebrated on the third Monday of January. This year, it happened to fall on the civil rights leader’s 95th birthday, making the holiday all the more special.
Woke in today’s world
The term woke expanded, and according to 56 percent of Americans, it means “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” However, 39 percent said it means to be “overly politically correct and police others’ words,” a March 2023 USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll concluded.
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