Every life matters.

• Author: Emord, Jonathan W.
• Position: Black Lives Matter; includes article on dismantling the administrative state - Political Landscape

MARTIN Luther King Jr.'s dream for the U.S. was one of unity among all people regardless of race, a place of no bigotry or racial strife, where a person would be judged not by the color of his or her skin but by the content of his or her character. He believed in the promise of the Declaration of Independence and called upon America to allow that promise to reach its black citizens equally with its white citizens. His dream was one not of exclusion, separatism, and hate, but of inclusion, unity, and love. "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." He wanted children, regardless of race, to be sisters and brothers, all Americans. He disavowed the politics of segregation, racism, and racial violence.

For that reason, King and Malcolm X were ideological opposites. During his Nation of Islam phase, Malcolm X called for the overthrow of "white people," whom he referred to as "devils." He argued that "blacks are superior to whites," and that blacks eventually would take over the world. Malcolm X called King a stooge for the white establishment and referred to King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech as a "farce." Malcolm X believed the black and white races never could--and never should--integrate.

The Black Lives Matter movement more readily subscribes to the views of Malcolm X than it does the legacy of King. Like Malcolm X, Black Lives Matter does not embrace the Declaration of Independence and the promise of equal justice under law and racial harmony for all. Instead, the movement denounces the U.S. and all American institutions--and advocates racial strife as a means to promote the interests of blacks at the expense of law and order.

On the Black Lives Matter website, the group explains its creed. In reference to the U.S., it says, "This corrupt democracy was built on indigenous genocide and chattel slavery, and continues to thrive on the brutal exploitation of people of color. We recognize that not even a Black president will pronounce our truths. We must continue the task of making Americans uncomfortable about institutional racism. Together, we will re-imagine what is possible and build a system that is designed for Blackness to thrive."

Its members aim to bring down institutions of government at all levels and among all political parties because, for them, these institutions are the inheritors of white...