MLK: Nonviolent Coward or Shrewd Mastermind?
After Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, America Is Praying for an Answer
by Cornell Martin
Copyright 2015 Cornell Martin,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2430-9
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cowardice, many times, is only the perception that lies
within the eye of the irrational beholder.
A coward to one man is a hero to another. Are you a hero or a coward?
~ Cornell Martin ~
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of the “freedom fighters” of the past,
the conscious ones of the present, and the prodigious
children of the future. Anything
else would be
uncivilized.
Acknowledgments
The Creator: For giving me the breath of life, the wisdom of the elders in my youth, the determination of a stubborn bull, and a heart of compassion for my fellow woman and man. Being birthed into existence was truly a blessing this time around.
My Publisher: For providing me with the means to bring my vision to the world. Truth be told, I love the way you do business. Consider me a loyal partner.
Sun Tzu, Robert Greene, and Machiavelli: For understanding what the masses tend to neglect. The best victories are bloodless, and only a true mastermind would understand that. King was a mastermind.
All of My Readers: For simply being open-minded enough to read this book, whether you agree with me or not. We need not harmonize on every subject, as long as we harmonize on something. Together, we can help educate the youth, change the world and keep King’s real vision alive. Therefore, white and black, Asian and Hispanic, Native-American and Other—let us all come together. We are the world. Let us act like it.
President Obama: For simply being a mastermind in your own right. Believe me, it may not seem like it now but, in time, my brother, they will understand you. You can bank on it.
All of My Haters: Just keep hating, baby! You inspire me! And there is no such thing as “bad publicity.”
Author’s Note
If you are one of those who believe that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was a coward, you are sadly mistaken. In this book, for the first time in history, from the perspective of strategy, I reveal to you otherwise. I am convinced that, by the time you finish reading this, not only will you view King in another light, but also your perception of civil rights-related protest itself will change. People like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could never be King. Not even close. To be a mastermind, one has to think a certain way. King thought in this certain way. And, I pray that, by this book’s end, you, too, will come to think in a certain way—that is, if you are not doing such already. Enjoy!
Introduction
We have come to a point in American history in which a significant amount of people, due to a variety of factors, believe that the esteemed reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was none other than a nonviolent, bootlicking, ass-kissing coward. When the topic of Civil Rights comes up, on the surface, people praise him. But, in secret, some very vile things are said about this man. With my very own ears, I have heard some of the nastiest things ever said about him. But, in most instances, if not all, the very first thing I noticed about these critics was their lack of understanding about strategy on any kind of battlefield. They were either too radical (“He should’ve killed all those white bitches!”), too racist (“I would never walk side-by-side with a cracker”), or, frankly, too stupid (“Fuck strategy—I just go to war!”) to understand the concept of tactical maneuver. And, in their ignorance, they just rambled on without grasping the genius behind King’s moves.
Therefore, in order to somewhat settle this matter for good, I have decided to write this book. As I look around at the nation as a whole and see what I see, I feel compelled to write it. Trayvon Martin is dead, and Zimmerman was acquitted. Michael Brown is dead, and Officer Darren Wilson is considered the new Zimmerman. Eric Garner was choked to death and, at the time of this writing, the officer who choked him has not been indicted. All over the country, people are protesting these incidents. Jesse Jackson is back in the limelight, and Al Sharpton is still a seemingly perpetual bellyache. Some of the people to whom I have spoken in regard to all of this have told me that America is no better off now than it was 50-plus years ago. As Malcolm X believed, they said that Dr. King’s “dream” has been a nightmare from the beginning. They wanted answers. “If King wasn’t so much of a fucking coward,” one man told me, “we probably wouldn’t even be going though none of this shit.” “So,” I responded, “if I could prove to you that King was not a coward, then, who would you consider responsible?” This man’s response? “Us.”
Well, what if I were to tell you that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was not a coward, and I could prove it? How would you feel then? What if King was really a mastermind who used nonviolence to his advantage on the battlefield, where he and his people were outnumbered? What if Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the real house niggers? What if subtle brainwashing tactics were used by so-called black “leaders” from the very beginning of the Trayvon Martin- and Michael Brown-related protests, all for personal gain? If I could prove to you that classification of humans by “race” is ridiculous, could racism still be justified? And, if I could provide a practical solution to most of America’s problems, would you be willing to help me employ it? By the end of this book, you should have honest answers to all of these questions.
What makes a man a wise strategist, and what makes a man a pure coward, are two totally different things. Sun Tzu put it best in his well-known masterpiece on warfare, The Art of War, when he wrote the following:
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
King knew his enemy and he knew himself, so there were never a hundred “battles” for him to fight. There were only a hundred strategies for him to employ. Misguided “historians,” “authorities,” and whatever else they want to call themselves, have been misinterpreting King for decades. Because they do not understand war from the mastermind’s perspective, they consider King’s strategic maneuvers battles, and this has shaped the overall perception of the public. This is why, when one visits an MLK center or museum, or Black History Month comes around, one tends to see King depicted as a victim—not a strategist. Mostly, from what I have discovered, in a big way, this was King’s intention. He wanted the world to see him as a victim—but those who truly sought to understand him to view him as a strategist. However, because until now no one has really been paying attention, he is primarily perceived as the former rather than the latter. This book changes that.
I do not give a damn what they say, MLK was a shrewd mastermind, and I am taking that to the bank. I would reiterate this on television and tell a historian this to his face. It is time to re-write history and give King the true recognition that he deserves. Truth does not require a “sharp ton” of hullabaloo, and justice’s “son” is not named “Jack.” Wherever they got that bullshit from, they can bring it back! This is a new era, one in which King stands tall on the