Black activists say CRT hurts Martin Luther King’s legacy

close

Video

Honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. amid fight for equality

Texas congressional candidate Wesley Hunt and co-author of 'Black Eye for America' Dr. Carol Swain joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Black activists are taking aim at critical race theory as the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day, arguing that the theory that has spread across the country is the opposite of what King fought for during his life.

"Critical race theory points out that only one group or race is systematically racist, and that they are irredeemable and can never be forgiven," Emery McClendon, a member of the Project 21 national advisory council, told Fox News on Sunday. "That concept totally contradicts Scripture and the morals of civilized society." 

"Dr. King taught love and the need for mankind to seek to judge one another based on the content of our character, not on the color of our skin," he continued.

ALVEDA KING TELLS FOX NEWS DIGITAL HOW AMERICANS CAN BE MORE LIKE MLK JR. IN 2022

March 1965:  Martin Luther King (1929  - 1968) and his wife Coretta Scott King lead a civil rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery. (Photo by William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images) (William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images)

Leaders from Project 21, a black leadership network sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, say that critical race theory inches the nation away from King's legacy by politicizing race when the late civil rights leader preached a message of unity.

Members of Project 21 pointed to examples such as the 1619 Project, which they argued teaches division in place of the unity that King aspired to.

"Because the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory have perpetuated a narrative of 'systemic racism,' it is all the more imperative that we refocus our efforts on why it is important to reach Dr. King’s dream of climbing to the mountaintop," said Project 21 member Emery McClendon in a Sunday press release.

While advocates of critical race theory say they are attempting to teach an important part of American history that is often ignored, McClendon counters that it actually does more harm than good.

American Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968) speaks at a rally held at the Robert Taylor Houses in Chicago, Illinois, 1960s. (Photo by Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images) ( Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images)

"CRT is a very harmful doctrine and at the onset of its training, causes Black students and others to always see themselves as inferior and helpless victims who are discriminated against with no possible solution for change, or advancement," McClendon told Fox News.

McClendon argued that the theory "teaches that racism is at the heart of the foundation of America," while simultaneously teaching that "our whole American system must be destroyed" in order to defeat racism.

"After it's destruction they have no clear path to Reconstruction, except to push our government toward Marxism and socialist policies," McClendon said. "No wonder, because CRT has its roots in Marxist Critical Theory modified to infiltrate the capitalist system."

GET THE FOX NEWS APP HERE

Portrait of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.  (Photo by Walter Bennett/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

McClendon argues that the country needs to return to King's message, which he said teaches people to see each other as individuals and not define them by their race.

"We must stress that every individual is capable of obtaining success and the pursuit of the American Dream through hard work and determination," McClendon said. "We must not set aside certain groups and make them feel like they cannot achieve their life's goals unless they are spoon-fed and given a lifestyle that makes them dependent on the government for life. They must also realize that equal opportunity does not mean equal outcome, and life is full of failures, but successful people never allow failure to defeat them."