In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded Martin Luther King Jr. the Margaret Sanger Award for “his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity.” After reading about this I could only say, “What the ****????!?!!?” Why did Doctor King accept this award? Why would anyone accept this award, let alone one of the most popular black leaders of all time?
If you are baffled by the paragraph above then you clearly do not know anything about the history of Planned Parenthood or the personal beliefs of Margaret Sanger. When I learned about history and found out about Margaret Sanger I was shocked that anyone could think she was a great lady who should have an award named after her. Then of course, there is Planned Parenthood which Sanger helped found, that supports some of the most disgusting acts ever perpetrated by humans.
Margaret Sanger was a big fan of eugenics as a means to rid society of “undesirables”. In 1939 she started “The Negro Project” which had the goal of suppressing the black population through “family planning”. Planned Parenthood was started by Sanger with the purpose of racial purification. Sanger would often give speeches to members of the KKK. She references black people as “human weeds”, “reckless breeders” and as “human beings who never should have been born.”
All this brings me back to the original and baffling question; why would Dr. King accept an award named after Margaret Sanger from an organization started for her sick purposes? I really have no clue. I have the utmost respect for Dr. King and his accomplishments and I would just like to know about this occurrence which has bothered me for a while.
For a comprehensive history on the whole subject, I recommend the documentary “Maafa 21”.
UPDATE: I just saw this video in which Dr. Alveda King sheds more light on the lies about the history of the relationship between MLK and Planned Parenthood.
I would have liked to have seen an outright refusal of the award, but this definitely helps me to see more of the picture.
You are speaking of a different time. I believe that Sanger’s words and actions could be considered heinous, by today’s standards. In her time, eugenics was in vogue, even many of the religiously devout were for it. Racism was also a norm. It was assumed by colonialists and Western society in general that Africans were inferior to white and other racists. Even Ghandi was racist towards blacks, at his time, when he lived in South Africa. Of course, I am sure that is covered in the DVD. Where did you find it?
I totally get that it was a different time and I will defend to my dying breath her right to be a racist. Even though it is stupid and wrong, being racist is protected by the constitution (which brings up a whole new topic in regards to what happens when large groups of individuals are racist). The real problem I have is the fact that she wanted to rid the world of black people and actually took action towards that end. The taking of life is the most blatant violation of our rights and to do it for purposes of genocide makes it seem that much more the act of a dastard. To this day (or at least to around Feb, 2008) planned parenthood will allow you to specify donations to go towards killing black babies.
an important distinction about your comment, mansquatch. we all individually have the constitutional right to hold opinions about other races, or as one law professor put it, the right to be a jerk. What the Constitution prohibits is the government being racial in any of its actions which has been taken to interesting and far ranging extents. I was not aware of the origins of PP or Sanger. Thanks for the info.