How Shall We Protest

Isaac Newton Farris Jr
9 min readMay 23, 2024

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “ The true greatness of America is the right to protest for rights”. The Black Lives Matter protests, the January 6th Capitol Hill insurrection protests, and the current Israel-Palestine protests have all raised questions, for the same reason, about how or if the free exercise of this basic, fundamental, and constitutional American citizenship right should continue to exist.

Invoking Dr. King in any conversation about the act of protesting is gospel because he is the Henry Ford of protesting. Like Henry Ford did not invent the automobile Dr. King did not invent the act of protesting, but like Henry Ford invented the standard way to build an automobile Dr. King invented the standard way to protest. Henry Ford taught the world how to build a car by applying his assembly line idea to the process of building a car, Dr. King taught the world how to protest by applying his Kingian Nonviolence philosophy to the process of protesting.

Most Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors, most Capitol Hill Insurrection (CHI) protestors, and most Israel-Palestine (IP) protestors would claim to be and appear to be, to those who don’t know better, protesting in the great spirit and grand tradition of Dr. King…

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Isaac Newton Farris Jr

Isaac Newton Farris Jr. is the nephew of Martin Luther King, Jr. and serves as Senior Fellow at the King Center.