In North Carolina, three prominent black priests and other respected clergy have rebuked North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, for his past comments about the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
After that, Robinson is under heavy fire CNN has shared countless controversial comments According to claims he made on social networks, websites and message boards between 2008 and 2012, including calling himself a “Black Nazi”. He categorically denied these words coming from him. Robinson too stated that he will remain in the gubernatorial race Against Democratic challenger Josh Stein, despite calls from within the Republican Party to resign. His spokesman, Michael Lonergan, said in an email after CNN’s report that “what Democrats have said about Mark Robinson is either patently false or taken out of context.”
Robinson called out the legendary civil rights leader King, but did not address his incendiary comments in 2011, according to CNN. “funny bastard,” “worse than a wolf” and “scary.” NBC News’ requests for comment from his campaign went unanswered. Robinson also allegedly said, “I’m not in the KKK. They don’t allow blacks to join.” If the KKK had allowed black members, Robinson allegedly told King, he would have used an anti-black slur to refer to “Martin Lucifer Coon!”
Robinson has been Endorsed by presidential candidate Donald Trumpwho once called him “Martin Luther King on steroids.” He added: “I told Mark that. I said, I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King twice.”
Considering Robinson documented history of bombastic commentsKing’s oldest child, Martin Luther King III, said in a statement Thursday that he was not surprised by the alleged comments about his father.
“His glorification of slavery, disparaging rhetoric and grotesque characterization of my father and his legacy are deeply troubling to North Carolinians and all Americans who oppose racism and bigotry,” he said.
King added that he and his wife, Arndrea Waters, will campaign to support King Stein “and local candidates who will stand up for women, Black and Brown North Carolinians, and whoever Mark Robinson chooses to insult.”
Black Religious leaders who revered King were particularly offended by Robinson’s claim that he denigrated King’s influence on the world. Some pastors said they would “not respect Robinson by reacting to his dishonorable comments.” Others who spoke to NBC News, including Sir Walter Mack, bishop of Unity Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said Robinson needed to be educated about King’s message.
“What we need to do is help people understand what King stood for, which was to unite people and bring people together in a spirit of love, and that’s the language and the method we need to keep today. “We’re not going to glorify anyone or anything that goes against Dr. King’s work and legacy. It’s all about the love he presented,” Mack said.
Mycal Brickhouse of Grove Baptist Church in Raleigh said Robinson’s alleged past comments “further exposed a political leader who has embraced a narrative of hate and supremacy, creating more problems as a threat to a unifying leader. “Instead of promoting polarizing and malicious ideas, we should learn the lessons of history and remember the negative effects of devaluing the humanity of others in order to increase a perceived advantage.”
On Martin Luther King Day in 2018, Robinson disparaged those who admired King’s legacy, calling him a lowly preacher.
“It’s both funny and sad that so many people have followed the lead of a bunch of atheists and worshiped an ersatz priest as a god,” he said. In a Facebook post.
Robert C. Scott, pastor of Saint Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte, said Robinson’s disregard for King’s case goes beyond the man. “This is an affront to Dr. King’s legacy and ministry, as well as the Black church and humanity in general,” Scott said. “I think it’s really an appropriation of what King did, like Donald Trump did by calling Mark Robinson a ‘Martin Luther King on steroids.’ And they don’t know King well enough to compare Mark Robinson to Dr. King.”
In a statement to NBC News, Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said the candidate is “focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is an important part of that plan. We are confident that voters will support Trump’s strong economy, low inflation, secure borders and safe streets.” President Trump will win again in the Tarheel State as he compares his record to the failures of Biden-Harris. We will not take our eyes off the ball.”
In a 2017 Facebook post, Robinson called the Civil Rights Movement “nonsense,” which stunned Henry P. Davis II, pastor of First Baptist Church in Highland Park, Landover, Maryland.
“I have been Dr. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing people who knew King, and they almost rolled over in their graves at the ridiculousness of what he said,” Davis said. He added that if efforts to ban the teaching of Black history in schools increase, young people may emulate similar rhetoric.
“It’s also a perfect example of why some history should be taught in our classrooms, because it’s clear that Mr. Robinson, especially Dr. It is independent of King and his collaborators. Dr. King,” Davis said.
Eric Vickers, pastor of Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, outside Atlanta, said Robinson’s comments speak to a larger “moral decay” in the country that makes Robinson “unfit for public office.”
“Among so many vile and wrong claims, being black in America and disrespecting the selfless work of Dr. King and his army of nonviolent civil rights activists is an insult to his ancestry and the freedoms he had,” Vickers said. “He will make himself a blackface fan and the mascot of Project 2025. At this point, the best way forward for Mr. Robinson is an exit. Obviously, voting in this election has a big consequence, and the church needs to be engaged and concerned about what kind of society we’re going to inherit if we don’t participate.”