The endgame behind the MLK Files — erase the man, then erase the holiday

By Frances Murphy Draper 
AFRO Publisher                                                                                                    

Let’s call this what it is.

The sudden release of over 230,000 pages of FBI files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—two years ahead of schedule—is not about transparency. It’s a calculated, racially motivated campaign to tarnish the legacy of one of America’s greatest moral leaders. Discredit the man. Discredit the movement. Then—discredit the holiday.

This latest move unfolds amid a broader reactionary wave: voter suppression, book bans, attacks on civil rights—all aimed at rewriting history. Dr. King, the moral backbone of nonviolent protest, is the latest target. First comes character assassination via selective FBI leaks; next comes “debate” over whether he deserves a day on the federal calendar.

Let’s talk timing—or rather, twisted purpose. Charlie Kirk, a far-right activist and founder of Turning Point USA, recently declared, “MLK was awful … not a good person.” His real issue? That King helped usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a law Kirk now calls “a huge mistake.” Other right-wing voices suggest replacing MLK Day with Juneteenth, calling him “heinous” and using long-debunked allegations to justify erasing him from memory.

These aren’t just fringe opinions—they’re test balloons. Once public trust frays, the question becomes: Why honor him at all?

We have a stark warning from Fort Gregg-Adams, recently renamed back to Fort Lee. The base, once named for a Confederate general, was renamed in 2023 to honor two distinguished Black military heroes: Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, commander of the 6888^th Central Postal Battalion. Two years later, the base was renamed again—this time after Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Buffalo soldier. A symbolic walk-back dressed in careful language but make no mistake: it was a retreat. A retreat from reckoning with history. A retreat from centering Black excellence. A retreat that reeks of political calculation.

The same playbook applies elsewhere. Take the recent removal of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress. The first Black and first female appointee to the post, Dr. Hayden is an esteemed champion of access, literacy and the preservation of marginalized voices. Yet, in a sudden and unexplained move, her leadership was pushed aside under pressure from those who claimed her stewardship was “too political”—code, in many circles, for being too inclusive. Too committed to truth. Too willing to tell the full story.

If they can quietly sideline Dr. Carla Hayden…
If they can erase Fort Gregg-Adams…
If they can ban books by Black authors and call it curriculum reform…
If they can target AP African American Studies and claim it lacks “educational value”…
If they can question the legitimacy of the Civil Rights Act…
If they can tell lies about Dr. King and expect no accountability…

What makes us think they’ll stop short of dismantling MLK Day?

Legally, repealing the holiday would require an act of Congress. It’s never been done before. But in an era when cultural memory is increasingly shaped by ideology and outrage, the unthinkable becomes possible.

Let’s be clear: Dr. King didn’t march for a day off. He marched for justice—for a multiracial democracy that still struggles to be realized. The holiday is not a handout. It is a moral marker. That’s precisely why it’s in the crosshairs.

These attacks are not about the past. They’re about controlling the future. About silencing symbols that inspire progress. About rewriting American memory in ways that serve fear, not freedom.

The AFRO has always been on the frontlines of the fight for equality—speaking truth to power, exposing injustice and amplifying Black voices. We’ve done it for more than 130 years and we’re not stopping now.

We must heed the warning signs. Because if they can do all this in plain sight, imagine what they’ll try to do next.