The Conversation (0)
Ariana Baio
Apr 07, 2022
Ohio Senate candidate issues ad railing against critical race theory
Video
A Republican senate candidate was criticised for trying to explain the politics of Dr Martin Luther King Jr - to the civil rights legend's own daughter.
Former Ohio Representative and current Senate candidate, Josh Mandel, told Bernice King to 'study your history better' on Tuesday when King refuted statements Mandel made.
Mandel, 44, recently shared an anti-critical race theory video and said King and The King Center motivated him to film the advertisement in Selma, Alabama.
In the video, Mandel says, "Martin Luther King marched right here so skin color wouldn't matter."
King, 59, responded with a tweet, clarifying neither she nor The King Center would have wanted Mandel to film the video, and that her father would not approve of it due to his nonviolent protest stance.
The Ohio Republican is pro-gun, pro-God, and pro-Trump, according to his political advertisement.
Sign up for our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. notably preached and believed in nonviolence. For approximately 13 years, Dr. King led the nonviolent modern civil rights movement.
Josh: Regretfully, I do not believe that I or @TheKingCenter legitimately motivated you to film this ad, as it is in opposition to nonviolence and to much of what my father taught. \n\nI encourage you to study my father/nonviolence in full. \n\nRegister: https://thekingcenterinstitute.org\u00a0https://twitter.com/joshmandelohio/status/1511384138653343750\u00a0\u2026— Be A King (@Be A King) 1649182370
Mandel responded to the civil rights activist's daughter with an anecdote from Dr. King's life, insinuating to the civil rights activist's daughter did know her own father's beliefs.
The anecdote Mandel used is one often used by pro-gun activists.
At one point in Dr. King's life, he sought-out a gun license because his house was bombed and friends urged him to find ways to protect himself and his family. However, Dr. King's gun license application was denied.
Your father knew the importance of the Second Amendment when he tried to exercise his right to self-defense and was wrongly denied a gun permit by anti-gun racists.\n\nFirearms \u2260 violence. Study your history better @BerniceKing.https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/1511406522508754945\u00a0\u2026— Josh Mandel (@Josh Mandel) 1649187686
The Ohio Senate candidate received backlash from Twitter users who read through the exchange.
"Dude's whitemansplaining MLK Jr to the man's daughter I mean..." a Twitter user commented on the thread.
"You have the unmitigated gall, caucasity, and audacity to lecture Dr. King’s own daughter and the head of the King Center on Dr. King’s words and legacy? You don’t get to do that. You can take your misplaced so-called white “intellect” and take two seats," Michael responded to Mandel.
The exchange ended with King replying to Mandel with a passage from her father's book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story in which Dr. King explains his gun license application story and feelings toward weapons.
My father\u2019s own words from his book, \u2018Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story.\u2019 I encourage you to read the entire book. #MLKpic.twitter.com/B27moNq8lr— Be A King (@Be A King) 1649189547
King urged Mandel to read her father's book and find more resources through The King Center.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.