American schoolchildren know that Dr Martin Luther King Jr believed in the power of Christian love to redeem a world filled with hatred. But far fewer know his radical critique of American capitalism and war.

King stands apart from all other figures in US history. He is the only private citizen honored by a national holiday and with a personal monument on the National Mall in Washington, D. C.

This is both a testimony to King’s personal brilliance and to the importance of keeping that brilliance contained within parameters that are acceptable to American capitalism. On a postage stamp, and within the tributes coming from politicians, King becomes a paragon of national redemption, a symbol of America’s ability to overcome racism and put the nasty business of slavery and Jim Crow behind us.