The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Wrong Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

In honor of MLK Day, Roy Wood Jr. takes a look at stunningly inappropriate ways businesses and advertisers have chosen to commemorate the legacy of Dr. King. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Today is Martin Luther King Day, a day when America celebrates the legacy of one of its greatest civil rights leaders, and a day where black people get to cut in line at Chipotle. At least that's my excuse. But what is Martin Luther King Day? And how should people celebrate it? Well, for more on this, we turn to a man who has had many dreams that no one wants to hear about. Roywood, Jr. everybody.

Welcome, Roy. Welcome. Good to have you. Good to see you. Good to see you, Mandela. Look. MLK Day is a special day for America, and it's a special day for me as someone who has been mistaken for Martin Luther King Jr. many times. But as we get further and further away from his life, it's easy to forget what he was really about. Which means sometimes people celebrate him in a really fucked up way. So today, I'd like to show y'all some of my favorite MLK fuck fuckups like this one. The holiday didn't go as planned for some today. A business in Duluth, Minnesota created controversy when promoting a sale in honor of the civil rights leader. The sign posted at the shop red MLK Day sale 25% off everything black. the owner says it was just

misinterpreted. 25% off everything black. He was black. He was proud. He looked good. We were celebrating that. Are you serious? For MLK Day, 25% off for black clothes? What it should be is 100% off of black people. Free at last, free at last. Free at last. Yeah, Roy, pants, tops, and coats are free at last.

Yeah, Roy, you know, what makes it worse is that if you read Dr. King's speeches, you'll see that he was opposed to consumerism and wasteful capitalism. That's right. Celebrating MLK Day with a sale, it's like commemorating Samuel L. Jackson day by whispering. That's not what the man stands for. It's not like in the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle like like like like in the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle like in the middle the middle like in the middle the middle the middle like in the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the m. the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What's the m. What the m. What the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle the middle. the middle. the middle. the middle. the mc. I. I. I. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. t. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. whispering. That's not what the man stands for. It's not like in the middle of his mountaintop speech. Dr. King just broke off and remember me with savings too insane to be believed. I might not get to that store witcher, but my eyes are seeing the power of the discount. Come on, Coretta, let's roll. You know, it actually is unfortunate, because it seems like some white people are out of

touch with Dr. King's legacy. Oh, it's not just a white thing. In fact, Dr. King might actually be proud that on his special day, people of all colors and backgrounds have been fucking up. As we pause to honor Dr. King this year, a flyer for a local event that bears his image, is causing quite a stir. But as NBC-, Swalter Smith tells us right now, the party is now canceled. The party promoters, nowhere to be found.

This poster has a lot of people shaking their heads in disgust. It shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wearing a gold chain promoting a party called Freedom to Twerk. It was supposed to take place at this club, but it's been canceled. The owner says he's disgusted and there'll be no twirking here. There will be no twirking here. Sound like Gandalf in a Tyler Perry movie. There will be no twirking here! And then, you know, the strippers fly all over the flex. Also, how are you going to photoshop Dr. King with gold chains to try and make them look there.. there there there there there there their.. He their. He their. He their. He their their their their their their their their their there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there's there's there be there's there. There's there. There there. There there. There there. There there. There there. There there. there there there there. to photoshop Dr. King with gold chains to try and make them

look cool? He was already cool. Look at these real pictures of Dr. King from back in the day. Look at him playing pool in a suit. In a silver, right? Fresh from a march. That shot so cool. It doesn't matter if he misses. And here he is, making the library look cool.

Stated in front of books like they stack some money. But this is my favorite Martin Luther King, wearing sunglasses inside. Trevor, he could have taken that call in private, but he left the door open for the haters. But maybe, maybe the most popular activity on MLK Day is using his legacy to push your own agenda and no one has done it in a more interesting fashion than this guy. I believe that Gun Appreciation Day honors the legacy of Dr. King. And the truth is,

I think Martin Luther King would agree with me if we were alive today, that if African-Americans had been given the right to keep and bear arms from day one of the, of-o-o, to the the the the the the their-o, their-o, their-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-up-o-up-o-o-up-o-upon-upon-upon-o'-o'-o-o-to-to-to-to-to-to-to-a-a-to-a-to-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-n., to-n., to-n.e-n. to-n. to-n. t. to-e-e-e-e-e-e. to-e. to-e. to-e. to-ease-ea-n. to-e. to-e. to-ay, that if African-Americans had been given the right to keep and bear arms from day one of the country's founding, perhaps slavery might not have been a chapter in our history. Okay, okay, hold up. I'm pretty sure on Dr. King's list of priorities. Giving slaves guns comes way below not having slaves in the first place. The logic, the logic makes no sense. It makes no sense. How would you do that? Like, do you think the slave owners would have just had a little chit-chat?

Well, should we set them free? Oh, no, don't set them free? Let's make it interesting. Give them shotguns. Now, I will say this. If slaves did have guns, the movie roots, the movie roots would have only been 15 minutes long. told me, oh whatever you want us to call. It's cool. What is it? Okay.

Okay. So, so Roy, we've seen people mess it up, you know, with sales or, you know, with their own agendas. But what is the proper way to celebrate Dr. King's legacy? Listen, man, it's simple. MLK was for racial equality, economic justice, and stixtus and poverty. And tho, the the day our great nation would rise above bigotry, injustice, and poverty. And on that day, my friends, there will be twirking for everyone everywhere.

Why would you everybody? The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.