The assassination of right-wing influencer and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has driven me into a period of deep reflection. Kirk’s killing — allegedly by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson — is unjustifiable and should be condemned by all Americans. Yet, Kirk’s life and legacy are not beyond scrutiny.
In scanning social media, I have not been surprised by the national reaction. Many white evangelicals are praising Kirk, some even describing him as a martyr.
Joel Bowman
Incredibly, a few have gone so far as to compare him to Martin Luther King Jr. Intercessors for America, a Christian group with ties to the Trump administration, even referred to Kirk as “a modern-day MLK” on an e-mail subject line,
As a student of King’s political philosophy, I find such a comparison both abhorrent and nonsensical.
While many white evangelicals are bursting with unadulterated praise for Kirk, many Black Christians, including myself, see him as the very antithesis of King.
While both men professed faith in Jesus, were in their 30s when they were killed, and were controversial in their time, the similarities end there. Simply put, Kirk was no King.
In my estimation, two men could not be more different.
Kirk’s rhetoric was often racist, xenophobic and misogynistic.
On The Charlie Kirk Show (January 23, 2024), he infamously said, “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.”
He dismissed Black women as “affirmative action picks,” claiming they lacked “the brain processing power” to be taken seriously without “stealing a white person’s slot.”
On immigration, he promoted the “great replacement” conspiracy, warning of an effort to replace “white rural America with something different.”
“King affirmed the equality and dignity of all people, grounding his convictions in Scripture.”
By contrast, King affirmed the equality and dignity of all people, grounding his convictions in Scripture: “So God created human beings in his own image” (Genesis 1:27) and “From one man he created all the nations” (Acts 17:26). He was a fierce advocate for racial and economic justice, as reflected in his “I Have a Dream” speech.
King cast a vision for a “Beloved Community” — a society where people from all backgrounds live together in justice, harmony and mutual respect. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King said: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”
Like his close ally Donald Trump, Kirk aligned himself with the rich and powerful. King, by contrast, walked in the way of Jesus — standing with “the least of these,” the oppressed and those on the margins of society. Kirk leaves behind a legacy of division and hate that will fade into dust. King leaves behind a legacy of unity and love that endures with eternal consequence.
For those of us who claim the name of Christ, the contrast between Kirk and King reminds us of the path Jesus calls us to walk. We are not called to exalt the powerful who sow division but to follow the Savior who laid down his life for the oppressed and the forgotten.
In this moment of national grief and confusion, may we recommit ourselves to embodying Christ’s love, justice and mercy — so that the Beloved Community King envisioned, and Jesus died to make possible, can become a lived reality among us.
Joel A. Bowman Sr. serves as founding pastor of the Temple of Faith Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. He also maintains a full-time practice as a licensed clinical social worker. Follow him at acompellingvoice.com.
Related articles:
The morning after an assassination | Opinion by Mark Wingfield
How Charlie Kirk went from college dropout to Trump influencer | Analysis by Mara Richards Bim