President Martin Luther King Jr.

apollo11

Banned
In honor of today (and the man) I'd figure I'd ask. What POD (if any, is this ASB?) could get Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the White House? I figure the first is for him not to get assassinated.
 
This isn't quite ASB but probably borders on it.

King was known for having pacifist and socialist views during his lifetime, which automatically becomes a huge liability in any presidential campaign. J. Edgar Hoover even lau ched a huge investigation of him hoping to bring him down. Plus, while he was alive, more Americans viewed him unfavorably than favorably. One last obstacle you have to overcome with this AHC is the fact that at King's autopsy, doctors revealed that at 39, he had the heart of a 60 year old man due to all the stress of leading the civil rights movement, so he might not have much time to build a political career.

However, you know what they say, stranger things have happened...
 

apollo11

Banned
This isn't quite ASB but probably borders on it.

King was known for having pacifist and socialist views during his lifetime, which automatically becomes a huge liability in any presidential campaign. J. Edgar Hoover even lau ched a huge investigation of him hoping to bring him down. Plus, while he was alive, more Americans viewed him unfavorably than favorably. One last obstacle you have to overcome with this AHC is the fact that at King's autopsy, doctors revealed that at 39, he had the heart of a 60 year old man due to all the stress of leading the civil rights movement, so he might not have much time to build a political career.

However, you know what they say, stranger things have happened...
My only idea is that he runs for say the Democratic nomination in the 70s, somehow wins, and then due to quirks in the Electoral College (which seems to be a common trope in Alt History to get near ASB Presidential Candidates to win) becomes POTUS. I mean one thing I always wondered was how successful his poor people campaign could have been if he wasn't killed? Could it have been the class equivalent to OTL Civil Rights Movement?
 
Best chance is probably for someone to convince him to run with Dr. Spock in 1968, as he'd been pressured to do and said no. It's a really outside possibility, but possible.
 
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