Reagan canonized King to neutralize his radical politics

Evidence

With these words, Reagan ushered King into our national pantheon. He was now a true patriot—an exemplar of the American Idea, not a communist sympathizer. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 292

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the reader’s knowledge of how historical figures are sanitized through commemoration — connects to the ritual-of-disremembering theme.