Reagan sanctified King by absorbing him into the American exceptionalist narrative

Evidence

Reagan brilliantly drafted King’s sacrifice and all of those who participated in the civil rights movement into a broader and persistent American narrative: that sense of our nation, no matter its shortcomings, as a singular place where liberty, equality, and individuality flourish under the watchful eyes of God. As he concluded his remarks, Reagan echoed the words of Samuel Francis Smith’s “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” words King colored a deep shade of blue in the “I Have a Dream” speech: “All of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning,” Reagan said, “land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” 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