MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AS IDENTIFICATORY CONGLOMERATE

The paradigmatic example of Martin Luther King Jr. typifies the insufficiency of both essentialism and constructivism, with regards to the process of identity formation. King evinces a complex network of emerging relationships where he is both influenced by and influences others within his social location. As a working model of cultural and existential identity, social network theory is an interesting way forward when discussing the movement beyond the paralyzing binary antagonisms of essentialism versus constructivism. Implicit within social network theory is the mutual recognition of change and agency within a complex flux of heterogeneous influences and competing choices. Using the analyses of Julia Kristeva, Patricia Hill Collins, Lewis Baldwin, and others, within the discourse of Black cultural studies, this article seeks to highlight King's dynamic Black identity within a complex web of cultural interactivity and emerging Black political consciousness