As the leader of a young conservative political movement that helped Donald Trump win a second presidential term, Charlie Kirk accomplished a lot in his too-short life. But at Kirk’s packed memorial in Arizona last weekend, his admirers proclaimed that the slain activist now stands to become something even more powerful and potentially lasting: a martyr.
A premature and violent death can turn a controversial individual into an object of sympathy and a symbol of a larger movement—one that gains attention with every new headline and eulogy. By evoking both curiosity and compassion, martyrdom can make a polarizing public figure more influential in death than they were in life.
To see how such a process can take place, consider the example of Malcolm X, another firebrand who was gunned down while addressing followers, in his case in a packed ballroom in Upper Manhattan 60 years ago, in 1965. In a turbulent decade marred by murderous attacks on powerful men, Malcolm X was one victim among many. But in the decades since, his legacy has only grown—and despite the differences between the two men, that evolution offers some insight into what might become of Kirk’s.
Isaac Stanley-Becker: What Charlie Kirk told me about his legacy
By the time of his death, Kirk had become a prominent voice on the Christian
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