To reactionaries, MLK was purely a crusader for equal legal rights. Once the battle was won, and de jure segregation was a thing of the past, his job was done. If he had lived, he would have gone home and taken a long, well-deserved nap. To the left, however, MLK was fighting for practical equality. He would have been a strong advocate for affirmative action programs and, ultimately, for reparations.
Which one of these views is historically correct? King was murdered when he was trying to assist with a garbage strike. He fought, mostly unsuccessfully, for fair housing. He opposed the Vietnam War. There is thus no reason to believe he would have stopped with the Civil Rights Acts, or that he would have ended his days siding with the radical right and screaming about socialism and the evils of wokeness.
And yet, I’m quite certain John Roberts will say exactly that when he writes the opinion outlawing affirmative action in admissions later this year.