Dr. King was right. The original meaning of the saying "pull yourself up by your bootstraps is opposite to today's meaning. This phrase originated during the Depression of the late 19th century. It originally referred to an impossible task, and called on the US government to rein in the robber barons of that time. Later on the saying took its current meaning, referring to a fictitious meritocracy.

https://uselessetymology.com/2019/11/07/the-origins-of-the-phrase-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps/