To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice

Dear Colleagues,

I just swiftly read an article by Colin Grant in Prospect magazine which reviews three new books on Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King. The overall thrust of the article is suggestive of a re-radicalisation of King's legacy, and not least his political analysis of the failures of capitalist economic life. You can read the article here:

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/how-america-erased-the-radicalism-of-martin-luther-king-jr

The article includes a new book by Michael Honey, To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice. And this book reminded me of the final book by Martin Luther King. The one he didn't complete prior to his murder, and instead was finalised by Coretta Scott King.

This book, Where do we go from here: Chaos or community? is one of the most profound I have ever read. It rests on King's fundamental commitment to non-violence, yet proposes an almost violent assault on an economic and political system that structured the brutalisation and exploitation of black people as part of the day-to-day existence.

Although King never proclaimed a political allegiance, and was on record as denying socialist or communist inspiration, it is clear that the book's call for equality and fair treatment rested on a radical imagination.

I think of this book a lot as has many lessons for organised labour in recognising how best to attract the most marginalised in society into active social and political activity. In fact, one of my other favourite books, Poor Workers' Unions by Vanessa Tait, includes a section on King and the Civil Rights Movement in calling for the active engagement of the poor in political struggle for economic change.

Two great books - and well worth reading!

In Solidarity

Ian