Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics)

Dr. King Jr. is such a provocative and eloquent writer who stands historically pronounced as an advocate for human rights. That's why he takes delicate care in articulating the structural deficiencies of Black progress in America in the late 1960s while arguing for civil rights. Why We Can't Wait is critical, observational, explanatory, and philosophical in its argument for Black liberation. In addition, readers will develop a thorough understanding of Dr. King's non-violence philosophy, strategy, and implementation. He delineates its success in Alabama while defending its merits as the most practical strategy to ultimately achieve peace. He also calls for reparations, not simply to provide a check but to elevate a brutaly marginalized community to the equal status of America's white population. That means investment in education, opportunities, resources, housing, all things granted by a number of New Deal social programs like the G.I. Bill in which blacks were excluded. Also included in the text is his moving "Letter From Birmingham Jail," which disputes the many contradictions coming from the country's clergy. Why We Can't Wait should be required reading in high schools today, considering our many relevant social/political movements.“Emancipation was a Proclamation but not a fact.” - Lyndon B. Johnson

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a scholar unlike most, a true one-of-a-kind human. He was able to touch the souls and minds of human beings of all races and creeds through both his words and his actions. He wasn’t an extremist like Brother Malcolm (whom I still hold to high esteem) but he wasn’t a passive individual, either, like I learned in school.Dr. King wanted the freedom of all oppressed peoples, but especially that of the American Negro, since the law of the land proclaimed everyone to be created equal and the Negro was far from it. With this book, I was able to peer into a brilliant mind and learn that he wanted freedom immediately, but he knew that being explicit with his intent would be lost amongst those who held control at the time.Through this book, I learned of the many contributions of the late Harry Belafonte (my Fraternity brother - I’m a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.) and how pivotal he was in the civil rights movement, but especially to the plight of Birmingham; I learned about Fred Shuttlesworth and how as the leader of the Alabama SCLC division, he fought tirelessly for his neighbors to have freedom; and let us not forget that of the late A. Philip Randolph (also my Fraternity brother) - a brilliant man and labor activist whose contributions cannot and should not be ignored.Dr. King realized that he was the general of the civil rights movement, but he recognized his soldiers as well. He realized that he was able to be successful through the contributions of many - children, young adults, parents, clergymen and the like. I wish I had learned about this version of Dr. King in school. My favorite chapter was his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and particularly his discussion of his disappointment in the White moderate, because I share the exact same sentiments today. Please, read this book and take your time with it. Don’t rush. Think critically. And try to understand the plight that we as American Negros still face in the 21st century.

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amazing book must read no matter who you are, and this one arrived perfectly fine

100 years from now this book will be more important than it is now "50 years" after Dr. King wrote it. White liberals, including white Christians, still "don't get it" and need to reflect on the deep, deep sense of injustice underlying all Dr. King says, and had earlier summarized in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (appended). Conservatives and "apolitical" pop culture devotees need to take a real, hard look at what is truly important -- and how the common good or common bad affects all! Black young people and all people of whatever color need to be brought face to face with the reality of what 100 years of "blow back" following the Civil War's passage of the 13th and 14th amendments, blow back including what the frightful "Jim Crow" era and segregation had "accomplished" -- and then stand astonished at what Dr. King and his colleagues and followers found and effectively used to answer that seeming victory of racism and hatred: "nonviolence," that is, nonviolent resistance to injustice whether "legalized" or not, and the willingness to pay the price of nonviolent resistance. Having lived through these last 50 years one wonders at the extent of the victory of Dr.King's movement -- and realizes he truly deserves to stand with the "founders" of this nation, just as Lincoln does "fourscore and ten" years after the signers of the Declaration of Independence. "All men... are created equal... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..[including]. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...." Pursuing that with a tenacity rarely equaled alone makes Dr.King a truly great American. But Why We Can't Wait is not only our most important statement of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also, theologically, the best statement have yet to Christians (and, yes, I would include all people of good will) as to how to act until Christ comes again.. One can see the seeds of future struggle -- to bring some old issues to completion but to also address old/new oppression: against all the poor, a host of others caused by war, the way class (economic especially) slams hard against earlier victories, and more. But these are noticed in embryo here. Dr. King writes Why We Can't Wait thinking of an earlier time, he writes during a time at which his influence had achieved a kind of peaceful peak (the hell of 1968 with overt opposition to the Vietnam War, overt support for the poorest of the poor and.... his assassination... lay ahead). Why We Can't Wait. doesn't summarize Dr. King and his legacy, but it does provide us with a center point, not only for Dr. King's life but one that could provide a centering point for every true American.

Calidad

Fascinating insight into not only a key stage of the 1950s/60s civil rights period by the preminent leader of the period, but also an articulation of challenges and demands which echo key messages from the Black Lives Matter movement. We may not have progressed as much as Dr King would have hoped but reading his material directly is very useful for people thinking about race relations in 2022. It also demonstrates that King was radical and an uncompromising champion of black rights, something which might not always be appreciated when looking back with hindsight

MLK will always lift your spirits and teach you to fight for what is right

Um dos melhores livros sobre a questão do racismo.

最近、特にロシアによるウクライナ侵攻があってから、奥さんと政治学と政治家について話す機会が増えた。そういう時に、決まって疑問として出てくるのが、なぜ政治学のできる政治家が少ないのか、なぜ学者は政治に参加しないのか、学問も行動も両方できる人間はいないのか、という問いでした。Letter from Birmingham Jailは名文と名高かったので、読んでみましたが、まさにキング牧師こそ博識と行動を両立しえた人物だったのだと思いました。あまり知られていませんが、キング牧師は多様な学生を受け入れていることで有名なボストン大学でPhDを取得しています。そのためか、Letter from Birmingham Jailの中でさえ、聖オーガスチンやソクラテスの言葉が引用されていたり、またバトラー＝ボードンが『政治思想の名著50』で解説しているように、キング牧師は、ソローの『市民の反抗』やガンジーの非暴力主義、ヘーゲル（弁証法的な衝突と止揚による社会の成長）、カント（個人の尊重）からも影響を受けているそうです。そしてこれだけの博識でありながら、「I have a dream」のような民衆に訴えかける演説により、政治活動の先導もできるのです。いったいいままで歴史上探してみたときに、これほどの博識と政治的行動力を併せ持った人物が一体何人いたのでしょうか。読んだそばから、座右の書にしたいと思いました。＊＊＊以下、自分なりに要約です。※このLetterは、（黒人の解放運動に反対するかもしくは傍観しているだけの）南部の白人系キリスト教団体に対する非難の形態をとっているので、その団体批判の箇所があるのですが、そこは省いています。・まず、交渉が必要なのは当たり前。交渉のためには、緊張関係が必要。緊張関係を生むためには、非暴力運動が必要・「非暴力運動を行うには時期が適切ではない」という批判があるが、時間は中立であり、時間が解決はしてくれない。自由は決して圧制者から自発的に得られることはない。抑圧された人々が勝ち取らないといけない・法には、正義の法と、不正義の法がある。不正義の法とは、一部の人間の選挙権や立法権を無視して作られた、非民主主義的な法律のことである・不正義な法には従わない責任がある。不正義な法は、オープンに、愛情をこめて、ペナルティを受ける覚悟を持って破るべし。これは最も法を尊重する行為である・黒人たちは、二つの陣営に分かれている。何もせずに現状に甘んじる人々と、暴力に訴えかねない黒人ナショナリストである。キング牧師の立場は、その中庸、愛と非暴力の抵抗である・暴力を抑えるためにも、非暴力の直接的運動が必要である・そうすることで、我々は「自己満足の暗いダンジョンから」脱し、「創造的な抗議の明るい丘」へ行くのだ＊＊＊自分が書くと無味乾燥ですが、実際はもっと詩的な言葉が随所にちりばめられていて、思わず声に出して読みたくなるような英文です。日本人のあなたも、日本人じゃないあなたも、ぜひ読んでみてください。