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King Legacy #11
The Radical King
A revealing collection that restores Dr. King as being every bit as radical as Malcolm X
“The radical King was a democratic socialist who sided with poor and working people in the class struggle taking place in capitalist societies. . . . The response of the radical King to our catastrophic moment can be put in one revolution—a revolution in our priorities, a reevaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life, and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens. . . . Could it be that we know so little of the radical King because such courage defies our market-driven world?” —Cornel West, from the Introduction
Every year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated as one of the greatest orators in US history, an ambassador for nonviolence who became perhaps the most recognizable leader of the civil rights movement. But after more than forty years, few people appreciate how truly radical he was.
Arranged thematically in four parts, The Radical King includes twenty-three selections, curated and introduced by Dr. Cornel West, that illustrate King’s revolutionary vision, underscoring his identification with the poor, his unapologetic opposition to the Vietnam War, and his crusade against global imperialism. As West writes, “Although much of America did not know the radical King—and too few know today—the FBI and US government did. They called him ‘the most dangerous man in America.’ . . . This book unearths a radical King that we can no longer sanitize.”
“The radical King was a democratic socialist who sided with poor and working people in the class struggle taking place in capitalist societies. . . . The response of the radical King to our catastrophic moment can be put in one revolution—a revolution in our priorities, a reevaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life, and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens. . . . Could it be that we know so little of the radical King because such courage defies our market-driven world?” —Cornel West, from the Introduction
Every year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is celebrated as one of the greatest orators in US history, an ambassador for nonviolence who became perhaps the most recognizable leader of the civil rights movement. But after more than forty years, few people appreciate how truly radical he was.
Arranged thematically in four parts, The Radical King includes twenty-three selections, curated and introduced by Dr. Cornel West, that illustrate King’s revolutionary vision, underscoring his identification with the poor, his unapologetic opposition to the Vietnam War, and his crusade against global imperialism. As West writes, “Although much of America did not know the radical King—and too few know today—the FBI and US government did. They called him ‘the most dangerous man in America.’ . . . This book unearths a radical King that we can no longer sanitize.”
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 13, 2015
342 people are currently reading
4406 people want to read
About the author
Martin Luther King Jr.
412 books3,455 followersMartin Luther King, Jr. was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. King was a Baptist minister, one of the few leadership roles available to black men at the time. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986. In 2004, King was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986. In 2004, King was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
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March 19, 2023
What is a “radical”?
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
-Hélder Câmara. I cannot think of a better quote to distinguish the radical.
--A radical rejects convenient excuses for status quo power structures (unlike The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined) by uprooting the structural beneath surface distractions and proposing alternatives.
The Good:
--MLK is popularized for advocating active nonviolence (see debate in How to Blow Up a Pipeline) during the Civil Rights movement. Ignorance and spectatorship (i.e. Western “democracy” with its theatrical elections amidst capitalist authoritarianism at the workplace, built on capitalism's violent global division of labour) is not nonviolence; it is the acceptance of violence.
--MLK's progression towards radicalism culminated in connecting racism with poverty, militarism, and materialism; we can more directly use the terms:
i) “capitalism”: the endless accumulation of private money-power requires dispossession of other social relations, ex. enclosures privatizing the Commons to commodify (buy-sell; “materialism”) land, creating the land market, which the dispossessed have nothing left to sell but their labour (labour market). Historically, capitalism has been the culprit of mass social dislocation (The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time) and mass poverty (Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present; conveniently pushed to Global South slums). MLK was assassinated during the “Poor People's Campaign”.
ii) “imperialism”: capitalism's violence holding together the global division of labour/resources. MLK protested against the most visible manifestation, the US's genocidal war on Vietnam.
...The FBI correctly marked MLK as a radical threat:
--While MLK’s analysis of capitalism, Liberalism, Marxism, Socialism, and Communism evolves throughout his lifetime, a pillar of his methodology is radical love. With a basis in his religious background and subsequent inspiration in Gandhian nonviolence (another topic to critically unpack: The Doctor and the Saint: The Ambedkar - Gandhi Debate), the principles of radical love are surprisingly challenging. To attack evil but not attack the individual (let us add the recognition of many levels of contradictions in the messy real world), to win the understanding of the opposition and transform their moral disposition to build community, these can seem utopic when confronted with real world violence. The cycle of violence can seem so inevitable it leaves one to wonder how we ever find empathy, peace, truth, justice and reconciliation.
The Missing:
-- I'd like to see more synthesis between:
i) editor Cornel West's works: ex.Race Matters
ii) pioneering sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois. who also started as a liberal reformist and became radicalized as a communist/anti-imperialist internationalist)
iii) today's radical historian Gerald Horne, as well as case studies from progressive liberals (The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America) to more radical economics/histories (The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, Empire of Cotton: A Global History). Also, RIP bell hooks: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.
--MLK's roots were organizing at home, but his protest of the US war on Vietnam reveals the direction and recognition of capitalism's global and imperialist nature, something recognized by Malcolm X (Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention) and especially the Black Panther Party (Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party). We must expand this synthesis to the struggles of decolonization, especially the hidden economic structures (unequal “free trade” imperialism, deindustrialization, colonial taxes, foreign currencies/debt traps, intellectual property monopolies, imperialist finance of free capital movement while labour is restricted by militarized borders, etc.):
-Vijay Prashad on imperialism's ideological censorship and exportation of violence: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS...
-overview: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
-Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
-economic intro: The Agrarian Question in the Neoliberal Era: Primitive Accumulation and the Peasantry
-economic dive: Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present
-history intro: Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations
-history dives: The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World
-The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South
-Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
-Hélder Câmara. I cannot think of a better quote to distinguish the radical.
--A radical rejects convenient excuses for status quo power structures (unlike The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined) by uprooting the structural beneath surface distractions and proposing alternatives.
The Good:
--MLK is popularized for advocating active nonviolence (see debate in How to Blow Up a Pipeline) during the Civil Rights movement. Ignorance and spectatorship (i.e. Western “democracy” with its theatrical elections amidst capitalist authoritarianism at the workplace, built on capitalism's violent global division of labour) is not nonviolence; it is the acceptance of violence.
--MLK's progression towards radicalism culminated in connecting racism with poverty, militarism, and materialism; we can more directly use the terms:
i) “capitalism”: the endless accumulation of private money-power requires dispossession of other social relations, ex. enclosures privatizing the Commons to commodify (buy-sell; “materialism”) land, creating the land market, which the dispossessed have nothing left to sell but their labour (labour market). Historically, capitalism has been the culprit of mass social dislocation (The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time) and mass poverty (Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present; conveniently pushed to Global South slums). MLK was assassinated during the “Poor People's Campaign”.
ii) “imperialism”: capitalism's violence holding together the global division of labour/resources. MLK protested against the most visible manifestation, the US's genocidal war on Vietnam.
...The FBI correctly marked MLK as a radical threat:
“I am trying to get at the roots of it to see just what ought to be done.” [...]
“Are we integrating into a burning house?” [...]
It is no accident that just prior to King’s death, 72 percent of whites and 55 percent of blacks disapproved of his opposition to the Vietnam War and his efforts to eradicate poverty in America. When much of the black leadership attacked or shunned him, King replied, “What you’re saying may get you a foundation grant but it won’t get you into the kingdom of truth.”
--While MLK’s analysis of capitalism, Liberalism, Marxism, Socialism, and Communism evolves throughout his lifetime, a pillar of his methodology is radical love. With a basis in his religious background and subsequent inspiration in Gandhian nonviolence (another topic to critically unpack: The Doctor and the Saint: The Ambedkar - Gandhi Debate), the principles of radical love are surprisingly challenging. To attack evil but not attack the individual (let us add the recognition of many levels of contradictions in the messy real world), to win the understanding of the opposition and transform their moral disposition to build community, these can seem utopic when confronted with real world violence. The cycle of violence can seem so inevitable it leaves one to wonder how we ever find empathy, peace, truth, justice and reconciliation.
The Missing:
-- I'd like to see more synthesis between:
i) editor Cornel West's works: ex.Race Matters
ii) pioneering sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois. who also started as a liberal reformist and became radicalized as a communist/anti-imperialist internationalist)
iii) today's radical historian Gerald Horne, as well as case studies from progressive liberals (The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America) to more radical economics/histories (The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, Empire of Cotton: A Global History). Also, RIP bell hooks: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.
--MLK's roots were organizing at home, but his protest of the US war on Vietnam reveals the direction and recognition of capitalism's global and imperialist nature, something recognized by Malcolm X (Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention) and especially the Black Panther Party (Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party). We must expand this synthesis to the struggles of decolonization, especially the hidden economic structures (unequal “free trade” imperialism, deindustrialization, colonial taxes, foreign currencies/debt traps, intellectual property monopolies, imperialist finance of free capital movement while labour is restricted by militarized borders, etc.):
-Vijay Prashad on imperialism's ideological censorship and exportation of violence: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS...
-overview: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
-Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
-economic intro: The Agrarian Question in the Neoliberal Era: Primitive Accumulation and the Peasantry
-economic dive: Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present
-history intro: Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations
-history dives: The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World
-The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South
-Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World
December 24, 2017
I am a teacher in a middle school in Japan.
Every year around this time, the 3rd year students come to a part of their textbook dealing with Martin Luther King and civil rights. It mentions Rosa Parks, the March on Washington, and "I have a dream".
These are all really important things in American history(if not too brief in only 3 pages to form any kind of context for Japanese students).
For Americans as well, this is the King we grow up learning about.
This is the King who Republicans, Democrats, white and black all love and publicly at least, revere.
The King who was about love, equality, and color blindness.
Dr. King was without a doubt a man of love who sought equality, however this simplistic interpretation of him overlooks that prior to his murder, he was one of the most hated men in America.
This is mainly because the Dr. King few of us know about preached passionately against the moral injustice of war when people in America went hungry.
He preached about the economic injustice suffered by black and white at the hands of an economic system that didn't give a damn about them yet were happy to engage in far-flung wars.
This is the Martin Luther King we read in these speeches. While I knew about this part of his life, I wasn't fully prepared for how powerfully he writes against racial AND economic injustice.
It is the Martin Luther I will remember in January while people are talking about his "dream".
Every year around this time, the 3rd year students come to a part of their textbook dealing with Martin Luther King and civil rights. It mentions Rosa Parks, the March on Washington, and "I have a dream".
These are all really important things in American history(if not too brief in only 3 pages to form any kind of context for Japanese students).
For Americans as well, this is the King we grow up learning about.
This is the King who Republicans, Democrats, white and black all love and publicly at least, revere.
The King who was about love, equality, and color blindness.
Dr. King was without a doubt a man of love who sought equality, however this simplistic interpretation of him overlooks that prior to his murder, he was one of the most hated men in America.
This is mainly because the Dr. King few of us know about preached passionately against the moral injustice of war when people in America went hungry.
He preached about the economic injustice suffered by black and white at the hands of an economic system that didn't give a damn about them yet were happy to engage in far-flung wars.
This is the Martin Luther King we read in these speeches. While I knew about this part of his life, I wasn't fully prepared for how powerfully he writes against racial AND economic injustice.
It is the Martin Luther I will remember in January while people are talking about his "dream".
January 6, 2019
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of those peculiar icons in the constellation of American saints who is underappreciated by virtue of being universally revered. On the third Monday of each year King is liturgically praised by social activists, journalists, celebrities, and politicians across the United States, often in suspiciously pointed and self-congratulatory ways. King’s preoccupations are rendered benevolently naïve and his spiritual agonies morally easy. The epitaph of his moral legacy is reduced to a paraphrase of the most famous line from his “I Have a Dream” speech: judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
The effect of this reduction is to turn the King legacy into a legitimation of our collective self-understanding as equitable, compassionate, and, above all else, unjudgmental. If we were instead to see King whole, to plumb his depths and journey with him on his intellectual and moral odyssey, to take part in his prophetic despair over the fundamental injustice of the human condition, we would see him more properly as a formidable challenge to even our allegedly most pragmatic social sensibilities.
The speeches, sermons, and essays of this collection showcase the radical Christianity of Dr. King. Here is a King who fought America’s racial caste system with militant agape and weaponized forbearance; who was steeped in Thoreau’s civil disobedience and Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance; who struggled with Nietzsche’s characterization of Christianity as slave morality and Marx’s alluring vision of proletarian revolution and the abolition of class and state; who understood nonviolence not as passivity in the face of violent oppression but rather as a form of asymmetrical warfare, an attack on the unguarded moral disposition of the adversary; who believed in the universality of moral truth and considered Mahatma Gandhi the greatest Christian of the twentieth century; who connected the American civil rights struggle with anticolonial movements around the world, including the independence movements of Algeria and Rhodesia and the campaign against apartheid in South Africa; who saw racial and economic injustice as inextricably linked, and spent the last days of his life on a Poor People’s Campaign for jobs and better wages in those largely non-white segments of American cities where conditions of economic depression persisted even as the “mainstream” economy boomed.
This man wasn’t just good: he was interesting. King deserves to be engaged with, grappled with—perhaps even disagreed with. He should not be relegated to the splendid isolation of the thoughtlessly adored. He cannot be packed away in a gilded box. King must be a living tradition: a persistent, edifying challenge to the pretensions of American life.
The effect of this reduction is to turn the King legacy into a legitimation of our collective self-understanding as equitable, compassionate, and, above all else, unjudgmental. If we were instead to see King whole, to plumb his depths and journey with him on his intellectual and moral odyssey, to take part in his prophetic despair over the fundamental injustice of the human condition, we would see him more properly as a formidable challenge to even our allegedly most pragmatic social sensibilities.
The speeches, sermons, and essays of this collection showcase the radical Christianity of Dr. King. Here is a King who fought America’s racial caste system with militant agape and weaponized forbearance; who was steeped in Thoreau’s civil disobedience and Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance; who struggled with Nietzsche’s characterization of Christianity as slave morality and Marx’s alluring vision of proletarian revolution and the abolition of class and state; who understood nonviolence not as passivity in the face of violent oppression but rather as a form of asymmetrical warfare, an attack on the unguarded moral disposition of the adversary; who believed in the universality of moral truth and considered Mahatma Gandhi the greatest Christian of the twentieth century; who connected the American civil rights struggle with anticolonial movements around the world, including the independence movements of Algeria and Rhodesia and the campaign against apartheid in South Africa; who saw racial and economic injustice as inextricably linked, and spent the last days of his life on a Poor People’s Campaign for jobs and better wages in those largely non-white segments of American cities where conditions of economic depression persisted even as the “mainstream” economy boomed.
This man wasn’t just good: he was interesting. King deserves to be engaged with, grappled with—perhaps even disagreed with. He should not be relegated to the splendid isolation of the thoughtlessly adored. He cannot be packed away in a gilded box. King must be a living tradition: a persistent, edifying challenge to the pretensions of American life.
January 16, 2024
The Radical And The Dreamer
April 4, 2018, marked the 50th year commemoration of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was an appropriate occasion to think about King and his importance. Among other ways, King's life was remembered through a revitalization of the Poor People's March in which he had been engaged before his death and by several books, including a book of essays on King's political philosophy "To Shape a New World" edited by Harvard professors Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry and "Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr's Last 31 Hours" by Joseph Rosenbloom.
Edited and introduced by scholar Cornel West, this book, "The Radical King" (2016) will help readers broaden their perspective on Martin Luther King. With the establishment of the Federal holiday in celebration of King and the monuments and other tributes to his memory, the scope of King's vision and program has become curtailed and sanitized. King is celebrated for his "I Have A Dream Speech" on the National Mall and for his teachings of love, peace, and brotherhood. The portion of King's vision which came to the fore after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 tends to be underplayed. Beginning in 1967, King spoke strongly against the Vietnam War. He took his method of nonviolent protest north and broadened it to include poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and materialism which worked against America's and the world's poor of all races. At the time of his assassination, King was participating in a strike of sanitation workers in Memphis. His politics became increasingly critical of capitalism and tended towards democratic socialism.
King's radicalism was well-known during the latter years of his life, as many of his former allies deserted him over his stance on the Vietnam War and over the increasing breadth of his critique of the United States. More people disapproved than approved of King in the years leading to his assassination. Still, with his untimely death and with the passage of time, many people have forgotten this part of King's message. It is valuable to be reminded of it through the writings of King collected in this book.
The book includes West's commentary together with texts from King divided into four parts: "Radical Love", "Prophetic Vision: Global Analysis and Local Praxis", "The Revolution of Nonviolent Resistance: Against Empire and White Supremacy" and "Overcoming the Tyranny of Poverty and Hatred". The texts were written at all stages of King's brief public career, with some as early as 1958. The selections include famous works such as the "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Other selections include the speech King gave in Memphis the evening before his death, titled "I've been to the Mountaintop" and the speech King gave announcing his opposition to the Vietnam War called "Beyond Vietnam, A Time to Break Silence". Some of the contents of the book is less well-known, including moving tributes King gave to W.E.B. Du Bois and to the American socialist leader, Norman Thomas. One of the strongest and most militant essays in the book is "Where Do We Go From Here?", King's final speech as given as president to the Southern Leadership Conference.
The contents of this book do indeed show that King had a radical vision that has become somewhat obscured in the years since his death. It is important and valuable to know King in all his fullness. King's radicalism had lost support during the tumultuous years of the late 1960s, to which King responded and which he helped to create, and today's readers will want to think about the radicalization of King's vision and its relationship to the more romanticized, iconic picture of King.
Professor West is an eloquent advocate for the radical side of King. In his passionate prose, he elides issues and expands King's radicalism to causes King never embraced and probably rejected during his life. Thus, West writes:
"The modes of racist domination -- from barbaric slavery to bestial Jim Crow, Sr., to cruel Jim Crow, Jr., -- are never reducible to individual prejudice or personal bias. Empire, white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and homophobia are linked in complex ways, and our struggles against them require moral consistency and systemic analyses."
Martin Luther King, Jr. has properly become an iconic figure. His memory deserves to be revered and his work, including his radical writings, deserve to be read. With the passage of time, readers should explore King and think through what is valuable and essential in his achievement and mission. Reading and remembering King and pondering his significance are the most lasting tributes to be paid to King or to any critically important figure.
Robin Friedman
April 4, 2018, marked the 50th year commemoration of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was an appropriate occasion to think about King and his importance. Among other ways, King's life was remembered through a revitalization of the Poor People's March in which he had been engaged before his death and by several books, including a book of essays on King's political philosophy "To Shape a New World" edited by Harvard professors Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry and "Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr's Last 31 Hours" by Joseph Rosenbloom.
Edited and introduced by scholar Cornel West, this book, "The Radical King" (2016) will help readers broaden their perspective on Martin Luther King. With the establishment of the Federal holiday in celebration of King and the monuments and other tributes to his memory, the scope of King's vision and program has become curtailed and sanitized. King is celebrated for his "I Have A Dream Speech" on the National Mall and for his teachings of love, peace, and brotherhood. The portion of King's vision which came to the fore after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 tends to be underplayed. Beginning in 1967, King spoke strongly against the Vietnam War. He took his method of nonviolent protest north and broadened it to include poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and materialism which worked against America's and the world's poor of all races. At the time of his assassination, King was participating in a strike of sanitation workers in Memphis. His politics became increasingly critical of capitalism and tended towards democratic socialism.
King's radicalism was well-known during the latter years of his life, as many of his former allies deserted him over his stance on the Vietnam War and over the increasing breadth of his critique of the United States. More people disapproved than approved of King in the years leading to his assassination. Still, with his untimely death and with the passage of time, many people have forgotten this part of King's message. It is valuable to be reminded of it through the writings of King collected in this book.
The book includes West's commentary together with texts from King divided into four parts: "Radical Love", "Prophetic Vision: Global Analysis and Local Praxis", "The Revolution of Nonviolent Resistance: Against Empire and White Supremacy" and "Overcoming the Tyranny of Poverty and Hatred". The texts were written at all stages of King's brief public career, with some as early as 1958. The selections include famous works such as the "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Other selections include the speech King gave in Memphis the evening before his death, titled "I've been to the Mountaintop" and the speech King gave announcing his opposition to the Vietnam War called "Beyond Vietnam, A Time to Break Silence". Some of the contents of the book is less well-known, including moving tributes King gave to W.E.B. Du Bois and to the American socialist leader, Norman Thomas. One of the strongest and most militant essays in the book is "Where Do We Go From Here?", King's final speech as given as president to the Southern Leadership Conference.
The contents of this book do indeed show that King had a radical vision that has become somewhat obscured in the years since his death. It is important and valuable to know King in all his fullness. King's radicalism had lost support during the tumultuous years of the late 1960s, to which King responded and which he helped to create, and today's readers will want to think about the radicalization of King's vision and its relationship to the more romanticized, iconic picture of King.
Professor West is an eloquent advocate for the radical side of King. In his passionate prose, he elides issues and expands King's radicalism to causes King never embraced and probably rejected during his life. Thus, West writes:
"The modes of racist domination -- from barbaric slavery to bestial Jim Crow, Sr., to cruel Jim Crow, Jr., -- are never reducible to individual prejudice or personal bias. Empire, white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and homophobia are linked in complex ways, and our struggles against them require moral consistency and systemic analyses."
Martin Luther King, Jr. has properly become an iconic figure. His memory deserves to be revered and his work, including his radical writings, deserve to be read. With the passage of time, readers should explore King and think through what is valuable and essential in his achievement and mission. Reading and remembering King and pondering his significance are the most lasting tributes to be paid to King or to any critically important figure.
Robin Friedman
March 12, 2015
When I picked this book up, I thought it would be a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr, told by Cornel West. But West barely speaks. He lets the words of Dr. King tell the story.
That story is about a man who moved from a position of fear to sense of fearlessness by finding courage in his spirituality. West selects speeches, letters and writing that show Dr. King's devotion to radical love.
King describes himself as "radical" about love and "militant" about non-violence. His devotion to the cause of ending segregation through non-violent boycotts and protest marches led him to reject constant threats to his own life, and to speak out loudly for the dignity of African-Americans and people of color.
The words and concepts that Dr. King introduces sound current and immediate. You get a sense that the way we view our society today was shaped by his words and ideas. It is obvious from Dr. King's writing that he was a voracious reader of religion, philosophy and politics. He was heavily influenced by Ghandi's successful non-violent action against the caste system, and South Africa's struggle against apartheid, as well as by African-American civil rights activists like W.E.B. DuBois.
You also get a sense of Dr. King's loneliness. As he was called to lead marches across the country, he spent a lot of time away from his family. He spoke about the lack of support from other ministers, and from Southern politicians. What sound like eminently sensible proposals today, received ridicule, scorn and ignorance when Dr. King made his demands. King knew he had thousands of people backing him, but sometimes he felt alone on the mountaintop.
The passion and intellect displayed in the words of Dr. King should be essential reading for every young person. Dr. King sets an example for courage in the cause of social justice. This book is inspiring and enlightening. It's a very good read!
That story is about a man who moved from a position of fear to sense of fearlessness by finding courage in his spirituality. West selects speeches, letters and writing that show Dr. King's devotion to radical love.
King describes himself as "radical" about love and "militant" about non-violence. His devotion to the cause of ending segregation through non-violent boycotts and protest marches led him to reject constant threats to his own life, and to speak out loudly for the dignity of African-Americans and people of color.
The words and concepts that Dr. King introduces sound current and immediate. You get a sense that the way we view our society today was shaped by his words and ideas. It is obvious from Dr. King's writing that he was a voracious reader of religion, philosophy and politics. He was heavily influenced by Ghandi's successful non-violent action against the caste system, and South Africa's struggle against apartheid, as well as by African-American civil rights activists like W.E.B. DuBois.
You also get a sense of Dr. King's loneliness. As he was called to lead marches across the country, he spent a lot of time away from his family. He spoke about the lack of support from other ministers, and from Southern politicians. What sound like eminently sensible proposals today, received ridicule, scorn and ignorance when Dr. King made his demands. King knew he had thousands of people backing him, but sometimes he felt alone on the mountaintop.
The passion and intellect displayed in the words of Dr. King should be essential reading for every young person. Dr. King sets an example for courage in the cause of social justice. This book is inspiring and enlightening. It's a very good read!
May 1, 2018
This is an excellent collection of King's own words and some short commentary by West. One of the tragedies of King's legacy is that his words against war and inequality and his strong stance against systemic racism have been whitewashed. Having read most of King's books and speeches, I was a little disappointed that this collection did not include some of his more philosophical and personal accounts and stuck with some of his most famous sermons. But it was still an excellent and essential read. And depressingly, since we are still struggling with race, he could have spoken all these words today and they would be just as true.
May 15, 2015
This was a great collection of essays from Martin Luther King Jr. I know there are other such books out there, and they may be just as good. I don't know why I never picked up those books but did this one.
We celebrate MLK's birthday as a national holiday, as we should. I believe Martin Luther King was a truly great man. Most people just think of King as the leader the Civil Rights movement in America. But he was much more than that; people (especially the younger generation who didn't live through his times) should read his words to see that (and watch old clips of his speeches). He was a moral and spiritual conscience - and he was so for the entire nation, not just for blacks. He was inspirational, and called us to our better selves. He was a messenger, nay a servant, for love and compassion. While he advocated for civil rights for blacks in the U.S., his perspective was really much broader; he saw so many issues as interconnected and tied. For example, he connected civil rights in the U.S. to the Vietnam War, to imperialism, to economic and social injustice. He went to the roots of issues, and in this sense was truly "radical" as the title says.
This book should be read slowly; it is not meant to be skimmed or speed-read. Imagine King speaking to you in his melifluous, resonant voice. Let the words, the meaning, and MLK's feeling and depth penetrate your inner depth.
We celebrate MLK's birthday as a national holiday, as we should. I believe Martin Luther King was a truly great man. Most people just think of King as the leader the Civil Rights movement in America. But he was much more than that; people (especially the younger generation who didn't live through his times) should read his words to see that (and watch old clips of his speeches). He was a moral and spiritual conscience - and he was so for the entire nation, not just for blacks. He was inspirational, and called us to our better selves. He was a messenger, nay a servant, for love and compassion. While he advocated for civil rights for blacks in the U.S., his perspective was really much broader; he saw so many issues as interconnected and tied. For example, he connected civil rights in the U.S. to the Vietnam War, to imperialism, to economic and social injustice. He went to the roots of issues, and in this sense was truly "radical" as the title says.
This book should be read slowly; it is not meant to be skimmed or speed-read. Imagine King speaking to you in his melifluous, resonant voice. Let the words, the meaning, and MLK's feeling and depth penetrate your inner depth.
April 19, 2019
It's amazing how often I have heard him quoted, but never knew those quotes in context. I'm sorry it took me this long to listen to some of his speeches in their entirety.
I was listening to it on audiobook, and Jasmine popped into my room at one point after having overheard most of one of his speeches, and comment on how alarming it was that so many of his points were still incredibly relevant. I had that thought an awful lot myself. In the Beyond Vietnam speech, everything he was saying could be applied to today. Different war, same problems. Which, honestly, he predicted in that speech. "We need to address these things or here is what will happen," and he was right.
I was listening to it on audiobook, and Jasmine popped into my room at one point after having overheard most of one of his speeches, and comment on how alarming it was that so many of his points were still incredibly relevant. I had that thought an awful lot myself. In the Beyond Vietnam speech, everything he was saying could be applied to today. Different war, same problems. Which, honestly, he predicted in that speech. "We need to address these things or here is what will happen," and he was right.
January 23, 2019
This book is outstanding. I listened to the audio version which is read by famous African American actors and narrated by Cornel West. Professor West and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and I read this book because I, like many Americans, often look to King for the elements of his philosophy and methodology that most comport with my own. I thought it was important to look at the elements of Kings philosophy and policy suggestions that are counter to my own, and try to come to grips with the fact that if he existed there would be many points of disagreement between us, which there would have been and are. This is important to do because King challenges all of us, left and right, in the way we think about things and how we view and deal with those who oppose us. West does an excellent job both curating and introducing the more radical elements of Kings philosophy and program and I have to say I gained as much appreciation and insight into his thinking as I did into Kings.
Something really should be said about listening to the audio version and here I think West and Audible have really done something extraordinary. I've read many of these works before and the ones that have been recorded in King's original voice I have listened to in that way. As any American alive today will know, King is an amazing orator and an extremely difficult act to follow. So casting others in his role is no easy task and I think it is well accomplished here. For one things, I think having the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" read, with the emotive inflection given in this work made it come alive in a way that it hasn't for me on the printed page. That was very well done. Levar Burton does strong work as does Danny Glover. I think both Michael K. Williams and Wanda Sykes deserve special mention as well. King was a humorist and Sykes is somehow able to be both funny and indignant in a way that I think actually improves on King as he wasn't really as capable of indignation as she is. Williams is outstanding and West gives him, wisely I think, perhaps the most emotionally resonant pieces: Kings exhortation to black youth, and his funeral oration for a great socialist.
All in all this was truly outstanding, as any work of King's would be, but the curation and the execution are ingenious and flawless. I highly recommend it.
Something really should be said about listening to the audio version and here I think West and Audible have really done something extraordinary. I've read many of these works before and the ones that have been recorded in King's original voice I have listened to in that way. As any American alive today will know, King is an amazing orator and an extremely difficult act to follow. So casting others in his role is no easy task and I think it is well accomplished here. For one things, I think having the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" read, with the emotive inflection given in this work made it come alive in a way that it hasn't for me on the printed page. That was very well done. Levar Burton does strong work as does Danny Glover. I think both Michael K. Williams and Wanda Sykes deserve special mention as well. King was a humorist and Sykes is somehow able to be both funny and indignant in a way that I think actually improves on King as he wasn't really as capable of indignation as she is. Williams is outstanding and West gives him, wisely I think, perhaps the most emotionally resonant pieces: Kings exhortation to black youth, and his funeral oration for a great socialist.
All in all this was truly outstanding, as any work of King's would be, but the curation and the execution are ingenious and flawless. I highly recommend it.
February 13, 2021
I can't recommend this book enough if all you know of Dr. King is the little bit we learned in school.
His story has been whitewashed to make it palatable for the masses and people often conflate his non-violence with non-radical, but his views were and still are incredibly radical. His views on poverty and militarism were just as radical as his views on racism and his views on love are probably the most radical of all. Unfortunately every bit of it is just as applicable today as it was during his time.
I listened to the Audible audiobook, which is read by a variety of Black actors. That, for me, made Dr. King's words even more impactful than if I were just reading them off the page in my own voice.
His story has been whitewashed to make it palatable for the masses and people often conflate his non-violence with non-radical, but his views were and still are incredibly radical. His views on poverty and militarism were just as radical as his views on racism and his views on love are probably the most radical of all. Unfortunately every bit of it is just as applicable today as it was during his time.
I listened to the Audible audiobook, which is read by a variety of Black actors. That, for me, made Dr. King's words even more impactful than if I were just reading them off the page in my own voice.
January 24, 2021
This is powerful. But struck me as so jarring was the moments I forgot these were sermons, speeches, and writings penned decades ago. And why is that? Because so little has freaking changed. In his letter written in the Birmingham jail he talks of his children asking why they couldn't go certain places and why white people don't like black people. Guess what? My coworkers five-year-old daughter asked those exact freaking things last week. Last week!
The United States has taken a single baby step forward while thinking it has strode miles. We need to fix this.
The United States has taken a single baby step forward while thinking it has strode miles. We need to fix this.
January 22, 2020
3.5*
I find it hard to rate this audiobook - the sections by Cornel West were a 3* (or perhaps even a 2.5*) but the sections that came straight from King's own writings were excellent, averaging 4*. Listening to King's words reminded me why he is such a role model to people of all races and ages.
One complaint: Due to the way the book was organized, sometimes there would be repetition (even word for word repetition) in back-to-back entries. This repetition would have been less notable if the writings had been organized differently. Despite that small complaint, I thought the organization was interesting. Below is a list of the contents with the narrator for each specified. West gives introductory comments at the beginning of each section plus before several of the individual entries (and of course again at the end though I suppose those couldn't be called 'introductory'!).
Part 1: Radical Love
1. The Violence of Desperate Men, read by Bahni Turpin
2. Palm Sunday Sermon on Mohandas K. Gandhi, read by Kevin R. Free
3. Pilgrimage to Nonviolence, read by Gabourey Sidibe
4. Loving Your Enemies, read by LeVar Burton
5. What is Your Life’s Blueprint?, read by Michael K. Williams
Part 2: Prophetic Visions
6. The World House, read by Colman Domingo
7. All the Great Religions of the World, read by Mike Colter
8. My Jewish Brother, read by Colman Domingo
9. The Middle East Question, read by Leslie Odom, Jr.
10. Let My People Go, read by Bahni Turpin
11. Honoring Dr. Du Bois, read by Danny Glover
Part 3: Nonviolent Resistance
12. Letter From Birmingham Jail, read by Leslie Odom, Jr.
13. Nonviolence and Social Change, read by LeVar Burton
14. My Talk With Ben Bella, read by Colman Domingo
15. Jawaharlal Nehru, A Leader in the Long Anti-Colonial Struggle, read by Kevin R. Free
16. Where Do We Go From Here?, read by Mike Colter
17. Black Power, read by Wanda Sykes
18. Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, read by Robin Miles
Part 4: Poverty and Hatred
19. The Bravest Man I Ever Met, read by Michael K. Williams
20. The Other America, read by Wanda Sykes
21. All Labor Has Dignity, read by Kevin R. Free
22. The Drum Major Instinct, read by Mike Colter
23. I’ve Been to the Mountaintop, read by Bahni Turpin
I find it hard to rate this audiobook - the sections by Cornel West were a 3* (or perhaps even a 2.5*) but the sections that came straight from King's own writings were excellent, averaging 4*. Listening to King's words reminded me why he is such a role model to people of all races and ages.
One complaint: Due to the way the book was organized, sometimes there would be repetition (even word for word repetition) in back-to-back entries. This repetition would have been less notable if the writings had been organized differently. Despite that small complaint, I thought the organization was interesting. Below is a list of the contents with the narrator for each specified. West gives introductory comments at the beginning of each section plus before several of the individual entries (and of course again at the end though I suppose those couldn't be called 'introductory'!).
Part 1: Radical Love
1. The Violence of Desperate Men, read by Bahni Turpin
2. Palm Sunday Sermon on Mohandas K. Gandhi, read by Kevin R. Free
3. Pilgrimage to Nonviolence, read by Gabourey Sidibe
4. Loving Your Enemies, read by LeVar Burton
5. What is Your Life’s Blueprint?, read by Michael K. Williams
Part 2: Prophetic Visions
6. The World House, read by Colman Domingo
7. All the Great Religions of the World, read by Mike Colter
8. My Jewish Brother, read by Colman Domingo
9. The Middle East Question, read by Leslie Odom, Jr.
10. Let My People Go, read by Bahni Turpin
11. Honoring Dr. Du Bois, read by Danny Glover
Part 3: Nonviolent Resistance
12. Letter From Birmingham Jail, read by Leslie Odom, Jr.
13. Nonviolence and Social Change, read by LeVar Burton
14. My Talk With Ben Bella, read by Colman Domingo
15. Jawaharlal Nehru, A Leader in the Long Anti-Colonial Struggle, read by Kevin R. Free
16. Where Do We Go From Here?, read by Mike Colter
17. Black Power, read by Wanda Sykes
18. Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, read by Robin Miles
Part 4: Poverty and Hatred
19. The Bravest Man I Ever Met, read by Michael K. Williams
20. The Other America, read by Wanda Sykes
21. All Labor Has Dignity, read by Kevin R. Free
22. The Drum Major Instinct, read by Mike Colter
23. I’ve Been to the Mountaintop, read by Bahni Turpin
February 27, 2019
An inspiring audio book that reveals the fiery, bold, and humanistic character of Martin Luther King. This was my first exposure to all of these speeches and writings, and it was impossible not to come away feeling like so many of Dr. King’s words could be applied to today’s social climate. His message of radical love, non-violence, and the pursuit of justice for everybody as pertinent then as it is now.
My admiration for the man grew the more I listened and learned about him and his life. How his reading really was almost exclusively in the liberal arts, with Socrates, Marx, and Nietchze all in his back pocket ready to be used or criticized - whatever was necessary based on King’s belief in community while never neglecting the importance of the individual.
I loved his recounting of the life of Gandhi, and learning about how much of King’s own beliefs and approach were inspired by him. I even loved the passages where he calls upon the life of Jesus to make his point. As someone who is critical of so many so-called Christians, King’s earnestness and passion for the Bible and its core messages were easy to respect and often agree with, especially when complemented by so much rigorous scholarship and understanding of socio-economic theory and a genuine love for people.
This is a powerful book, and I’ll definitely be coming back to it again in the future whenever I feel the need to return to myself and to reaffirm my own belief in love, non-violence, and the importance of standing up to oppression and fighting for what is right even as large groups of people may stand against you.
My admiration for the man grew the more I listened and learned about him and his life. How his reading really was almost exclusively in the liberal arts, with Socrates, Marx, and Nietchze all in his back pocket ready to be used or criticized - whatever was necessary based on King’s belief in community while never neglecting the importance of the individual.
I loved his recounting of the life of Gandhi, and learning about how much of King’s own beliefs and approach were inspired by him. I even loved the passages where he calls upon the life of Jesus to make his point. As someone who is critical of so many so-called Christians, King’s earnestness and passion for the Bible and its core messages were easy to respect and often agree with, especially when complemented by so much rigorous scholarship and understanding of socio-economic theory and a genuine love for people.
This is a powerful book, and I’ll definitely be coming back to it again in the future whenever I feel the need to return to myself and to reaffirm my own belief in love, non-violence, and the importance of standing up to oppression and fighting for what is right even as large groups of people may stand against you.
September 4, 2020
He is not the watered down activist we were taught about in schools. He was so much more. What an inspiration and absolute gift to have this group of writings from Martin Luther King, Jr. It was thought provoking and illuminating, especially since many of the issues he spoke of are issues we see today.
July 28, 2018
As an avid student of the life of Dr. King, I found this book quite unsatisfactory. Unfortunately, as many highly educated writers tend to do, this author seemed to be more enthralled with displaying his intelligence than imparting information on his subject. I had to wade through tons of high toned gobbledy-gook in order to mine one nugget of information.
November 3, 2025
Shocked I have never read any of this before. Excellent selection of King's essays and sermons that teach his progressive views and the importance of radical love and nonviolence. This is King unsanitized, the democratic socialist, the champion of the poor and the workers, devoted follower of Jesus, and the valiant opponent of oligarchy and war.
Random notes below.
The World House:
"Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. But today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant, and to face the challenge of change. The large house in which we live demands that we transform this worldwide neighborhood into a worldwide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools."
Letter:
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Loving your enemies
How
1. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
2. We must recognize that the evil thing of the enemy neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses everything that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy.
3. We must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding... We love the person who does the evil deed even though we hate the deed that he does. Understanding and creating redemptive goodwill for all men
Why
1. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate.
2. Hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Hate is just as injurious to the person who hates... It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false, and the false with the true.
3. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend... Love transforms with redemptive power.
Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities that surrendered to hate and violence.
Random notes below.
The World House:
"Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. But today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant, and to face the challenge of change. The large house in which we live demands that we transform this worldwide neighborhood into a worldwide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools."
Letter:
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Loving your enemies
How
1. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
2. We must recognize that the evil thing of the enemy neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses everything that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy.
3. We must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding... We love the person who does the evil deed even though we hate the deed that he does. Understanding and creating redemptive goodwill for all men
Why
1. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate.
2. Hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Hate is just as injurious to the person who hates... It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false, and the false with the true.
3. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend... Love transforms with redemptive power.
Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities that surrendered to hate and violence.
October 3, 2020
An inspiring and well-selected set of speeches and essays by King that does a pretty good job exploring his radicalism. Cornell West, the editor, does a mediocre job defining what exactly made MLK a radical, or in what sense he was one. That's what I want to explore in this review.
MLK was certainly a social democrat, although he didn't define himself in those terms. He was equally critical of unrestrained capitalism and communism, and he called for reorienting society around people rather than things. Some of his critiques of the market economy and of industrial society were a bit shallow; I think he overlooked the revolution in human standards of living that had taken place in the previous half century or so. Still, his priority was always the poor and dispossessed of society, and he clearly had a radical commitment to reorient society around their needs and sufferings.
The strongest sense in which King was a radical was his commitment to living out the example and teachings of his faith. In a way, King has made the most convincing argument for CHristianity I've ever heard because he truly lived that creed. King's Jesus was a revolutionary for the downtrodden, someone who sought to reorient human values around peace, selflessness, service, forgiveness, charity, and love for all people. There are certain things that King and his followers did that I don't think could be done without faith, that as I think Harry Belafonte pointed out aren't things a "rational" person would do: allow yourself to be beaten and abused, go to jail over and over again, refuse to hit back no matter what. And yet, these things seized the moral conscience of the nation (well, most of it) and turned the tide in the Civil Rights struggle. The fact that most Christians do not live anything like this makes me feel sometimes that it is almost an unreasonable standard, that other social justice movements in a sense cannot repeat what the Civil Rights movement did because of the radicalism of this type of self-sacrifice, this willingness to suffer. King sometimes appears to me as an almost saint-like figure (I know he wasn't, of course) who came to us with a vision and selflessness that is so heroic as to be almost otherworldly. This, I think, was the most radical thing about King.
One interesting aspect of King that doesn't fit with most definitions of radicalism is that he is a deeply canonical thinker in the sense that he read deeply in and drew from both the Western canon of thought as well as other cultures. He was a master of taking the good and leaving the bad from this canon, especially regarding the founders, whom he believed created the "wells of democracy" from which later generations would draw strength and principles. He read critically and honestly figures like Nietzsche, Marx, Niebuhr, and Rauschenbusch. With the first two, he appreciated that they were tackling important questions and issues even though he disagreed with them. With Marx, for instance, he rejected his materialism and downplaying of the individual but appreciated Marx's diagnosis of the problems of capitalism and the inequality of industrial society. With Niebuhr, he took the principle that individuals are usually more ethical than groups, which tend to be more tribal and close-minded; this became a powerful interpretive tool for racism. King clearly saw himself as part of a line of thought tracing back to ancient Greece and Rome (and obviously the Holy Land), which West doesn't emphasize because it doesn't fit his definition of radical.
I probably wouldn't assign this entire book to a class or something, as at points the speeches start to overlap a bit. Still, it gave me a much broader sense of his thought and critiques of society and world politics. King's radicalism is a thing for sure, but I think it was more of a moral radicalism than a political one. For all his sympathy with post-colonialism, his critiques of capitalism and racism, I think King was still more of a reformer than a revolutionary at home than abroad, especially when you consider how post-colonialism devolved into tyranny in so many cases. He would not have been one of the legions who made excuses for this degradation of a good cause.
MLK was certainly a social democrat, although he didn't define himself in those terms. He was equally critical of unrestrained capitalism and communism, and he called for reorienting society around people rather than things. Some of his critiques of the market economy and of industrial society were a bit shallow; I think he overlooked the revolution in human standards of living that had taken place in the previous half century or so. Still, his priority was always the poor and dispossessed of society, and he clearly had a radical commitment to reorient society around their needs and sufferings.
The strongest sense in which King was a radical was his commitment to living out the example and teachings of his faith. In a way, King has made the most convincing argument for CHristianity I've ever heard because he truly lived that creed. King's Jesus was a revolutionary for the downtrodden, someone who sought to reorient human values around peace, selflessness, service, forgiveness, charity, and love for all people. There are certain things that King and his followers did that I don't think could be done without faith, that as I think Harry Belafonte pointed out aren't things a "rational" person would do: allow yourself to be beaten and abused, go to jail over and over again, refuse to hit back no matter what. And yet, these things seized the moral conscience of the nation (well, most of it) and turned the tide in the Civil Rights struggle. The fact that most Christians do not live anything like this makes me feel sometimes that it is almost an unreasonable standard, that other social justice movements in a sense cannot repeat what the Civil Rights movement did because of the radicalism of this type of self-sacrifice, this willingness to suffer. King sometimes appears to me as an almost saint-like figure (I know he wasn't, of course) who came to us with a vision and selflessness that is so heroic as to be almost otherworldly. This, I think, was the most radical thing about King.
One interesting aspect of King that doesn't fit with most definitions of radicalism is that he is a deeply canonical thinker in the sense that he read deeply in and drew from both the Western canon of thought as well as other cultures. He was a master of taking the good and leaving the bad from this canon, especially regarding the founders, whom he believed created the "wells of democracy" from which later generations would draw strength and principles. He read critically and honestly figures like Nietzsche, Marx, Niebuhr, and Rauschenbusch. With the first two, he appreciated that they were tackling important questions and issues even though he disagreed with them. With Marx, for instance, he rejected his materialism and downplaying of the individual but appreciated Marx's diagnosis of the problems of capitalism and the inequality of industrial society. With Niebuhr, he took the principle that individuals are usually more ethical than groups, which tend to be more tribal and close-minded; this became a powerful interpretive tool for racism. King clearly saw himself as part of a line of thought tracing back to ancient Greece and Rome (and obviously the Holy Land), which West doesn't emphasize because it doesn't fit his definition of radical.
I probably wouldn't assign this entire book to a class or something, as at points the speeches start to overlap a bit. Still, it gave me a much broader sense of his thought and critiques of society and world politics. King's radicalism is a thing for sure, but I think it was more of a moral radicalism than a political one. For all his sympathy with post-colonialism, his critiques of capitalism and racism, I think King was still more of a reformer than a revolutionary at home than abroad, especially when you consider how post-colonialism devolved into tyranny in so many cases. He would not have been one of the legions who made excuses for this degradation of a good cause.
March 17, 2025
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is a bit like Santa Claus for most Americans: A semi-mythical friend that came and gave us the gift of fixing race relations FOR GOOD! I CANT BE RACIST I HAVE A BLACK FRIEND AND WATCH SPORTS AND LISTEN TO BLACK MUSIC.
Anyway, like most Americans, and white Americans especially, I know very little about Dr. King. Reading his speeches and essays, it becomes apparent that two aspects broadly erased from the public conscious are his scholarship and his religion. He was an extremely intelligent, well-thought man with an abiding, deep Christianity. As America is broadly kind of dumb and areligious, both of these are uncomfortable to the modern American.
Even more uncomfortable to Americans is his left-leaning tendencies. He explicitly states he is not a Communist, but his program is intersectional whereby racism is intimately connected to both militarism and economic exploitation, domestically and abroad. In fighting these, he is also not to use the tools of his oppressors, refusing to hate whites or use violence against the violence.
Where I have issues with the book itself is mostly in format and formatting. Many of the entries are meant as speeches and don't transfer to the page as well. Here are a couple quotes I found edifying and sadly still resonant:
"Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent—and often even vocal—sanction of things as they are."
"there are many who wince at a distinction between property and persons—who hold both sacrosanct. My views are not so rigid. A life is sacred. Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on; it is not man."
"any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried."
"...had asked his fellow white workers if they would prefer getting $5 a day if Negroes were paid the same wage, or only $4 a day, with Negroes getting only $3.50. Overwhelmingly, he told Thomas, they preferred less money so long as it was more than Negroes were given!"
"With the black man, it’s “welfare,” with the whites it’s “subsidies.” This country has socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor."
Anyway, like most Americans, and white Americans especially, I know very little about Dr. King. Reading his speeches and essays, it becomes apparent that two aspects broadly erased from the public conscious are his scholarship and his religion. He was an extremely intelligent, well-thought man with an abiding, deep Christianity. As America is broadly kind of dumb and areligious, both of these are uncomfortable to the modern American.
Even more uncomfortable to Americans is his left-leaning tendencies. He explicitly states he is not a Communist, but his program is intersectional whereby racism is intimately connected to both militarism and economic exploitation, domestically and abroad. In fighting these, he is also not to use the tools of his oppressors, refusing to hate whites or use violence against the violence.
Where I have issues with the book itself is mostly in format and formatting. Many of the entries are meant as speeches and don't transfer to the page as well. Here are a couple quotes I found edifying and sadly still resonant:
"Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent—and often even vocal—sanction of things as they are."
"there are many who wince at a distinction between property and persons—who hold both sacrosanct. My views are not so rigid. A life is sacred. Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on; it is not man."
"any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried."
"...had asked his fellow white workers if they would prefer getting $5 a day if Negroes were paid the same wage, or only $4 a day, with Negroes getting only $3.50. Overwhelmingly, he told Thomas, they preferred less money so long as it was more than Negroes were given!"
"With the black man, it’s “welfare,” with the whites it’s “subsidies.” This country has socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor."
July 25, 2017
Great collection of essays, ideas and works from the great Martin Luther King which showed hoe he was truly radical in many ways yet a firm believer in playing within the system rather than outside.
The selected writings shows how MLK was radical and even though someone who believed in working within the system by preaching nonviolence was an advocate of the belief of living in a just society of decency and dignity. King throughout his writings shows how the USA in 1960's was suffering from racism, poverty, militarism and materialism. He defined how militarism was an imperial catastrophe, racism a moral catastrophe, poverty an economic catastrophe and materialism a catastrophe of greed.
King showed in his works one could love a country and be a lover of truth and not be disloyal. The real King based on the book is portrayed as a different man, indeed. He started to focus on economic inequality as he realised that racism could end, yet inequality was the obstruction towards full emancipation. Cornel's selected essays of Luther King made me think what would have happened if King hadn’t been assassinated?
A good read for the person who wants to understand the concepts of what MLK believed in and how he deep down was a radical.
The selected writings shows how MLK was radical and even though someone who believed in working within the system by preaching nonviolence was an advocate of the belief of living in a just society of decency and dignity. King throughout his writings shows how the USA in 1960's was suffering from racism, poverty, militarism and materialism. He defined how militarism was an imperial catastrophe, racism a moral catastrophe, poverty an economic catastrophe and materialism a catastrophe of greed.
King showed in his works one could love a country and be a lover of truth and not be disloyal. The real King based on the book is portrayed as a different man, indeed. He started to focus on economic inequality as he realised that racism could end, yet inequality was the obstruction towards full emancipation. Cornel's selected essays of Luther King made me think what would have happened if King hadn’t been assassinated?
A good read for the person who wants to understand the concepts of what MLK believed in and how he deep down was a radical.
February 21, 2019
Radical King, radical Christian. This man lived the life of radical love modeled by Jesus. It’s this love that was radical, not his politics. His politics seem to be merely reasonable. He understood that achieving justice is more important than rigid adherence to a political or economic ideology. I think Burke would agree.
Here’s a quote from one of his speeches:
“Now we got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best, power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”
This quote reminds me of Andy Crouch’s book, “Strong and Weak,” which is excellent unpacking of this idea. Another 5-star read btw
Here’s a quote from one of his speeches:
“Now we got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best, power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”
This quote reminds me of Andy Crouch’s book, “Strong and Weak,” which is excellent unpacking of this idea. Another 5-star read btw
January 29, 2021
We focused on Dr King for a part of my college contemporary issues class and I remember being blown away by how he spoke and wrote. By his vision of peace and equality. I expected, from the way this book was summarized, that I had somehow missed out on some of his beliefs that would make him "radical"... But unless you know nothing about him other than the quotes people post every January on social media (several taken out of context), I don't think there is much in his speeches that is surprising. He was somewhat of a socialist. He was antiwar. He believed in nonviolent protests.
This is a great read because it's just his speeches, and they are so powerful, the way his mind worked makes me so sad (so angry) that his life was cut short.
This is a great read because it's just his speeches, and they are so powerful, the way his mind worked makes me so sad (so angry) that his life was cut short.
August 5, 2020
Stunning. I'd read a couple of these before in a very different context, but many of these essays/speeches/sermons/book chapters were new to me and utterly transformed my understanding of MLK. For awhile now I've been aware of the ways in which I had misunderstood and been mislead by history classes about what sort of figure King was, but this was the first time that I really dug into King's own words to see the extent of his radical politics.
Reading this I was horrified and inspired and provoked and challenged and called to action. I will be revisiting these pieces repeatedly for insight and encouragement and motivation and challenge. I loved particularly King's ethic of nonviolence, loving our enemies, and his persistent critique of the Vietnam War, and how all of those are woven together in the vision of racial justice he lays out.
Reading this I was horrified and inspired and provoked and challenged and called to action. I will be revisiting these pieces repeatedly for insight and encouragement and motivation and challenge. I loved particularly King's ethic of nonviolence, loving our enemies, and his persistent critique of the Vietnam War, and how all of those are woven together in the vision of racial justice he lays out.
April 13, 2018
A thought-provoking listen made enjoyable by the many famous actors who read key Martin Luther King Jr speeches, articles and letters, which show King in a more radical light. Here, you will find King's finest work "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and "Black Power" in which he discusses his feelings about using this as a slogan when Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) introduced it. Cornel West provides an introduction for each piece of King's writing providing an understanding of King's views in a radical context.
December 22, 2024
Lenin put it best:
“During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the “consolation” of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it.”
“During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the “consolation” of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it.”
April 13, 2018
I knew about King's "radical" ideas about poverty and injustice, but it was eye opening to me how much of a role his faith really played into his life and mission. It's kind of crazy that it hadn't occurred to me, given that he was a minister, but I was fascinated to listen to these speeches and writings that detailed how deeply his faith in Christ suffused his actions. He felt compelled to love radically like Christ, and that was at the heart of everything he did.
I'm so glad I read this audio book, and look forward to listening to it again soon!
I'm so glad I read this audio book, and look forward to listening to it again soon!
March 24, 2020
A must-read! Cornel West appropriately selected letters, articles, book excerpts, and speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the intention of allowing his own words to reclaim his original intent. King today is too often viewed through a white-washed lens, appropriating his message to assuage white guilt and missing his often-radical message. I also highly recommend the audio version. Prominent African American actors, comedians and authors take turn narrating. Instead of distraction, this provides depth and nuance. There’s a little bit of King in all of us. Let’s use that and keep working.
February 3, 2020
A collection of speeches and essay's from MLK Jr. that still sends ripples to today. I loved it, but I may be bias for I love MLK. Regardless, I recommend to those who have not gotten to hear the words and ideas of this great American.
February 23, 2022
Finally got around to reading this. It was a very enlightening read. This is not a biography or commentary but simply a collection of MLK's writing curated and introduced by Cornel West. It really gave me a more profound insight into his politics (which was more complex than most discussions tend to show, even me who knew about that didn't know the full extent) but also pacifism in general. I'm not against violence to resist oppression, non-violence does not always work, but I will admit to having a more limited understanding of non-violence which has been expanded by this book.
May 30, 2023
It's the unfortunate truth that many of the principles that MLK fought for and advocated have been whitewashed or sanitized over the years. This collection of lesser-shared, commentated essays by the late King are an excellent resource for anyone looking to get a clearer understanding of what he truly believed in.
December 9, 2020
An incredibly powerful and beautiful book.
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