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

by Michael K. Honey

“This is a dangerous book.”―Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams Fifty years ago, a single bullet robbed us of one of the world’s most eloquent voices for human rights and justice. To the Promised Land goes beyond the iconic view of Martin Luther King, Jr., as an advocate of racial harmony, to explore his profound commitment to the poor and working class and his call for “nonviolent resistance” to all forms of oppression, including the economic injustice that “takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.” “Either we go up together or we go down together,” King cautioned, a message just as urgent in America today as then. To the Promised Land challenges us to think about what it would mean to truly fulfill King’s legacy and move toward his vision of “the Promised Land” in our own time. 10 black and white illustrations

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Labor, Economics, Race, African American, Politics

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2019

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time in High School I had to do an essay on a person that inspired me. Whilst many of my peers chose some popstar or football (soccer) player or other, I chose Martin Luther King. Unfortunately, I did not remember anything I found out about him whilst researhing for that all those years ago, but when I saw this book I knew I would love to revisit this extraordinary and inspiring individual.

This is not just a book on Martin Luther King. It looks at a very turbulent time in not only black history, but in the history of the United States in general. Poverty was a nationwide issue, and not only for the black community, but across the board. The black population were still not seen as equal to the whites and mechanisation caused a slew of job losses. However, Martin Luther King fought for civil rights for all the poor, not just the African American community.

This book highlights the economic struggles of the times against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. The inequality makes you angry and breaks your heart. Martin Luther King remained an example of non-violence throughout, eventhough he was portrayed differently in the press. How can you stay calm amongst such hate and misunderstanding?

I learned so much about black and American history from this book. It has a clear timeline without being too structured. The various union and party abbreviations all blended into each other after a while, but I do not think that mattered too much.

This is one of those books that leaves you feeling a little bit wiser than when you started it and in my book that is always a good thing.

[Mehrsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really important topic, but there is nothing new in here. It's a short book that is a big overview of King's life. It's not focused on the economic fight per se (though I think his whole fight was economic). I think his own speeches lay out his views on economic justice. It might be more fruitful just to study those.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended reading. Learned a lot about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s move deeper into his mission to improve the lives of poor people everywhere. It's stunning to see that King's vision in its way harkens to the current calls for intersectional liberation. It's disappointing to see how few gains we've made when it comes to reducing income inequality that plagues so many in the United States and elsewhere. We're still asking for the same simple things in 2018 that people have been fighting for for decades if not centuries.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boildown of Honey's own work in Down Jericho Road and the larger history of labor and civil rights. It's a good introduction, but moves very rapidly over elements of the pre-Memphis story. I'd very much recommend investing the time and attention in Down Jericho Road, but if you want a quick introduction, this is fine.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing antidote for the rampant revisionism about King and his legacy.

[John Plowright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther King’s political life seemingly had two phases: the first from the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 until the passage of the 1965 Civil Rights Act, when his primary focus was on removing social and legal segregation, and the second comprising what turned out to be the last three year’s of his life (to which the Poor People’s March formed the coda), in which his attention centred upon addressing economic injustice.

King’s brutal early death, aged 39, meant that in crucial respects his dream for America went unfulfilled for, as King himself put it “… we know that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters” for “What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee?”

Michael K. Honey’s ‘To the Promised Land. Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice’ performs the very useful service of pointing out that although King’s commitment to greater economic equality and the empowerment of the poor of all colours increasingly dominated his actions from 1965, his commitment to those causes was an important strand running throughout his entire political life.

Honey ably draws upon what he describes as “a plethora of scholarship”, including his own substantial work in the field, to make it possible for a wider audience to appreciate that King preached the Christian Social Gospel long before he expressed solidarity with the sanitation workers of Memphis. To put it another way, Honey indirectly vindicates J. Edgar Hoover’s view that King challenged the very warp and weft of the fabric of US society.

[Ben Gilsdorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Dan Mantena · Rating 3 out of 5]

my rating - overall Score: 3.2/5.0
- quality of writing (3/5)
- quality of the content (3/5)
- impact on my perspective (5/5)
- personal resonance (5/5)
- rereading potential (0/5)

Although Martin Luther King Jr. is most known for his civil rights work, in To The Promised Land, Michale K. Honey describes how civil rights was just phase 1 of a larger plan. The second phase of the plan was to fight for economic justice for the racially and economically marginalized members of America.

Although the strides made during the civil rights movement produced great results for African Americans, King realized that political independence gains from the civil rights movement did not automatically result in economic freedom for African Americans. In a speech once, he stated, "it is easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee an annual income or create jobs."

In that light, it was not hard for MLK to start promoting socialist views over capitalist views to help the country's poor people. This turned out to be a very dangerous move during the Red Scare.

King's idea was simple: the people could end their oppression by refusing to participate in the system that oppressed them. This idea was based on the fundamental concept of non-violence, where "the end is preexistent in the mean." The most common form of this protest was labor strikes, but King had something bigger in mind.

King wanted a campaign that created "a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation." The result was the Poor People's Campaign. A grass-roots movement founded by people from all ethnicities, including working-class whites, planned to besiege Congress and demand acceptable standards on housing, health care, education, and meaningful employment—economic justice for all.

King's sudden and tragic death prevented the Poor People's Campaign from meeting the goals it set out. His legacy of fighting injustice through non-violent means continues to shine during our nation's current dark times.

[Kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

fast read which re-examines the trajectory of King's life from the perspective of organized labor and economic justice. the early chapters focus on King's early critiques of racial capitalism as well as his subjection to trumped-up charges of communism by a rabidly anti-communist political right and state machine. They also document his early relationship with national labor unions, local chapters, and ununionized workers, better placing his rise in the context of the political left in the u.s. but it is later chapters where Honey, who was an organizer in Memphis during the post-King era, hits a more interesting stride. Though Honey has tendencies towards hagiography that you might expect, his more in-depth treatment of organizing in Memphis, and of King's attempts to start the Poor People's Campaign, are revealing. King here is notably described as a poor organizer, his meetings with the women-led welfare rights movement and short-lived campaign in Chicago are failures, and it is instead workers and their support systems (frequently women) who become the principle actors in Memphis. Honey is thankfully not afraid of criticism of the failures of white-led and/or white-exclusive union locals and leadership alike, which give the book a richer arc. Ultimately it left me wanting to read a less King-centric analysis of both the tensions and resonances between labor and civil rights/anti-racist struggle during the period.

[George Heidemark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labor historian and labor activist Michael K Honey has written a fine study of Dr. Kings consistent commitment to economic and social justice throughout his career. This book goes from Montgomery to Memphis. When most people think of Dr. King they think of speeches such as “ I have a Dream” and his current status as a non controversial icon. But by the end of his life, Dr. King had taken unpopular stands against the Vietnam War and his support of the “ Poor People’s March.”as not well received. This book reminds us that by the end of his life Dr. King was a disliked figure in much of the nation who publicly reminded the country that they were falling short in ministering to the neglected and forgotten. This book also focuses on the legions of civil rights foot soldiers and union members who often led the way in struggling for economic justice for all. A must read.

[Leann Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read. It focuses on Dr. King’s fight for economic justice, something we don’t teach about in children’s books or otherwise. Everyone knows the “I have a dream” speech but not everyone knows that he called for racial equality alongside fighting for economic equality. A lot of the ideas that Dr. King fought for in the 1960s are things that we are still fighting for (healthcare, a living wage, safe working conditions). The book was published in 2018 post Trump and the author does a great job tying the events of the Civil Rights Era to their consequences in the South today.

[Bethia · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are living in an age when it seems that academics and activists are turning out well-researched and worthy books documenting the long struggle of African American life. For any Americans who have managed to shun this subject, they are living in stark ignorance of life in America for millions. This book is one of the most comprehensive works I have had the fortune to read. I recommend this for all Americans. Especially white Americans, a population fraught with ignorance and ambivalence.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of Dr. King's life. I learned things I had never read in other publicatioins. Good analogy of the labor movement in the Civil Rights Time. I really enjoyed this read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

[Eric Bottorff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing especially new in here, though I was glad to learn more details about the Memphis strike and his work with labor than I had previously known. But a useful overview if you’re new to the topic, and certainly any book that adds to the much-needed reclaiming of King from the economic centrists is welcome.

[Mabon Finch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many authors gloss over MLK’s socialist views and ardent support of the labor movement, instead focusing solely on his work in Civil Rights. This book focuses solely on his labor-related work, and was absolutely fantastic

[Tbone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. with everything going on today I was moved to read up on Martin Luther King. This book is primarily about how Martin Luther King was not only fighting for racial equality but also economic equality. Something not always talked about when he is brought up. Good solid book.

[Paul Narvaez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,50

This is a fine overview of the last months of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life a specifically focused on Memphis, the Sanitation Worker strike and the Poor People's Campaign. It makes the case for MLK as a labor rights activist, in addition to his notoriety as a civil rights campaigner.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise but richly detailed and wonderfully insightful study of King’s attempts to bring about economic justice for all Americans. An important, timely, inspiring work.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a historian = quite dry, but very interesting and informative history about MLK and the things he endured and did. Worth the effort.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many parallels to issues we are facing today around fascism and economic policies. Frustrating that we haven’t moved the needle.

[Alexander Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed introduction to King’s economic vision and work

[Beverly R Washington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it.

[Grace]

for class

[Joe Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. King’s Mission Unfulfilled

This book encourages that Dr. King’s words have no due date and continue to be clearly present in 2025 as they were in 1968.

[Jason Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

A necessary history of the “second phase” of the civil rights movement, but one that lacks in objectivity. https://medium.com/@jpark_21/to-the-p...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! It wasn't trying to be a biography of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but it ended up being a bit of one anyway. The author was trying to weave in Dr. King's early anti-capitalist and economic justice writings into the events of his life, instead of presenting that Dr. King became interested in economic justice towards the end of his life with the Poor People's Campaign, which usually happens.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate it when I read a book and I then struggle to say much about it. So let me try and force a bunch of words out for no other reason than I got this book for free in exchange for a review, and so I will keep my promise and review it.

So I read To The Promised Land, spurred on by a comment from a university course I took many years ago: Most people know Martin Luther King Jr. from his anti-segregation work and his I Have A Dream speech (and looky looky -- I reviewed a book about that speech a few years ago) from 1963. He was assassinated in 1968. So there's five years where, for the most part, the popular narrative stops. Why? Because he spent a lot of those five years advocating not just for civil-rights for African Americans, but also advocating for the poor, against classicism, and working with unions. And while voting rights and desegregation was one thing, working for economic equality was a whole other kettle of fish.

And so, I got To The Promised Land because of that university professor many years ago and because To The Promised Land has a sub (under?) title: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice. Okay. So I was going to learn about those missing five years.

So I did. I read To The Promised Land (in April, and now it's June). I made precisely zero notes on my kobo. I highlighted nothing. I read it and I remember basically nothing. My fault for being disengaged with the process or the book's fault for informing without captivating me with language or story-telling or whatever it was that didn't have the words worm their way deep into my brain? But this is the second book in a row about someone working to make the world better that I've read to which my response has been a precisely mid-range, not-even-angry-about-it, meh.

Martin Luther King Jr. tried to make the world better for all Americans, then they shot him, and that makes me sad. Later I read a book about him. There was a sanitation strike in the book. He still got shot. I am still sad, but I do know that my being sad is not really what this is all about. Still sad though. Still a big blank space in my brain where this book should have gone. Sorry.

To The Promised Land by Michael K. Honey went on sale April 3, 2018.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.