The Hidden Radical Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
An International Socialist Organization public forum
358 Washington St, Dorchester MA
Thursday, February 4th , 7pm
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Most people learn in school that Martin Luther King was a man who preached love and nonviolence. In truth, Dr. King’s political ideas, while firmly rooted in Christian ideals, were far more radical than American textbooks let on. King supported reparations for slavery, opposed the idea that Blacks should pull themselves up “by their own bootstraps,” and was highly critical of capitalism. “You can’t talk about ending slums,” he once told his staff, “without first saying profit must be taken out of slums.”
In the last year of his life, King spoke, fought, and organized, not for peace and love in the abstract, but for the billions of dollars needed to solve the economic problems of African Americans. It was this orientation that brought him to Memphis, where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. His death, and the nationwide riots that followed, highlighted the degree to which the problems of racism remained unsolved in America.
Join this discussion hosted by the Boston branch of the International Socialist Organization on the relevance of this hidden radical legacy today.
Discussion will be based on an article by teacher and activist Brian Jones in Issue 58 of the International Socialist Review, “Martin Luther King’s last fight,” available at http://www.isreview.org/issues/58/feat-MLK.shtml
To request free childcare, please email us by Wednesday evening.
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Source: 2/4 The Hidden Radical Legacy of MLK
