An unprecedented and timely collection of Dr. King’s speeches on labor rights and economic justice People forget that Dr. King was every bit as committed to economic justice as he was to ending racial segregation. war psychosis can explain such a melancholy turn of events. Staff Login
A new book, “All Labor Has Dignity” (Beacon Press, $26.95, hardcover with CD), brings together 16 of Kings speeches on economic justice, many of them buried in the King archives until now. ‘ All Labor Has Dignity’ is an unprecedented and timely collection that helps us imagine King anew: as a human rights leader whose commitment to labor rights and ending poverty was a crucial part of his civil rights agenda—and I’m excited knowing that the general public will now be able to hear these speeches and have the same magical and transporting experience that Joanna and I had. Unprecedented and timely, "All Labor Has Dignity" will more fully restore our understanding of King's lasting vision of economic justice, bringing his demand for equality right into the present. The exhibit All Labor Has Dignity: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Labor Movement will be displayed at the Kheel Center’s lobby in Ives Hall at the ILR School for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2019. I want to try to talk very honestly and frankly about this great problem, Unprecedented and timely, “All Labor Has Dignity” will more fully restore our understanding of King’s lasting vision of economic justice, bringing his demand for equality right into the present. Illinois, Michael K. Honey, a former Southern civil rights organizer and the Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington Tacoma, edited the speeches and wrote an introductory essay for the book. Summary An unprecedented and timely collection of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches on labor rights and economic justice - from back cover. has produced a shameful order of priorities in which the decay, squalor, and Arriving in Memphis on March 18 and declaring that “all labor has dignity,” King spontaneously urged a general work stoppage — not just in sanitation, but workers of all kinds throughout the city. Labor Leadership Assembly for PeaceChicago, . gathering Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches on labor, may of them previously By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s, Editor's Picks: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Nationally Recognized Features from Texas Monthly, Frederick Douglass: Autobiographies (LOA #68), Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Last Interview, Discover Book Picks from the CEO of Penguin Random House US. (Applause) In Subject headings King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Speeches--Selections. He would return twice in the coming weeks. Forging a civil rights-labor alliance in the shadow of the Cold War. You are reminding, not only Memphis, but you are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages. King than we celebrate every January, forever frozen on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial quivering anger, denounce the violence of ghetto Negroes when it has given an The war has created the bizarre spectacle of But “All Labor Has Dignity” is not just a from consumers divided by race and ethnicity into an active, united citizenry.” —Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People and Edwards Professor of History, Columbia Now, more than ever, his insights show us the way of transformation from consumers divided by race and ethnicity into an active, united citizenry.”—Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People and Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University“Michael Honey, a distinguished scholar of labor and African-American History, has done a great service by gathering Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches on labor, may of them previously unknown. Through King's rendition of his "All Labor Has Dignity.." Speech given at the Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, March, 1968, a few weeks before his assassination, shouldn't be missed, especially by laborites like myself. fact, I think Cleve Robinson and Dave Livingston of District 65 in New York About “All Labor Has Dignity” An unprecedented and timely collection of Dr. King’s speeches on labor rights and economic justice Covering all the civil rights movement highlights–Montgomery, Albany, Birmingham, Selma, Chicago, and Memphis–award-winning historian Michael K. Honey introduces and traces Dr. King’s dream of economic equality. of social insecurity and power for the privileged. that shocks the world? assembly. In solidarity, Robert Martinez Jr. IAM International President | ISBN 9780807086018 He brings to life the King who from the outset of his public career insisted that ‘the evil of economic injustice’ must be combated along with racial inequality, and who saw the effort to eliminate poverty as a natural outgrowth of the civil rights struggle. extreme right, the anti-labor, anti-Negro, and antihumanistic forces a weapon I’m an honorary member of many labor unions all across the country. immediately, permanently, and unconditionally. right up to the White House. It has given the Now, more than ever, his insights show us the way of transformation Jan 10, 2012 career insisted that 'the evil of economic injustice' must be combated along I with racial inequality, and who saw the effort to eliminate poverty as a | ISBN 9780807086025 forward-looking America. Hitting all the civil rights movement highlights—Montgomery, Selma, Memphis, Albany, and Birmingham—award-winning historian Michael Honey traces King’s economic dream, from lectures to unions in the 1960s to addresses during his Poor People’s Campaign, culminating with his momentous “Mountaintop” speech, delivered in support of striking black sanitation workers in Memphis. itself completely from U.S. policy in Vietnam. But But you are doing another thing. Now missing. (Laughter). . You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. As we struggle with massive unemployment, a staggering racial wealth gap, and the near collapse of a financial system that puts profits before people, King’s prophetic writings and speeches underscore his relevance for today. Workers at DCA are calling for an end to mistreatment from low-road contractors like Delta Airline’s Eulen America. unknown. People forget that Dr. King was every bit as committed to economic justice as he was to ending racial segregation. | ISBN 9780807086001 I. the evil of war, the evil of economic injustice, and the evil of racial injustice.” — District 65 Convention, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), Laurels Country Club, Monticello, New York, September 8, 1962 Chapter 7 “Industry knows only two types of workers who, in years past, were brought frequently to their jobs in chains.” — Twenty-fifth Anniversary Dinner, National Maritime Union, Americana Hotel, New York City, October 23, 1962 Chapter 8 “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.” — Detroit March for Civil Rights, Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, June 23, 1963 Chapter 9 “The unresolved race question” — Thirtieth Anniversary of District 65, RWDSU, Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 23, 1963 part II Standing at the Crossroads: Race, Labor, War, and Poverty Chapter 10 “The explosion in Watts reminded us all that the northern ghettos are the prisons of forgotten men.” — District 65, RWDSU, New York City, September 18, 1965 Chapter 11 “Labor cannot stand still long or it will slip backward.” — Illinois State Convention AFL-CIO, Springfield, Illinois, October 7, 1965 Chapter 12 Civil Rights at the Crossroads — Shop Stewards of Local 815, Teamsters, and the Allied Trades Council, Americana Hotel, New York City, May 2, 1967 Chapter 13 Domestic Impact of the War in Vietnam — National Labor Leadership Assembly for Peace, Chicago, Illinois, November 11, 1967 Part III Down Jericho Road: The Poor People’s Campaign and Memphis Strike Chapter 14 “The other America” — Local 1199 Salute to Freedom, Hunter College, New York City, March 10, 1968 Chapter 15 “All labor has dignity.” — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) mass meeting, Memphis Sanitation Strike, Bishop Charles Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ, Memphis, Tennessee, March 18, 1968 Chapter 16 To the Mountaintop: “Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.” — AFSCME mass meeting, Memphis Sanitation Strike, Bishop Charles Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ, Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968 Epilogue: king and labor Appendix: a note on the speeches Acknowledgments Index, Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House, Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network. 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