3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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Home > Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites toBuild Economic Justice

Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' ofBlacks and Whites to Build EconomicJusticeBy Zaid Jilani [1] / AlterNet [2]August 19, 2015

Fifty years ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,America's most prominent racial justice organizer, addressed thesequestions with his own solution: to organize blacks and whites

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3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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along a common interest based on being oppressed by theeconomic system itself.

One of the explanations political scientists often offer for why theUnited States has such an individualistic culture and capitalisteconomy is because of our racial heterogeneity. Because the U.S. isso diverse, the argument goes [3], we are unable to put together theenduring coalitions necessary to achieve social democratic systemslike much of homogeneous Western Europe has [4].

Indeed, as Europe has grown more diverse, it has faced challengesfrom a growing far­right movement that is attempting to usescapegoating and racial division to break up the social democraticconsensus. And here in the United States, we often see divergentvoting patterns [5] between people of different races, withpolarization along ethnic backgrounds often being the norm.

Fifty years ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., America'smost prominent racial justice organizer, addressed these questionswith his own solution: organize blacks and whites along a commoninterest based on economic oppression.

Since his early years as an organizer, King had been an advocate forsocial democracy. In a 1955 letter to his future wife, Coretta, he toldher [6] that “capitalism had outlived its usefulness.” Nine yearslater, he had a number of civil rights victories under his belt and wasa household name. Some in the country began to worry that hismovement was asking for too much, too quickly, and was focusedonly on his own racial group.

To rebut this attempt at racial division, he wrote an article inthe Saturday Evening Post explaining the urgency of the problemshe was working to solve. He laid out his proposal of a “grandalliance” between blacks and whites aimed at “eradicating social

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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evils which oppress both white and Negro.” He pointed to highyouth unemployment among both groups, and said economiccompetition would become self­destructive if the two groups did notcooperate. Finally, he warned that if “a few Negro extremists andwhite extremists manage to divide their people, a tragic result willbe the ascendancy of extreme reaction which exploits all people”:

He pointed to high youth unemployment among both groups, andsaid that economic competition would become self­destructive ifthe two groups did not cooperate. Finally, he warned that if “a fewNegro extremists and white extremists manage to divide theirpeople, a tragic result will be the ascendancy of extreme reactionwhich exploits all people”:

This served as a sort of prelude to King's labor organizing activitiesthat marked the last years of his life. He launched or participated in

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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various economic justice campaigns. Here's a flyer King used whencampaigning against Oklahoma's “right to work” ballot question:

Here's a flyer from King campaigning against Oklahoma's so­called“Right To Work” ballot question.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference activists began to usethese bills to identify businesses that refused to bring blacks into thehigher echelons of management as well as pay good wages to all oftheir workers:

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Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) activists beganto use these bills to identify businesses that refused to bring blacksinto the higher echelons of their management as well as pay goodwages to all of their workers.

In a 1966 article, King once again foresaw a divide between whiteand black workers if the economic needs of both were not met,saying that disappearing jobs would “give rise to destructive racialtensions and perhaps violence” (which we saw in the streets of de­industrialized Baltimore recently):

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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In a 1966 article, King once again foresaw a divide between whiteand black workers if the economic needs of both were not met,saying that disappearing jobs would “give rise to destructive racialtensions and perhaps violence” (which we all saw in the streets ofde­industrialized Baltimore recently).

In an interview on the television program "Face the Nation," Kingwas asked about the supposed disintegration of the black family andthe high levels of black children born out of wedlock. Rather thantake the bait from the questioners implying this was a culturalproblem specific to black people, he pointed to the way economicdeprivation destroys families:

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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In an interview on the television program Face The Nation, he wasasked questions about the supposed disintegration of the blackfamily, high levels of children born out of wedlock.

As he reached the last years of his life, King started the PoorPeople's Campaign, which explicitly aimed to lift up people of allraces who were being denied decent housing, education and wages.Here is an informational pamphlet about the movement:

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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As he reached the last years of his life, King started the PoorPeople's Campaign, which explicitly aimed to lift up people of allraces who were being denied decent housing, education, andwages. Here's an informational pamphlet about the movement.

The Poor People's Campaign dovetailed with King's increasinglyinternationalist worldview, including his sharp opposition to theVietnam War, which permanently damaged his good relationshipwith Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson. In one of his lastsermons, King laid out a vision that was radical in its scope,providing one of the first calls for a just globalization of resources,explaining how the entire world's economic future was interrelatedbecause all of life on earth is interrelated:

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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In one of his last sermons, King laid out a vision that was radical inits scope, providing one of perhaps the first calls for a justglobalization of resources, explaining how the entire world'seconomic future was interrelated.

All of this serves as a reminder that King, alongside the civil rightsmovement, certainly wanted to improve the fortunes of blackcitizens who had been oppressed for hundreds of years. But it alsoshowed that King and his allies understood that the oppression theirpeople faced was linked to the oppression other people faced,whether it was union workers being denied their rights, poor whitesdenied proper education and access to jobs, or laborers overseasworking in sweat shops to produce the products we use every day.

King's movement was not sectarian in nature; it was based onsolidarity between people with very different backgrounds withcommon interests of being freed from oppressive conditions. Fiftyyears on, this civil rights movement continues to provide anideological and spiritual roadmap for creating a broad­based,multiracial progressive movement that creates a just and free

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America for everyone, something we've long been told we cannotdo due to our heterogeneity.

Zaid Jilani is an AlterNet staff writer. Follow @zaidjilani [7] on Twitter.

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Links: [1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/zaid­jilani­0 [2] http://alternet.org [3]http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/09/this­sociologist­has­a­plan­to­make­america­more­like­sweden/ [4] http://www.fabians.org.uk/utopia­sustained­the­nordic­model­of­social­democracy/ [5] http://mic.com/articles/103422/3­charts­show­how­america­voted­in­this­year­s­midterm­elections [6] http://www.alternet.orgwww.alternet.org/media/mainstream­media­doesnt­get­its­attempts­belittle­bernie­sanders­are­totally­backfiring

3/6/2017 Dr. King Wanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites to Build Economic Justice

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[7] https://twitter.com/zaidjilani [8] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?Subject=Typo on Dr. KingWanted 'Grand Alliance' of Blacks and Whites toBuild Economic Justice [9] http://www.alternet.org/ [10] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B