Table of Contents
Introduction
Editor's note
Part I
Forging a Civil Rights–Labor Alliance in the Shadow of the Cold
War
Chapter 1
“ A look to the future”
—Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Highlander Folk School, Monteagle,
Tennessee, September 2, 1957
Chapter 2
“ It is a dark day indeed when men cannot work to implement
the ideal of brotherhood without being labeled communist.”
— Statement of Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference in defense of the United Packinghouse Workers
Union of America, Atlanta, Georgia, June 11, 1959
Chapter 3
“ We, the Negro people and labor . . . inevitably will sow
the seeds of liberalism.”
— Twenty-fifth Anniversary Dinner, United Automobile Workers Union,
Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, April 27, 1961
Chapter 4
If the Negro Wins, Labor Wins
— AFL-CIO Fourth Constitutional Convention, Americana Hotel, Miami
Beach, Florida, December 11, 1961
Chapter 5
“I am in one of those houses of labor to which I come not to
criticize, but to praise.”
— Thirteenth Convention, United Packinghouse Workers Union of
America, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 21, 1962
Chapter 6
“There are three major social evils . . . 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
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), Nobel Peace Prize laureate
and architect of the nonviolent civil rights movement, was among
the twentieth century's most influential figures. One of the
greatest orators in U.S. history, King is the author of several
books, including Stride Toward Freedom- The Montgomery Story, The
Trumpet of Conscience, Why We Can't Wait, and Where Do We Go from
Here- Chaos or Community? His speeches, sermons, and writings are
inspirational and timeless. King was assassinated in Memphis,
Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
Michael K. Honey, a former Southern civil rights and civil
liberties organizer, is professor of labor ethnic and gender
studies and American history, and the Haley Professor of
Humanities, at the University of Washington-Tacoma. The author of
three books on labor and civil rights history, including Going Down
Jericho Road- The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last
Campaign, he lives in Tacoma.
“King was always a champion for labor rights and economic justice,
and this volume illustrates that dimension of his leadership.
Preceding each carefully transcribed speech, a brief essay by Honey
puts King’s words into context. …Highly recommended.”—Choice
Magazine
“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. 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. This is a more complex King than we celebrate
every January, forever frozen on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
delivering his “I Have a Dream Speech.” King’s dream called
for nothing less than a radical restructuring of American economic
life.”—Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia
University
“Thanks to Michael Honey’s meticulous editing and the inclusion of
rarely heard audio, we can finally grasp the depth of the Reverend
Martin Luther King’s commitment to Americans as workers. 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
“This is more than a compelling and unprecedented collection of
speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. Through thoughtful
introductions to each and every speech, Honey sets the stage for
the reader, proving without a doubt that Dr. King was among the
greatest labor leaders of the 20th century and that his message
continues to resonate powerfully in our age.”—Bill Fletcher, Jr.,
Editorial Board, BlackCommentator.com; co-founder, Center for Labor
Renewal; Board Chairperson, International Labor Rights
“As this powerful and inspiring collection shows, Dr. King was a
tireless champion of the working class. But “All Labor Has Dignity”
is not just a testament to his rhetorical legacy—it is a call to
action.”—Richard L. Trumka, president, AFL-CIO
“All Labor Has Dignity is an illuminating argument that King
was concerned with much, much more than just the plight of black
people. His public career may have started in that arena, but it
ended with him as a champion for progressives around the
globe.”—Pop Matters
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
