If I had to guess, you probably have never heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 “The Other America” speech. You’re not alone in this either. There’s a lot about King that gets left out of textbooks and documentaries.
Be that as it may, this speech was an important one. As you can see from the timeline above, it comes as King was making a shift toward advocating against the war and advocating for economic justice. He saw both issues as key to the civil rights movement. He began:
The difference is night and day.
Remember that this speech was given in 1967. Does this sound familiar to you today? He goes on to analyze and diagnose many social ills. The more he says, the more familiar his words sound.
On genuine equality:
On racism:
On riots:
On time:
On legislation:
On fair housing:
On allies:
Unfortunately, King’s plan to organize a mass civil disobedience campaign called the “Poor People’s Campaign” was never fully realized. It’s speeches like this at the end of his life that show a side of King you weren’t taught about in school.
See the full address below. It’s worth it.
