“Where do we go from here?”
King’s last, and most radical, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presidential address

I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we talk about “Where do we go from here,” that we honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society. There are forty million poor people here. And one day we must ask the question, “Why are there forty million poor people in America?” And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I’m simply saying that more and more, we’ve got to begin to ask questions about the whole society. We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life’s marketplace. But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. It means that questions must be raised. You see, my friends, when you deal with this, you begin to ask the question, “Who owns the iron ore?” You begin to ask the question, “Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that is two-thirds water?” These are questions that must be asked.

Now, don’t think that you have me in a “bind” today. I’m not talking about communism.

What I’m saying to you this morning is that communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a higher synthesis that combines the truths of both. Now, when I say question the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problems of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together.

Well, I may be jumping the gun, but I don’t think this will be the case, given the PF’s recent association with white separatists. In any case, I’ll have the real scoop this afternoon.

I would’ve thought it would be the other way around - an attempt to rehabilitate communism (not that MLK was a communist, but this would presumably be the claim) rather than discredit the civil rights movement.

(Unless the Pacifica Forum really has turned into Combat 18, that is, which would be a great example of Blair’s Law in action.)

any names on running mates after the primary?