I think that it is impactful for King to open up his book, Why We Can’t Wait, by discussing the similarities between the African-American boy from Harlem and the African-American girl from Birmingham because he is trying to convey that racial injustice is much more widespread than just the South. The idea of racism as a national problem is important because most critics of racism and inequality up to this point had been focused on the Southern location. This is interesting, and it contrasts most of the texts that we have read for this class, which were more focused on the racial tension and injustice in the South specifically. Also, I think that King’s choice to use the method of nonviolent protest was crucial to the forwarding of civil rights. King understood that if African-Americans tried to fight their oppressors by using violence the white man would use even more brutal force to try and keep them in their place. But, if the black community responded to the injustice in a peaceful way, the system would be disrupted. The way that white power prevailed was by intimidation, but now the black community was showing them that they wouldn’t be intimidated or provoked. By peacefully protesting and allowing white southerners to abuse them publicly they challenge racial tropes and forced the system in the South to realize who the true violent party is. Also, the nonviolent approach was a strategic move on the part of King. He wanted the images of innocent black people being brutalized by white men and women to be shown all over the country. King hoped that this message would show that the African-American community is civilized, and hopefully, it would also drum up support from people in the North to aid with the Civil Rights movement. Overall, I felt like this book showed a different side to Martin Luther King Jr. that I had never heard about in my history cases. Also, this was the only other piece of King’s work that I had read besides the “I Have a Dream” speech.

King, Martin Luther. Why We Can't Wait. Penguin Books, 2018.

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