Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

Dr. King's penultimate book provides a snapshot of where we were in 1967. Two turning points had been reached. First, his program of nonviolent direct action was clearly winning the struggle against old fashioned southern segregation, and Dr. King was looking toward the next step. He believed that the next logical step toward setting people free was a massive government program addressing the problem of poverty. Second, within the civil rights movement, a "black power" mentality was gaining prominence. Some argued that whites should be excluded from the civil rights movement, and that nonviolence should be abandoned. Dr. King insisted that this approach would only balkanize our country, having disastrous effect, especially on blacks. As with his other books, the author's brilliance, his scholarship, and his Christian love all come through. It would be best to read "Stride Toward Freedom" and "Why We Can't Wait" before reading this one.

Many of those who claim to admire Dr. King and quote from his I have a dream speech seem to have never read his books. This book is the best of all the books King has written and probably the least read. In it, Dr. King critiques himself for giving the then youthful leaders of the Black Power Movement too overly optimistic views of the progress of integration. He also presents the pros and cons of Black Power. He states the need for White America to do much more to improve race relations other than declaring racism to be wrong. He calls for the teaching of African-American history, and for the nation to focus more on helping the poor over military spending. This book should be mandatory reading for high school students, college students, teachers, public officials and business leaders.