MLK's Last Goal: Eradicating Poverty

by Josie Raymond · 2010-01-18 14:00:00 UTC
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On this day devoted to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Center for American Progress reminds us that in addition to his work on behalf of racial equality, Dr. King turned his attention to fighting poverty in the final months of his life. Sadly, as far as the country has come regarding civil rights, more Americans live in poverty today than during King's lifetime. Forty million people, 13% of the population, currently fall below the poverty line.

In the just-reissued book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, written in 1967, King wrote, "In the treatment of poverty nationally, one fact stands out. There are twice as many white poor as [black] poor in the United States. Therefore I will not dwell on the experiences of poverty that derive from racial discrimination, but will discuss the poverty that affects white and [black] alike."

In fact, King was planning a march and a public address similar to his "I Have a Dream" speech that galvanized the nation. He didn't get to make them before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

The CAP article provides data much like what we've read before, striking though familiar; more whites than blacks do still live in poverty, but a higher proportion of minorities fall below the poverty line, including 25% of blacks and 23% of Latinos (compared to 9% of whites). Stable jobs, good housing, comprehensive education and adequate health care are still unequal, unsuitable and, in many cases, unavailable. President Obama has pledged to cut U.S. poverty in half over the next 10 years, but pledges don't always correspond to priorities.

What King argued is still true today: there's no reason we can't eradicate poverty. His words are as inspiring and appropriate as ever: "The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. ... The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty."

Photo credit: veniaxcrucis

Josie Raymond has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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