The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
African Americans - Economic conditions.
Associated Archive Content : 298 results
MLK on the New York RiotsDr. King discusses the recent riots that occurred in New York. While some people would like to place the blame on violent blacks, King asserts that one should examine the real issues behind the violence and riots. King states that many blacks feel they will never gain equality in housing, employment, or education, which is why they react violently. |
MLK Press Statement Regarding Riots in Los AngelesIn this statement to the press, Dr. King comments on the Watts Riots that took place in Los Angeles, California. He further discusses the economic, social and racial inequalities that he feels were the cause of the violence. |
MLK Responds to Questions Pertaining to the Civil Rights MovementDr. King responds to a series of questions concerning such topics as his opposition to the Vietnam War, the direction of the Civil Rights Movement, urban riots in Detroit and Newark, and SCLC initiatives catered to the ghettos of the American South. |
MLK Speaks on the African American FamilyDr. King speaks to an assembly in Chicago, Illinois about the history and dynamics of the African American family in the United States. |
MLK Speech at 4th Constitutional Convention - AFL-CIOThis is an annotated copy of an address given by Dr. King at an AFL-CIO convention. Dr. King thoroughly discusses the working conditions of Negroes, and states the Negro unemployment rate is similar to "malignant cancer." He concludes that the two most dynamic forces in the country are the labor movement and the Negro Freedom Movement. |
MLK Speech at SCLC Staff RetreatDr. King addresses the staff of the SCLC at a retreat in Frogmore, South Carolina. He divides his speech into three parts: "whence we have come, where we have come, and where do we go from here." Dr. King thoroughly discusses his thoughts on Communism, the practice of nonviolence, the belief that racism is an "ontological affirmation,"and the weaknesses of Black Power. |
MLK Statement Before the National Advisory Commission on Civil DisordersDr. King makes a public statement before the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorder. He addresses five causes of the recent riots: hite backlash, unemployment, discriminatory practices, war, and features peculiar to big cities. |
MLK Statement Regarding the Land Purchase Agreement with the Atlanta Housing AuthorityWith a purchase of land through the Atlanta Housing Authority, Dr. King announces that Ebenezer Baptist Church intends to provide new housing in an organized neighborhood near downtown Atlanta. Ebenezer Baptist Church also plans to develop a program with contracting firms to teach men the fundamentals of construction. |
MLK's Address at the Pilgrimage for DemocracyDr. King discusses the issues of segregation, poverty and discrimination within the City of Atlanta, in this 1963 speech at the Pilgrimage for Democracy. He explains that although Atlanta was thought to be a place of "racial harmony," the reality of glaring discrimination in Atlanta's schools, restaurants, and housing has left the local Negro community "tired," and hungry for change. |
MLK's Plans for ClevelandDr. King outlines programs and development that he will implement in Cleveland. King frequently went to Cleveland throughout his time as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. |
MLK's Remarks at the World March Toward Human Rights LuncheonThis is a draft of remarks made by Dr. King to the World March Toward Human Rights Luncheon of the NAACP's Legal Education Defense Fund. The event took place at the Americana Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. King states that human rights involve two elements: recognition and opportunity. Dr. King proposes that the United States launch a Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged. |
My DreamDr. King writes an article entitled "My Dream," which discusses his campaign to "wage war on the big city ghetto." King visits several slums across the North, and expresses his sentiments regarding the infamous slum conditions. |
National Citizens' Commission Report to CongressUrban Development Coordinator Shelby Southard, of the Cooperative League of the USA, sends Dr. King a copy of this report to Congress recommending improved foreign aid for urban development. Southard helped author the report, entitled the "National Citizens' Commission on Urban Development." It emphasizes unrest caused by "deplorable social conditions" in cities around the world, and seeks to improve urban development planning. |
National Council of Churches Conference of Negro Leaders Opening RemarksA. Philip Randolph makes remarks at the Conference of Negro Leaders National Council of Churches about the future of the Civil Rights Movement. Randolph expresses the importance of continuing the fight of social justice through civil rights, economics, housing and poverty. |
Negro Morality and Why Didnt She Stay Home?Dr. King's secretary, Dora McDonald, recommends two articles published in The Carolina Israelite. "Negro Morality" makes distinctions between crime committed by impoverished Negroes and their ethically challenged white counterparts. The second article,"Why Didn't She Stay Home?" discusses tactics of the "Far Right," the ignoring of crimes committed against Negroes, and the role of both white and black clergy in the preservation of Christian ideals. |
New York Post: A Poor ShowThe Child Development Group in Mississippi (CDGM) was a head start project created in 1965 with the help of a federally funded grant. The program not only specialized in child development, but sought to increase community involvement. In late 1966, Mississippi Senator Stennis "opened fire" on the program, charging those involved with malpractice. Consequently, Sargent Shiver, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, formed a "more respectable anti-poverty unity" called Mississippi Action for Progress to takeover CDGM. |
News from the AFL-CIO: Labor News ConferenceAFL-CIO's public affairs program, the Labor News Conference. Donald Slaiman, Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Civil Rights was questioned by Alan Adams of Business Week Magazine and Stanley Leward of Scripps-Howard Newspapers. The three have a discussion about apprenticeship opportunities for minority youths, particularly of Negro and Puerto Rican heritage. |
Nobel Lecture by MLKThis is a copy of the Lecture given by Dr. King in Oslo, Norway upon his winning the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. He thanks the Norwegian Parliament for honoring him with this award. He speaks of the evils of racially injustice and the belief that "oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever." He speaks of the need to peacefully come together in harmony as humanity because a peaceful world cannot be built based on a "negative path." |
Non-Violent Procedures to Inter-Racial HarmonyIn this early speech to a NY Universalists' convention, Dr. King lays out his nonviolence method, based on Gandhi's. He outlines five of the six principles he will use later. They are: active, courageous resistance; winning the moral conversion of the opponent, not defeating him; attacking the forces of evil, rather than the persons doing evil; using love to avoid "internal violence of the spirit"; and faith in the inclination of the universe towards justice. |
Nonviolence: The Only Road to FreedomIn this article, Dr. King argues that the American Negro's salvation will be reached by "rejecting the racism, materialism and violence that has characterized Western civilization" and working instead toward a world of brotherhood and cooperation. The civil rights leader denounces recent violent uprisings in urban ghettos, as they only contribute to the growing frustrations and issues perpetuating America's racial divide. |
North and South: SCLC Staff News January, 1967The January, 1967 edition of SCLC's staff newsletter shares Christmas and New Year stories from the staff members and their families. The newsletter also reports on recent activities of the organization such as a Chicago boycott, Junius Griffin's move to the Republican National Committee, a political rally, the SCLC's housing project in Chicago, a recent conference on Negro history, the situation in Grenada, Mississippi and other news items. |
Notes for U.F.T. AddressOn March 14, 1964, Dr. King was presented with the John Dewey Award by the United Teachers Federation. The address he delivered that day is outlined in this type-written draft along with his handwritten notes. In the draft, Dr. King emphasizes the importance of education, especially as a tool for African American advancement. He cites how the deprivation of education has been used as a way to systematically oppress African Americans and he asserts that this inequality is a reality that must be confronted. Dr. |
Office of Economic Opportunity Application for Community Action ProgramThis document displays the Anti-Poverty Coordinating Committee Wilcox County S.C.L.C., Inc. budget. The budget focuses on their Family Development and Family Education Project. |
One Vote for Every Man: Civil Rights ActIn this draft of an article for the March 1965 IUD Agenda, an AFL-CIO monthly publication, Dr. King recounts the progress made by the Civil Rights Movement and states that the issue in 1965 is the right to vote and the venue is Selma, Alabama. He discusses the pattern of exclusion, including the abuse of power by local sheriffs, illegal use of local and state laws, delay tactics of registrars, and literacy tests. He outlines measures that a Civil Rights Act of 1965 should include. |
Open Letter from MLK to Negro YouthIn the wake of the urban uprisings of 1966, Dr. King writes an open letter to Negro youth empathizing with their desire to return to school and to find jobs. He mentions that he's written the President urging funding so all poor children can attend school and advocating implementation of a public works program to provide jobs for youth. He encourages young people to abstain from violence as ineffective in achieving their goals. |
Our StruggleDr. King discusses blacks' struggle for racial equality in America. King explores racist whites' views of "the inferior social, economic, and political position" of the Negro. However, when Negroes begin to reevaluate their position in society and tension in race relations arise, he argues that the Negro begins to "organize and act" against the status quo as evident in the boycotts and sit-in demonstrations occurring throughout the South. |
Pamphlet from the Child Development Group of MississippiThis pamphlet is entitled "Histories Of: Children, Employees, Centers, Community Support." The organization, sponsored by the Child Development Center of Mississippi, is a statewide Head Start program that was organized in the summer of 1965. |
People in Action: A Look To 1964Dr. King writes this article looking forward to the new year of 1964. He notes that all the activity and accomplishments in 1963 set the tone for what is to come in the following year. Though "the Negro as a community has increased his skills tremendously in quantity and quality," there is still much work to be done. King references the civil rights legislation that currently stands before Congress. Among other topics, he also states that there are efforts to broaden the power of the Negro consumer market. |
People to PeopleDr. King announces the SCLC's launching of a People to People tour of four northern cities. The SCLC launched this tour in the north to display a concern for the "moral welfare of Northern Negroes." |
People to People: Going To ChicagoThis article appeared in Dr. King's weekly People to People column in the New York Amsterdam News. In it, he discusses the efforts of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations in the Chicago Movement. |