Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the mid-1980s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was required reading in a required Rhetoric course for first year University students in Winnipeg. An excellent choice: in the letter the “how” of King’s appeal cannot be separated from the “what” — it is a raw, elegant, and forceful demand for the listener not just to take action but to join King and his allies in their particular fight for freedom.
King situates the letter at the centre of his book. The first third of the book lays out the social context that eventually imprisoned King and inspired his letter. The final third points a way forward to freedom in America — here it is striking to note how vigorously King argues on behalf of collective labour.
In the main, King writes to set down his side of the story in this particular civil rights conflict, not just for posterity but to persuade the moderates urging caution and arguing against his radicalism. In his efforts to persuade, King does not often name his moderate opponents — a charitable move that leaves the door open for conversion, but which also slackens the force of the narrative.
It would be a mistake for the reader to expect the entire book to speak as powerfully as the letter does. King’s choices are pragmatic, even virtuous, standing as an example to emulate. King’s letter demands response; King’s book requires consideration.
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