Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
Maker
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(American, 1929 - 1968)
Date1967
ClassificationsHistory
DescriptionWhere Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. This first edition copy is inscribed and signed by Dr. King inside the front cover to the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union: “To my Friends of ILGWU, In appreciation for your generous support. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was an American minister and social activist who became one of the most well-respected leaders of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. King espoused a nonviolent approach to combating systemic discrimination against African Americans, and led marches, protests, and rallies in support of desegregation, civil rights, and labor rights. Dr. King's first major act of protest was the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott - where King helped lead the charge to desegregate public buses in the city.
Into the 1960s, King continued to preach for social change. He was arrested several times, including in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, where a letter he penned in his jail cell calling for direct action against injustice became one of the most important documents of the civil rights movement. Later that year, King spoke at the March on Washington where he delivered his now historic "I Have a Dream" speech at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work fighting racial inequality.
King had faced several threats, including bombs and physical attacks, during his fight for equality. On April 4, 1968, King was in Memphis, Tennessee to support striking black sanitation workers where he was shot as he stood on the balcony of his motel. He died later that evening.
King was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century civil rights movement. Shortly after his assassination, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 - also known as the Fair Housing Act - that was seen as a homage to King.
In 1983, the United States created a federal holiday in King's honor, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is observed on the third Monday of January.
