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Cover page for the Why We Can’t Wait book

Books of Influence

Why We Can’t Wait

Martin Luther King, Jr

1964


Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-68) transformed the civil rights movement for African Americans from one of local protest to what he described as ‘a coalition of conscience’ at a national and international level.

In the 11 years to 1968, King travelled over six million miles, gave more than 2500 public speeches and wrote five books. In 1963, he led mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.

On 28 August 1963, King delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to more than 250,000 people.

Why We Can’t Wait, published by the New American Library in New York, recounts the Birmingham campaign and the tasks required in order to achieve full equality.