Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Author), Jesse Jackson (Afterword)

Book Description

Series: Signet Classics | Publication Date: July 5, 2011

In this account of the struggle for civil rights in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, and assessment of the work ahead to bring about full equality for African Americans, Dr. King offers an analysis of the events that propelled the Civil Rights movement to the forefront of American consciousness. Why We Can't Wait is an enduring testament to the wise and courageous vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“No child should graduate from high school without having read this book. In telling the story of the third American Revolution, it is as integral to American history as the Declaration of Independence.”
—Jesse Jackson --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., is the founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an organization committed to fighting for social, political and economic justice for people of all races, genders and creeds. A two-time candidate for President of the United States (1984, 1988), Rev. Jackson has been called the "conscience of the nation." Rev. Jackson is also renowned for his efforts around the world to spread the promise of democray, human rights and peace. Rev. Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, reside in Chicago and are proud parents of five children.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (July 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451527534
• ISBN-13: 978-0451527530
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( J ) > Jackson, Jesse
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Civil Rights & Liberties
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( K ) > King, Martin Luther

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opener for my generation, October 20, 1999

By 

N. Long (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Why We Can't Wait (Mentor) (Mass Market Paperback)

I chose to read this book originally as part of a high school assignment, and am very glad that I did so. As a white male born in 1980 who grew up in a predominately white area, I had a hard time understanding why race seems to be such a big issue in this country. As I saw it, slavery happened a long time ago and bigots were idiots to be ignored until they all died off. Why all this talk of discrimination and affirmative action? Why all the pleas for acceptance and peace?

This book came as a slap to the face of my preconceived notions. I realized suddenly that many of the men and women I see every day lived during that time, only a few decades ago, when white people didn't let black people drink from the same water fountains, and when blacks could be beaten and abused in the streets for daring to ask for equal treatment. I had heard of this before, but it had always seemed in the distant past. I was repeatedly astonished that such things could have happened in America.

My views took a new spin. Suddenly, King's arguments for affirmative action sounded reasonable. How could a black man "pull himself up by his bootstraps" if he has no shoes? How could the children of poor blacks in the south go to college, even if they were allowed to, when their parents couldn't afford the tuition? While I still do not like the idea of racial discrimination of any kind, I now see that there is reason to try to tip the scales back a little, at least for a generation or two.

Above all, I was surprised at how Godly a man King was. When I read the statements that his protestors were required to live by, such as "I will pray for those who persecute me," and "I will not strike back in anger," I realized that these people had more spiritual courage in fighting for what was right than I could muster in myself. They were moved by the notion that Christians must love one another regardless of race, and were determined to change society, not in bloody revolution, but by their unity in spirit, by their obvious displays of love, and by the power of prayer.

This is a moving book and one that opened my eyes. I recommend it highly for anyone, especially those of us born too late to understand the civil rights movement and the horrors that prompted it firsthand.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this, April 8, 2000

By 

Sean S. Varney (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dr. King's "Why We Can't Wait" is a remarkable book. The chapter containing the famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is one of the great political, religious and social works humanity has ever produced. If you read nothing else about the civil rights movement, or about Martin Luther King, this letter will show you why it was the right thing to do, why he won a Nobel Peace Prize, and why America (and the world) is a better place because King lived.

Every American should read two documents: The Constitution and "The Letter from Birmingham Jail."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why we protest in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963., June 29, 2002

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

I often wonder why we honor Martin Luther King with a holiday. For those who wonder why, read this book. In this book, King uses non violent techniques to force a change in the structure of race relations in this brutal city. The sixties could have been such a violent time in America had it not been for Dr. King.
With his techniques, he changed the social landscape in the deep South for the better. Why we can't wait is his reason why blacks should not tolerate a gradual change in race relations, but one that recognizes that change is needed as soon as possible.