Where Do We Go From Here

Since the book sets out to address the question raised in its title, Where Do We Go from Here, King must first define where we are and how we got here. To that end, the first chapter explores the course of the civil rights movement up to the mid-1960s, beginning by addressing the events that followed the passing of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. King explores The Persistence of Racism and the Hope for Social Change as he notes that hard-won civil rights laws have been imperfectly implemented and constitutional reforms have led to limited social progress. Segregationist politicians in the South are still dominant in public discourse; legislation was not put into effect due to “retreats of government” (10), while white and Black civil rights workers continue to be murdered in the South. King condemns the sometimes violent uprisings in Northern cities as an “irrational burst of rage” (2), but he notes that these events demonstrate the very real indignation of the African American community.

King explains that this crisis was the result of an expanding “white backlash.” This is a central component of King’s argument in the book—though the racial unrest in Northern cities is, in his view, counterproductive, its ultimate cause is not Black rage but white backlash against the achievements of the civil rights movement. The landmark legislative victories of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were only the beginning of the struggle to dismantle white supremacy in America, but immediately these victories gave rise to renewed racism. King notes that white America “had never been truly committed to helping [Black people] out of poverty, exploitation or all forms of discrimination” (3), suggesting the resistance to social change. King illustrates that as Black people demanded full realization of equality in mainstream society, white allyship began to diminish. America struggled with “irresolution and contradictions” (5) as white people lacked commitment to justice and insisted on their “racial ignorance.” King explains that their inherent “sense of superiority” made them unwilling to “reeducate themselves” (9). King emphasizes the ambivalence of whites who are “uneasy with injustice but unwilling yet to pay a significant price to eradicate it” (11). White resistance inhibits racial progress, and King thus views the uprisings in Los Angeles and other cities as a reaction to broken promises.

While King rejects violence as a tactic in activism, contrasting his philosophy with the ideology of the Black power movement, he also adopts a radical approach to social change as he works toward Defining Black Power on his own terms. King directs his focus to the North, explaining that urban Black communities began to explode as a result of the pressures created by unjust conditions. He notes that “depressed living standards” (7) for Black communities are “a structural part of the economic system of the United States” (7). King illustrates the continual economic discrimination against Black people, analyzing the unemployment, infant mortality, lack of education, and the segregated and “substandard housing” that plague urban Black communities. While focusing on the residents of the “Northern ghetto,” King also adds that “economic discrimination [was] […] deeply rooted in the South” (7) and kept Black people in a subordinate position. King explores The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender as he shows how economic oppression is inextricably linked to racial oppression. As the civil rights movement enters a new stage, he argues that it must directly address the structural barriers that prevent Black Americans from achieving full equality.

Responding to claims that the civil rights movement is splintering, King appeals to pathos, seeking to stir his audience’s emotions as he recounts the history of Black people’s oppression in the South and their “endurance to hardship and heartbreak” (16). He emphasizes the achievements of the civil rights movement and encourages Black people’s faith in the struggle. He views the current moment as a crossroads—one in which the movement must resist complacency and cynicism in order to face the work ahead. As a result, his rhetoric is geared toward stirring renewed optimism and commitment.

Expanding his analysis on the emergence of Black power, King presents his philosophy of nonviolence, defending it as an effective strategy by pointing to past achievements. Black people developed “their own tactical theory of nonviolent direct action” (17). Southern activists demonstrated the effectiveness of nonviolence with mass marches, protests, and boycotts that made Black people agents of change. King opposes the violence of “rioting” that leads to “confusion” and “extensive despair” (18). As social justice and equality have not been accomplished, King anticipates that the movement must continue its efforts for full victory while stressing the responsibility of white people to work as allies in the quest for progress.