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poor people. Individually, we are poor when you “God sent us by here, to say to you that you’re
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compare us with white society in America. We not treating his children right. And we’ve come
are poor. Never stop and forget that by here to ask you to make the first item on your
collectively — hat means all of us together — agenda fair treatment, where God’s children are
collectively we are richer than all the nations in concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do
the world, with the exception of nine. Did you that, we do have an agenda that we must follow.
ever think about that? After you leave the United And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic
States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West support from you.”
Changing the World
Germany, France, and I could name the others, And so, as a result of this, we are asking you
the American Negro collectively is richer than tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to
most nations of the world. We have an annual buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them
income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to
which is more than all of the exports of the buy — what is the other bread? — Wonder Bread.
United States, and more than the national And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell
budget of Canada. Did you know that? That’s them not to buy Hart’s bread. As Jesse Jackson
power right there, if we know how to pool it. has said, up to now, only the garbage men have
We don’t have to argue with anybody. We been feeling pain; now we must kind of re-
don’t have to curse and go around acting bad distribute the pain. We are choosing these
with our words. We don’t need any bricks and companies because they haven’t been fair in
bottles. We don’t need any Molotov cocktails. their hiring policies; and we are choosing them
We just need to go around to these stores, and to because they can begin the process of saying
these massive industries in our country, and say, they are going to support the needs and the

© MacLeod Cartoons

Martin Luther King’s ideas concerning civil rights and equality were not for only his generation.
Explain how this political cartoon attempts to express King’s full influence as his ideas continue
to shape modern American culture based on what you have read in this speech.

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Copyright © Bedford/St. Martin’s. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
Distributed by BFW Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.

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