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Because of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, we tend to think of him as always section three
optimistic and noble, but the reality is that he often had doubts about the future of the Civil
Rights Movement. He shared some of these thoughts publicly. Read this portion from a
speech called “The Other America” that he delivered in 1967 at Stanford University. /
from The Other America
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Now the other thing that we’ve gotta come to see now that many of us didn’t see too well
during the last ten years — that is that racism is still alive in American society, and much
more wide-spread than we realized. And we must see racism for what it is. It is a myth of the
superior and the inferior race. It is the false and tragic notion that one particular group, one
particular race is responsible for all of the progress, all of the insights in the total flow of
history. And the theory that another group or another race is totally depraved, innately
impure, and innately inferior.
Contrast his tone in this excerpt with the tone of “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” as well as his
“I Have a Dream” speech, which can be found online.

rights of these men who are on strike. And then we are putting pressure where it really hurts.
they can move on downtown and tell Mayor I ask you to follow through here.
Loeb to do what is right. Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion
But not only that, we’ve got to strengthen that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle
black institutions. I call upon you to take your until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than
money out of the banks downtown and deposit to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see
your money in Tri-State Bank. We want a it through. And when we have our march, you
“bank-in” movement in Memphis. Go by the need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it
savings and loan association. I’m not asking you means leaving school — be there. Be concerned
something that we don’t do ourselves at SCLC. about your brother. You may not be on strike. But
Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we either we go up together, or we go down together.
have an account here in the savings and loan Let us develop a kind of dangerous un-
association from the Southern Christian selfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and
Leadership Conference. We are telling you to he wanted to raise some questions about some
follow what we are doing. Put your money there. vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick
You have six or seven black insurance Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more
companies here in the city of Memphis. Take out than Jesus knew and throw him off base[. . . ..]
your insurance there. We want to have an Now that question could have easily ended
“insurance-in.” up in a philosophical and theological debate.
Now these are some practical things that we 30 But Jesus immediately pulled that question from
can do. We begin the process of building a mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve
greater economic base. And at the same time, between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked
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