Martin Luther King’s Multiracial Fight for Justice

April 3, 2013

Martin Luther King, Jr., who died 45 years ago this week, had long known that racial equality was inextricably linked to economic equity – fairness for all, including working people and the poor. In this conversation with author and theologian James Cone and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Taylor Branch, Bill explores the historic fight for racial justice as a “gateway” to opportunities for broader civil rights and economic equality. They also discuss King’s controversial multiracial approach to justice.

“[King] had this incredible conclave of people who didn’t know each other,” Branch tells Bill. “And he said, if we can’t agree together that there’s poverty and a common approach that’s bigger than race, then we should stop now.”

Cone and Branch join Bill on this weekend’s Moyers & Company.

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