MLK – Working Class Revolutionary

“In a sense, you could say we’re involved in the class struggle.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we recognise one of the greatest men of the 20th century. Martin Luther King Jr, an activist whose speech changed the history of the most powerful nation in the world. His speech, etched into the minds and history of human beings, spread around the global, in the fight for equality. The words “I had a dream” will go down as one of the most important speeches of all time, not just in American history, but in the history of Humankind.


Ever since I was a kid, I have been interested in politics and history. I remember my dad watching the news during 9/11. I was only 5 years old. At 7, I remember the condemnation of the Iraq War. My cousins who walked out of school to protest, made me think “this war is wrong”. History started to become a passion of mine. Learning about the British history during the day and then Islamic history during the night was a daily occurrence. Whilst in school, at age 10, I came across a book about the civil rights movement. The book mainly followed the life of one particular individual. That man was Martin Luther King Jr. I started to become fascinated in his fight for equality for his people. Being a persecuted man, whose nation discriminated against him just because of the colour of his skin. His message resonated with me. He became one of my first role models and the first activist that I looked up to.

Although MLK will be remembered for his work during the civil rights movement, and everything he did for African Americans, many forget his message of class struggle and his fight against capitalism. People praise MLK for his amazing work but fail to implement them into their lives. He did not just fight so people stopped killing black people, or to end segregation, or to legalise interracial marriages. It was more than that. His fight was against capitalism, imperialism and institutional racism, all which is prevalent today.

If MLK was spreading his message today, he would have been shot down by the likes of Fox news, The Sun, Daily Mail and the rest of the mainstream media. His views are very closely connected to socialism. He constantly spoke out against and attacked capitalism, even as far as saying “today capitalism has out-lived its usefulness.” Neoliberals should examine his words closely and understand that MLK would not have been their ally. Their ideology is not compatible with his. He believed in empowering the poor and working class. He wanted to free all of us from the chains that are wrapped around our necks under this capitalistic society. In his fight for economic justice, he wanted a radical redistribution of economy and political power. MLK part of the class struggle.

Just like many civil rights leaders, MLK was against US imperialism. He constantly spoke out against American intervention, especially in Vietnam. During the Vietnam war, money and resources were being diverted away from domestic programs, towards the fight in Vietnam. At the same time, it was young, black Americans that were being sent out to fight on behalf of the government. MLK opposed the Vietnam war, and would’ve continued to speak out against foreign intervention. He would have been highly critical of Obama and his administrations role in furthering American imperialism. Of course, MLK would’ve been critical of Trump, as well as the Clintons, and Bush’s. Obama’s foreign policy wasn’t a separation from the rest. He was a continuation. His use of drone strikes, killing thousands in the Middle East and Asia was very troubling, and his engagement in wars which left states completely destroyed, like Libya. Obama was not a saint and would have been strongly criticised by MLK, and many civil right leaders.

Since MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech, there has been great developments being made in fighting racism. However, in the last couple of years, there has been a negative effect on racism. Racism never went away, but we are now seeing a different level of racism to before. One reason why, is the lack of development in institutional racism. If we are to eradicate racism, we have to challenge institutional racism. That is what MLK’s fight against racism was. He challenged the highest authorities to change, and then the people followed. Institutional racism is a systematic oppression of a group of people. It is political, economic and historical. When people are being put down, controlled and forced to live a certain lifestyle, because of their skin colour, that is racism. MLK believed we can’t change the economical problems of black people until we challenge capitalism. It is clear he is talking about institutional racism. Racism will always occur and be prevalent under the current system we are living in. That system is capitalism. It has to change.

We must never sleep on history. When we look back on the events that took place, we must take lesson and learn from the failures of our predecessors. When analysing history, don’t pick selected points, but rather the full story. MLK is a perfect example of a person whose history is limited in our understanding, because his message does not fit with the narrative the elites want to push down on us. He fought against capitalism and would’ve fought against neoliberalism. He was a fighter for equality that goes beyond just colour. He was a civil rights leader and a leader for the working class. MLK was a revolutionary.

Aleha