Why We Can’t Wait: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Dr. King considers American society’s troubling tendency to remain indifferent in the face of “human suffering.” During slavery, formerly enslaved people could purchase their family members’ freedom if they had enough money. As a result, many formerly enslaved Black people asked white people for help: “Help me buy my mother,” they might ask. Dr. King says that many non-enslavers found it difficult to refuse such a request. He also notes that such questions forced white people who previously overlooked the horrors of slavery to reckon with the utter inhumanity of the practice. Looking back on this history from 1964, Dr. King suggests that ignoring the problematic nature of segregation was similar to ignoring the horrors of slavery.  

Some white people criticize the desegregation effort by asking what more Black Americans will want if society grants them their current demands. In response, Dr. King reasons that society doesn’t have the right to “bargain” with Black people over rights to which they are automatically entitled as American citizens. And when white people suggest that Black Americans shouldn’t demand freedom all at once because it will eventually come about on its own, Dr. King upholds that “gradualism and moderation” are inadequate solutions. Partial freedom, he says, doesn’t count as freedom at all.

Delaying full freedom won’t work because all Black Americans understand that it’s their right to be free. “Gradualism” is therefore not only unjust, but also doomed to fail. What’s more, delaying racial equality will slow down not just the Black community’s progress, but also the progress of the entire country. The only way to proceed, Dr. King suggests, is by recognizing that Black Americans face a number of complicated challenges because of the country’s long history of oppression and discrimination. Only by acknowledging these challenges will society manage to foster an environment in which equality can flourish.

Dr. King argues that the government should provide Black Americans with financial assistance as a way of leveling society’s playing field. Because Black Americans have been actively discriminated against for hundreds of years, it’s ridiculous to think that they will suddenly have the resources to “compete on a just and equal basis.” If a man running in a footrace took off from the starting line 300 years after his opponent, it would obviously be impossible for him to catch up. The same is true, Dr. King contends, for Black Americans trying to support themselves in a society that has historically oppressed and excluded them.

Without tangible forms of support, the freedoms that come along with desegregation will mean very little to Black Americans. For instance, Black Americans won’t benefit from the ability to live in an integrated neighborhood if they can’t afford to live in such communities in the first place. Or, to put it another way, to give someone who doesn’t know how to walk a pair of shoes is a “cruel jest.”

Dr. King goes on to acknowledge the important influence that the president of the United States has on civil rights issues. If President Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated, Dr. King believes he would have grown into an even stronger ally for racial justice. As it stands, his assassination showed the nation that “hate is a contagion” and that nobody in a society besieged by such hatred is safe. Black Americans, for their part, are all too familiar with the tragedy brought about by political assassinations, as many prominent Black leaders have been targeted and killed by white supremacists. When President Kennedy was assassinated, though, it was perhaps the first time that the nation grieved an act of hatred together.

Many of Dr. King’s associates urged him to publicly endorse President Kennedy when he first ran for office. He refrained, however, because he wasn’t sure that Kennedy would fight for Black Americans with as much vigor as they would hope. Most presidents, after all, had failed to address racism in the country. For this reason, Dr. King says, Black Americans historically stayed away from politics, especially since there were never many candidates who would act on matters of racial justice anyway. Because Black Americans kept away from politics, though, they were unable to assert their influence. By 1964, however, the civil rights movement made it possible—through nonviolent direct action—for Black people to become more politically active.

Now that Black Americans have gained more political power, Dr. King is optimistic about how they might wield it. In fact, President Kennedy owed his victory in South Carolina to the Black vote, indicating that the Black community can tangibly impact the outcome of a given political race. Plus, politicians bear such matters in mind, not wanting to alienate groups that have such a strong sway over election results. In turn, if the Black community acts strategically, it would be possible to leverage its influence as a way of making sure its voice is heard.

Dr. King reiterates that the civil rights movement isn’t just an effort to uplift Black people—it’s an effort to uplift the entire nation. In the same way that it’s sometimes necessary for a doctor to open a wound to address an infection, the nation must confront the inequality festering at its core. If the civil rights movement manages to address this issue, then it will have managed to improve the nation’s overall unity. And nonviolent direct action, Dr. King argues, is the way to achieve this unity. After all, he believes that everyone in the world—regardless of their differences—must learn to “live together in peace.”