UW historian Michael Honey recalls Martin Luther King's message of economic justice in new book, 'To the Promised Land

By Peter Kelley, UW News, March 28, 2018

As the 50th anniversary approaches of the murder of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, University of Washington historian Michael Honey reminds us in a new book that economic justice and labor rights were always part of King’s progressive message.

Honey holds the Fred and Dorothy Haley Endowed Professorship of Humanities at UW Tacoma, where he teaches African-American and labor history and Martin Luther King Studies. He has written five books, including “Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Sanitation Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign” (2007) and edited a book of King’s labor speeches, “All Labor Has Dignity“ (2011).

Honey’s new book, “To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice,” will be published by W.W. Norton on April 3 — the day before the 50-year anniversary of King’s assassination.

Honey sat down with UW News to discuss the book and the view of the slain civil rights leader that it reveals.

Click here to read the interview.