Why We Can't Wait

Jackson’s essay highlights how prescient King was in his vision of the future of America. There are multiple levels of dramatic irony made apparent by the afterword, however, because the reader knows much that neither King nor Jackson knew when they composed their works. For example, the reader knows that King’s fear of the damage that the contagion of hate could do to civil society was borne out once again when King himself was assassinated four years after the publication of Why We Can’t Wait. The reader knows that King’s turn to an inclusive vision of economic justice and Jackson’s emphasis of that part of his legacy is even more urgent in an America that has deep economic and social divides. The reader knows that King’s use of nonviolent direct action to agitate for change has been used by groups as disparate as the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter, #neveragain, supporters of the movement for religious liberty, and activists on both sides of the debate over abortion. The reader knows that a coalition of Democratic interests, including an African-American political bloc, labor unions, youth, and some working-class whites,electeda person of African descent to the presidency of the United States for the first time. The fulfillment of both the grim and hopeful aspects of King’s perspective on the future is a testament to the continued relevance of this work.