The Deep Roots of MLK's social philosophy

July 19 (Sunday) 12:30 - 1:30 PM (Free) Meet at 1605 Jerrold Ave. at 3rd St., SF

The Deep Roots of MLK's social philosophy

By 1967, MLK, both in his speeches and sermons, decisively called for either full employment or a guaranteed income in order to constructively combat poverty. The puzzle was how to pitch this advocacy to a nation hyped on 'Red Scare' rhetoric and union-bashing fulminations. Join David Giesen, local author and educator, as he charts the deepest roots of MLK's social philosophy, founded in the profoundly labor-friendly ethos of Biblical economic thought: universal guaranteed vacation time, periodic debt forgiveness, social security, and workplace autonomy. Giesen traces the writings of MLK, marking King's evolving labor-rights thinking in developing an assertion that, at the time of his assassination, King teetered on the edge of calling for the nationalization of natural resources. Throughout his public service, King regularly acknowledged the necessity of reconciling the social aims of Communism with Christianity's uplifting of the individual soul. Giesen asserts the secular economic law of the Hebrew Torah provided King with the public policy inspiration and the rhetoric with which to do just that, and to win over the Christian Right into the bargain.
This interactive talk will transpire on the lovely outdoor grounds of All Good Pizza (Jerrold Ave. at 3rd St.), so come prepared to have lunch (optional), get stoked on the long history of labor struggles reaching back 3,000 years, and to renew King's combat with low wage-creating public policy.
For more information, contact Giesen, info [at] TheCommonsSF.org