To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

In this robust and wide-ranging collection, Shelby and Terry assemble essays about King’s legacy as a political philosopher. The book as a whole displays the pliability and dynamism of King’s thought, applying it to circumstances both recent (Barack Obama’s presidency) and far in the past (the practice of slavery in 18th- and 19th-century America). Throughout, King’s voice is placed within a community of philosophers. Robert Gooding-Williams, a Columbia professor of African-American studies, addresses the contrasting viewpoints of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and illuminates how King created a distinct approach by drawing on both Du Bois’s militant resistance to racial injustice and Washington’s thesis that hatred of the oppressor reduces one’s dignity. Ronald Sundstrom, a professor and former chair of the philosophy department at the University of San Francisco, complicates concepts of color-blindness often ascribed to King, highlighting ways in which he supported “color-conscious remedies.” Coeditor Shelby’s essay demonstrates the continued relevance of King’s conception of economic justice to present-day African-American economic struggles. As the nation approaches the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination, this work demonstrates, for anyone who needs convincing, the continued and vital importance of his thinking. (Feb.)