Hello doctorfun-ga,
On page 6 of his book, ?Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community??
(Beacon Press (1968)), Martin Luther King, Jr. stated the following:
?When the Constitution was written, a strange formula to determine
taxes and representation declared that the Negro was 60 percent of a
person. Today another curious formula seems to declare that he is 50
percent of a person. Of the good things in life he has approximately
one-half those of Whites; of the bad he has twice those of Whites.
Thus, half of all Negroes live in substandard housing, and Negroes
have half the income of Whites. When we turn to the negative
experiences of life, the Negro has a double share. There are twice as
many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality (widely accepted as an
accurate index of general health) among Negroes is double that of
Whites. The equation pursues Negroes even into war. There were twice
as many Negroes as Whites in combat in Vietnam at the beginning of
1967, and twice as many Negro soldiers died inaction (20.6 percent) in
proportion to their numbers in the population.?
I found this reference in my personal copy of this book. Online
references to this passage can be found at the following links:
The Tech
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Volume 106, Number 59
Wednesday, January 14, 1987
http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_106/TECH_V106_S0936_P004.pdf
Fightbacknews.org
MLK: Economic Justice for African Americans
http://www.fightbacknews.org/2003winter/mlkecon.htm
For more information about the book see the following link:
Amazon.com
Where do we go from here: Chaos or community?
By Martin Luther King
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807005711/qid=1105903112/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0976554-8219911?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
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Dr. King also made this reference to the infant mortality rate in some
of his speeches.
African-American involvement in the Vietnam War: Speeches and Sounds
Martin Luther King, Jr.
February 25, 1967, The Nation Institute, Los Angeles
http://www.aavw.org/special_features/speeches_speech_king02.html
?We arm Negro soldiers to kill on foreign battlefields, but offer
little protection for their relatives from beatings and killings in
our own South. We are willing to make the Negro 100% of a citizen in
warfare, but reduce him to 50% of a citizen on American soil. Of all
the good things in life the Negro has approximately one half those of
whites, of the bad he has twice that of whites. Thus, half of all
Negroes live in substandard housing and Negroes have half the income
of whites. When we turn to the negative experiences of life, the Negro
has a double share. The infant mortality rate is double that of
whites. There are twice as many Negroes in combat in Vietnam at the
beginning of 1967 and twice as many Negro soldiers died in action
(20.6%) in proportion to their numbers in the population as whites.?
Indiana University
"Where do we go from here?": speech by Martin Luther King
http://www.indiana.edu/~ivieweb/mlkwhere.html
?Introduction
This address was made to the Tenth Anniversary Convention of the
S.C.L.C. in Atlanta on August 16, 1967. Dr. King projected in it the
issues which led to Poor People's March on Washington.(From: Foner,
Philip S.; THE VOICE OF BLACK AMERICA; New York, 1972)
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"Where we are now"
Now, in order to answer the question, "Where do we go from here?"
which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now.
When the Constitution was written, a strange formula to determine
taxes and representation declared that the Negro was 60 percent of a
person. Today another curious formula seems to declare he is 50
percent of a person. Of the good things in life, the Negro has
approximately one half those of whites. Of the bad things of life, he
has twice those of whites. Thus half of all Negroes live in
substandard housing. And Negroes have half the income of whites. When
we view the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a double
share. There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant
mortality among Negroes is double that of whites and there are twice
as many Negroes dying in Vietnam as whites in proportion to their size
in the population.?
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Martin Luther King, Jr. is also credited with the following quote:
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most
shocking and the most inhumane.?
References:
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Remarks by U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
upon receipt of the United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize at
the World Health Assembly
Geneva - 14 May 1998
http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/generalspeeches/1998/19980514-7794.html
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial website
Speech by Loune Viaud, 2002 Human Rights Award Laureate
20 November 2002
http://www.rfkmemorial.org/human_rights/2002_speech.htm
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Other references to Martin Luther King, Jr.?s concern with disparities
in health care:
cnnstudentnews.cnn.com
Nation pauses to remember civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 2001
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2001/US/01/15/mlk.day.01/
?The most pervasive form of violence, Mrs. King said, is that
identified by her husband as the "systemic violence of poverty and
neglect." Fighting that violence, she said, requires greater
investment in job training and economic development, along with
improved housing and health care opportunities for all Americans.?
Vanderbilt University Law School
Martin Luther King Lecturer: We Shall Overcome
http://law.vanderbilt.edu/about/news/2003/01_23.html
?Jones explored the current state of the goals King had worked for:
access to healthcare, equal opportunity in education and housing, and
freedom from police brutality.?
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I hope you have found this information helpful. If you have any
questions, please request clarification prior to rating the answer.
Googlenut
Search Strategy:
I browsed my personal copies of Martin Luther King, Jr.?s books.
I made the following searches using Google:
"martin luther king" disparities healthcare OR "health care"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22martin+luther+king%22+disparities+healthcare+OR+%22health+care%22&btnG=Search
"martin luther king" equal access healthcare OR "health care"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22martin+luther+king%22+equal+access+healthcare+OR+%22health+care%22&btnG=Search
"martin luther king" "infant mortality"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22martin+luther+king%22+%22infant+mortality%22
inequality injustice health shocking inhuman
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=inequality+injustice+health+shocking+inhuman&btnG=Search |
