Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told an interracial audience in New York City in 1960. But taking seriously Dr. King’s critique of Northern liberalism means also calling out liberal public officials and residents who profess commitments to equality yet maintain a corrupt criminal justice system and a segregated school system. And it means reckoning with the dangers of “polite” racism, as Dr. King warned, which still rings true today. Dr. King visited New York City throughout the 1960s and called attention to its racial problems. Dr. King was nearly run out of town when he dared to suggest that New York would benefit from a Civilian Complaint Review Board to oversee the Police Department.

Source: New York Times January 21, 2019 00:00 UTC