By Rodney LaBruce

W. E. B. Du Bois captured a powerful reality when he said, “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” In his book Black Reconstruction in America, Du Bois used this to describe the fleeting opportunity Black Americans had during the Reconstruction Era before the harsh grip of Jim Crow laws pulled them back into a system just as oppressive as slavery.

During Reconstruction, Black Americans must have felt a profound sense of achievement, even freedom. The chains of slavery were broken, they were participating in the political process, and some were even being elected to office. It seemed like progress. But, as Du Bois noted, it was only a brief moment in the sun. Soon enough, Jim Crow ushered in a new form of oppression—one that, in some ways, was even worse than slavery. In slavery, they were treated as property—kept alive for their labor. But under Jim Crow, once their labor was no longer needed, they were starved, beaten, or even killed with impunity. White society in the South no longer saw any value in Black lives.

Fast forward almost a century, and it seemed like the window of opportunity was beginning to crack open again. A new wind was blowing, this time from the civil rights movement. People believed that society had finally had enough of treating Black Americans as second-class citizens. "Separate but equal" had been exposed for the lie it was. The efforts of the 1960s led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For the leaders of the civil rights movement, this was the culmination of a struggle that had spanned generations. At last, it seemed like Black Americans were being granted the freedoms promised in a Constitution that was never written with them in mind.

We could finally take a breath. It was time to move forward, and for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that next step was the Poor People's Campaign. This movement was different than the one before. It wasn’t just about civil rights for Black Americans; it was about uniting people from all backgrounds to fight poverty and economic injustice. King recognized that true justice couldn’t be achieved without addressing economic equality—because poverty crosses every racial and ethnic line.

No matter the race—Black, white, Hispanic, or any other group—poverty affects everyone. The problem is that those who are struggling the most are often the least involved in the democratic process. Low-income communities make up a significant portion of the population, and if their voices were heard, it could change the course of elections and policies. If all low-income people voted, it would force political candidates to take their concerns seriously, knowing that this group has the power to sway elections. Issues like poverty, raising the minimum wage, better access to education, and stronger social safety nets would finally get the attention they deserve. And those in power would be held accountable for making real changes that impact these communities.

King understood that the fight for civil rights alone wasn’t enough to bring about true justice, especially for Black Americans. He saw that economic inequality stood as a huge barrier to freedom and equality for everyone facing oppression, no matter their race. His goal was to unite people from all backgrounds, building a powerful coalition that could demand economic justice from the government.

In many ways, King was drawing from history. In the 1890s, the Fusion Party in North Carolina brought together black and white Republicans and Populists to challenge the Democratic Party, which at the time was tied to white supremacist policies. Their platform pushed for reforms that helped both poor white farmers and Black citizens—fair elections, better public education, and economic opportunities. They gained so much political power that by the mid-1890s, they controlled large parts of North Carolina, including Wilmington, a city where Black citizens held prominent roles in politics and business.

But the success of the Fusion Party made it a threat to white supremacist Democrats. In 1898, white supremacist forces, backed by influential Democrats and white militias, orchestrated a violent coup to overthrow the local government in Wilmington, which included elected Fusion officials. What followed was the Wilmington Massacre, where a white mob attacked the Black community, killing many, destroying Black-owned businesses, and driving Black leaders out of the city. This was the only successful overthrow of a local, state, or federal administration in U.S. history, replacing a biracial government with a white supremacist one and ushering in an era of Jim Crow laws.

Just like the Fusion Party’s multiracial coalition was met with violent resistance, King’s efforts to unite people across racial lines against oppression faced fierce opposition. The march King had planned for May 1968 never fully materialized as he envisioned. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, just weeks before the march. Speculation has lingered that his focus on economic justice and opposition to the Vietnam War made him a target, though James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder. Ray later recanted his confession, but official investigations upheld that he acted alone.

There’s a pattern here. Many in power seem willing to accept a certain level of social progress, but when it starts threatening their financial interests, they fight back hard. Economic justice—especially when it calls for redistribution of wealth or increased access to resources—has always been seen as the biggest threat to those who benefit from systemic inequality.

Unfortunately, King never got the chance to see his vision through. Reverend Ralph Abernathy carried on with the Poor People's Campaign, but without King’s leadership, it didn’t make the impact he had dreamed of.

Maybe it’s time to plan another one.