The author of the book, Martin Luther King, Jr.,was a Baptist minister who was a part of the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s. King’s commitment to civil rights was the result of his Christian faith. The primary vehicle for his activism was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which worked with local Christian and political groups in the South to organize protests.

Because of King’s faith and identity as an African-American minister, his voice inWhy We Can’t Wait includes languageand imagery drawn straight from the Bible. His arguments in support of equality and nonviolence also reflect the importance of Christian morality to his worldview.

While contemporary readers know King as a widely-respected historical figure whose legacy is celebrated every year in January, the King the readers encounter in the pages of this book is a humble man with lofty ambitions for his community and country, struggling at times with his own uncertainty and all the forces that a segregationist government has at its disposal. Despite King’s modesty, his stature is apparent even in the pages of the book based on powerful figures, including the president of the United States, who understood the importance of his cause.