Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-03
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Tarah Williams, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Allegheny College
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nearly sixty years later, his contribution to the civil rights struggle is well known. His commitment to universal basic income is perhaps less so. The pastor and political leader had even outlined the conditions to be met to achieve it, beyond racial prejudices.
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Each year, on the occasion of the holiday bearing his name on the third Monday in January, a tribute is paid to Martin Luther King for his significant contribution to the fight for racial equality. What is less often remembered, but equally important, is that King believed social justice and the fight for racial equality were intimately linked.
To fight against inequalities – and faced with growing concern about how automation could replace workers – we remember that Martin Luther King was alsoone of the earliest advocates of universal basic income, this mechanism by which the government provides direct financial assistance to all citizens to help them meet their needs.
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Pilot programs in a dozen cities
In recent years,more than a dozen American citieshave implemented universal basic income programs, often on a small scale or in the form of pilot projects, providing such income to certain groups of people living in poverty. Aspolitical scientistsandscientists, we closely followed these experiments.
One of us recently co-edited a study that revealed that theuniversal basic income is generally popular. In two of the three surveys analyzed, a majority of white Americans supported a universal basic income proposal. This support is particularly high among low-income people.
Martin Luther King had the intuition that low-income Whites would support this type of policy, because they too could benefit from it. In 1967,he stated,
“It seems to me that the civil rights movement must now begin to organize in favor of a guaranteed annual income… which, I believe, will greatly help resolve the economic problem of Black people and that of many other poor people facing our nation.”
Of racial resentment
But there is a particular group that does not support the universal basic income: it consists of those who exhibit a high level of racial resentment. This term is measured using a scale that thesociologistshave been used since the 1980s to describe and measure prejudices against Black people.
In our study, Whites with both high income and a high level of racial resentment are particularly opposed to the universal basic income. As King had understood, this segment of the United States population can create strong opposition to the implementation of universal income.
Personal economic interest versus resentment
However, the study’s results suggest that it is possible to form favorable coalitions, even among people driven by racial resentment.
Economic status matters. Whites driven by racial resentment and having low incomes tend to support the universal basic income. In summary, self-interest seems to outweigh racial resentment. This corresponds to King’s idea that an economic coalition could be formed and pave the way for racial progress.
Income level alone does not shape opinions. Thus, some of the most fervent supporters of the universal basic income have high incomes but little racial resentment. This suggests an opportune circumstance to build coalitions beyond economic divides, which Martin Luther King considered necessary. “The rich must not ignore the poor,” he declared in hisNobel Peace Prize award speech, “because rich and poor are tied by the same fate.” Our data shows that this is possible.
Possible coalitions
This approach to coalition building is also suggested byour previous research. Relying on the surveys of theAmerican National Election Studiesconducted between 2004 and 2016, we found that among white Americans, racial resentment was a predictive factor of lower support for social protection policies. But we also found that personal economic situation played an important role.
Economic needs can unite white Americans in favor of more generous social policies, including among those who hold racial prejudices. This suggests at a minimum that racial resentment does not necessarily prevent white Americans from supporting policies that would also benefit African Americans.
Overcoming racial prejudices
During his activist career in the 1950s and 1960s, King struggled to build long-term multiracial coalitions. He understood that manyforms of racial prejudicecould harm his work. He therefore sought strategies to forge alliances beyond differences. He contributed to the formation of coalitions bringing together thePoor and working-class Americans, Whites included. He was not naive enough to believe that shared economic progress would eliminate racial prejudices, but he saw it as a starting point.
Purchasing power crisis
Currently, the countryis faced with a purchasing power crisis, and artificial intelligence poses new threats to employment. These factors havestrengthened calls in favor of a universal basic income.
Racial prejudices continue to fuel opposition to the universal basic income, as well as to other forms of social assistance. But our research suggests that this obstacle is not insurmountable. As Martin Luther King knew, progress toward economic equality is certainly not inevitable. But, as his legacy reminds us, progress is possible if we succeed in organizing around common interests.
The authors do not work for, do not advise, do not hold shares in, do not receive funds from an organization that could benefit from this article, and have declared no other affiliation than their research institution.
–ref. Martin Luther King was also a pioneer of the universal basic income –https://theconversation.com/martin-luther-king-was-also-a-pioneer-of-universal-basic-income-279813