Why We Can't Wait

Why We Can't Wait is a book by Martin Luther King, Jr. about the nonviolent movement against racial segregation in the United States, and specifically the 1963 Birmingham campaign. The book describes 1963 as a landmark year in the Civil Rights Movement, and as the beginning of America's "Negro Revolution".

The seed of the book is King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The letter became nationally known and received interest from the New York publishing world, which Stanley Levison relayed to King in May 1963. Soon after, Levison made a deal with New American Library publisher Victor Weybright, who suggested that the theme of not waiting be used for the title. Weybright also gave permission for "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to be republished in national newspapers and magazines; it appeared in July 1963 as "Why the Negro Won't Wait".

King began working on the book later in 1963, with assistance from Levison and Clarence Jones. Some early work on the text was done by Al Duckett (also a participant in the movement). King and Levison eventually dismissed Duckett and then Nat Lamar, and Levison did some work on the text himself. Bayard Rustin also contributed, as did editor Hermine I. Popper.

Rustin said: "I don't want to write something for somebody where I know he is acting like a puppet. I want to be a real ghost and write what the person wants to say. And that is what I always knew was true in the case of Martin. I would never write anything that wasn't what he wanted to say. I understood him well enough."

The book largely reproduces the text of "Letter from Birmingham Jail", with some editorial changes. King writes in a footnote: "Although the text remains in substance unaltered, I have indulged in the author's prerogative in polishing it for publication."

Why We Can't Wait was published by Harper & Row in July 1964. The paperback edition cost 60¢.

The book describes 1963 as the beginning of "the Negro revolution". It seeks to describe the historical events that led up to this revolution, and to explain why this revolution was non-violent. King seeks to describe this history because of how quickly it has become visible to America at large, and because of its importance in events to come. He writes:

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