To commemorate the 50th anniversary since the death of Martin Luther King Jr., we publish here an extract from a longer article examining the evolution of MLK’s politics. By the time of his assassination, he was drawing socialist conclusions.

Ravi Mistry looks at the cynical way in which exploitative big businesses present themselves as allies of oppressed groups in order to sell their products and make profits.

The Russian Revolution, 100 years ago, had a global impact on political consciousness. In the USA, the period was one of a developing militancy amongst African Americans. Claude McKay represented the overlap between the revolutionary Communist movement and that of the anti-racist, anti-colonial struggle.