18. Martin Luther King Jr Advocated The Boycotting Of Coca-Cola The Day Before He Died... Because The Company Paid African-Americans Less Than White-Americans
Dr Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee - just a day after his famous "I've Bean to the Mountaintop" address at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. However, something which King professed on that day that is rarely mentioned is that the pastor and Civil Rights Movement leader lambasted the Coca-Cola Company - and called for an African-American boycott of their products. He declared:
"And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbours not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis."
Advocating a boycott of so-called "white goods" as part of a non-violent protest against racist companies, King was angered that Coca-Cola paid its African-American employees significantly less than its white-American workers at the time.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
