09/24/2025
In 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.argued for structural solutions like guaranteed income or full employment so human potential is not wasted. 
• He also taught tactical economic pressure. In his final year he urged communities to redirect spending and “withdraw economic support” from entities that exploit or exclude them.  Read the response from ChatGPT!! Eyeinspireyouk community coukd respond with AI:
Here is a simple way to take Dr. King’s 1967 economic message and turn it into an AI playbook that builds real power.
What MLK said in 1967, in plain terms
• In a May 8, 1967 NBC interview, King rejected the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” myth, calling it a “cruel jest” given the legacy of slavery and segregation. 
• In 1967 he argued for structural solutions like guaranteed income or full employment so human potential is not wasted. 
• He also taught tactical economic pressure. In his final year he urged communities to redirect spending and “withdraw economic support” from entities that exploit or exclude them. 
Translate those principles to the AI era
1. Income floor from AI productivity
Support guaranteed income pilots and policies as automation increases productivity, so families have stability while reskilling. This matches King’s call for guaranteed income pegged to social wealth. 
2. Own skills, not just use tools
Create neighborhood AI upskilling tracks that move people from basic automation to paid roles: data curation, model evaluation, workflow design, and small business AI integration. This fits King’s “full employment or incomes” mandate. 
3. Platform cooperatives
Launch worker- or community-owned AI agencies that build chatbots, marketing automations, and back-office agents for local businesses. Keep profits and data rights in the community. This is “collective economic power” in modern form. 
4. Data cooperatives
Form data trusts so residents and Black-owned firms pool non-sensitive operational data, negotiate fair value, and set rules for use. This echoes King’s push to change the terms of economic participation, not only behavior. 
5. Redirect the spend with AI
Use AI to map community spending, identify leakage, then route purchases to local and Black-owned vendors. Build smart directories and procurement matchers so schools, churches, and health systems can buy locally at scale. That is MLK’s “withdraw support here, invest there,” turned into code. 
6. Fair finance by design
Stand up community underwriting models that meet civil rights standards and are audited for bias. Use open audits to challenge discriminatory lending and insurance algorithms. This advances the “two Americas” challenge King raised in 1967. 
7. Public AI infrastructure
Equip libraries, churches, and HBCUs with shared AI labs, cloud credits, and tutors so access is not paywalled. King’s point was to unlock capacity for those long “left bootless.” 
8. Civic procurement as a growth engine
Use AI to scan government RFPs, pre-fill bids, and form joint ventures among small firms to win larger contracts. Pair with spending-shift campaigns to create durable demand. 
A 90-day starter plan
Weeks 1–2
• Convene a small council of churches, a credit union, and 10 local entrepreneurs. Pick one pilot neighborhood.
• Choose one use case to prove value fast. Example: an AI “Buy Where You Live” directory and shopping assistant that lists verified local and Black-owned vendors.
Weeks 3–6
• Build the directory and a simple chatbot that answers “Where can I buy X within 10 miles?”
• Train 10 residents as “AI integrators” to set up invoicing, marketing, and customer-service automations for 20 local businesses.
Weeks 7–10
• Launch a spending-shift campaign. Ask churches and schools to move one high-volume purchase to local vendors.
• Start a micro-RFP desk that uses AI to draft bids for two firms per week.
Weeks 11–12
• Publish impact: dollars redirected, hours saved by automation, new contracts won.
• Use results to secure city, foundation, or corporate support for phase two.
Scoreboard to track monthly
• Dollars redirected to local and Black-owned businesses.
• New recurring revenue created by AI services.
• Number of residents placed into AI-powered roles or apprenticeships.
• Contracts won through AI-assisted bids.
• Bias audit results for any credit or hiring models used locally.
