Special Issue of Business & Society:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Contributions to Management Scholarship and Practice
Deadline for Submissions: August 31, 2007
This Special Issue of Business & Society invites scholars to examine the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the field of business-and-society and management. Dr. King is regarded by many as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. He challenged the status quo of racial discrimination by using America’s historic ideals of freedom and opportunity in brilliant works, such as his „I Have A Dream“ speech in August 1963 and his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” published in 1963. His work cut across racial, institutional, and cultural lines by developing cooperative and non-violent strategies to bring attention to the struggle for civil rights, social justice, and economic well-being. Well-known events in which he played a pivotal role include the Birmingham bus boycott (1955), the „Bloody Sunday“ march in Selma (1965), and the historic “March on Washington” (1963). Dr. King as a social activist, leader, and scholar focused our collective attention on issues of social justice not only locally, but also globally. He wrote that „among the moral imperatives of our time, we are challenged to work all over the world with unshakable determination to wipe out the last vestiges of racism. It is no mere American phenomenon. Its vicious grasp knows no national boundaries.“
While Dr. King was assassinated in March 1968 at the age of 39, his legacy is extraordinary. Less than a year after the historic March on Washington, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which banned discrimination in public facilities, such as hotels and restaurants, and also prohibited employment discrimination. The following year, the Voting Rights Act was enacted to be followed by the Fair Housing Act to remove discrimination in buying and renting of housing. These pieces of landmark legislation were accompanied by a host of other social and organizational changes, including affirmative action, designed to counter the legacy of discrimination and to promote social justice.
In respectful memory of the 40th anniversary of his death, Business & Society will publish an issue on Dr King’s contributions that relate specifically to the business-and-society field and to management scholarship. Both macro and micro topics of scholarly importance are appropriate for the Special Issue. We encourage authors to rely heavily on the writings, speeches, and demonstrated impact of Dr. King’s work and to provide thought-provoking manuscripts that link his legacy to current scholarship most relevant to readers of Business & Society.
Topics that fit the special issue theme include, but are not limited to the following:
Authors are requested to submit papers electronically to both special issue editors. Manuscripts should conform to submission guidelines for Business & Society. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2007.
Dr. Jeanne M. Logsdon
Anderson Schools of Management
MSC05 3090
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA
Email: logsdon@mgt.unm.edu
Tel: 505-277-8352
Fax: 505-277-7108
and:
Dr. Audrey J. Murrell
Katz School of Business
312 Mervis Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Email: amurrell@katz.pitt.edu
Tel: 412-648-1651
Fax: 412-648-1693