NCID-1141
Meena Krishnamurthy
Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy
Queen's University
Education/Degree:
1 Philosophy (Cornell University)
About
Meena Krishnamurthy is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and in the program in philosophy, politics, and economics at the University of Michigan. She works in political philosophy on a variety of issues such as the value of democracy and the nature of our duties toward the global poor. The underlying theme that runs through her work is a concern with equality (political, economic, and social). She is currently writing a series of related papers on Martin Luther King Jr.'s political philosophy.
Current Work
A central problem for Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, more generally, and the Birmingham Campaign, more specifically, was the political inaction of the white moderates. King had assumed that he would have the support of the white moderates especially the clergymen among them. He was wrong. The white moderates not only did not personally join the movement but also counseled those already in the movement not to demonstrate. Why were the white moderates unmoved, despite knowing that racial segregation was morally wrong? How can and ought the white moderates be moved to engage in political action? Dr. Krishnamurthy's central aim in this research project is to answer both of these questions. She argues that King believed that moral ignorance was the problem. The white moderates simply refused to know how urgent the situation was.
Research Area Keyword(s)
colonialism, democratic theory, global justice, philosophy of race, political philosophy