Chronicles the last 31 hours of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life as he seeks to revive the non-violent civil rights movement and push to end poverty in America.
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Chronicles the last 31 hours of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life as he seeks to revive the non-violent civil rights movement and push to end poverty in America.
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An "immersive, humanizing, and demystifying" look at the final hours of Martin Luther King, Jr. 's life as he seeks to revive the non-violent civil rights movement and push to end poverty in America (Charles Blow, New York Times). "King comes to life in death-a courage ever so inspiring."-Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning At 10: 33 a.m. on April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., landed in Memphis on a flight from Atlanta. A march that he had led in Memphis six days earlier to support striking garbage workers had turned into a riot, and King was returning to prove that he could lead a violence-free protest. King's reputation as a credible, non-violent leader of the civil rights movement was in jeopardy just as he was launching the Poor Peoples Campaign. He was calling for massive civil disobedience in the nation's capital to pressure lawmakers to enact sweeping anti-poverty legislation. But King didn't live long enough to lead the protest. He was fatally shot at 6: 01 p.m. on April 4 in Memphis. Redemption is an intimate look at the last thirty-one hours and twenty-eight minutes of King's life. King was exhausted from a brutal speaking schedule. He was being denounced in the press and by political leaders as an agent of violence. He was facing dissent even within the civil rights movement and among his own staff at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In Memphis, a federal court injunction was barring him from marching. As threats against King mounted, he feared an imminent, violent death. The risks were enormous, the pressure intense. On the stormy night of April 3, King gathered the strength to speak at a rally on behalf of sanitation workers. The "Mountaintop Speech, " an eloquent and passionate appeal for workers' rights and economic justice, exhibited his oratorical mastery at its finest. Redemption draws on dozens of interviews by the author with people who were immersed in the Memphis events, features recently released documents from Atlanta archives, and includes compelling photos. The fresh material reveals untold facets of the story including a never-before-reported lapse by the Memphis Police Department to provide security for King. It unveils financial and logistical dilemmas, and recounts the emotional and marital pressures that were bedeviling King. Also revealed is what his assassin, James Earl Ray, was doing in Memphis during the same time and how a series of extraordinary breaks enabled Ray to construct a sniper's nest and shoot King.
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or limited small stickers. Book may have a remainder mark or be a price cutter.
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This item is in overall good condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have minor wear including slight curls or bends to corners as well as cosmetic blemishes including stickers. Pages are intact but may have minor highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have slight wear overall. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. Minor shelf wear overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
April 4, 2018, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Of the many books and activities commemorating this occasion, it is difficult to think of one more focused on the event than this book, "Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr.s Last 31 Hours" (2018) by award-winning journalist and investigative reporter,Joseph Rosenbloom. In a briskly written, insightful work of under 200 pages, Rosenbloom describes the events leading up to King's assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and the individuals involved. Rosenbloom also gives a perceptive overview of King's thought and of the complexity of his character.
While centering on the last day of King's life, Rosenbloom puts King's fateful visit to Memphis in a broader context. King had become involved in a strike by Memphis' sanitation workers. In an earlier visit, King had led a march which became violent. Facing hesitation and some opposition from his close associates he returned to the city to lead another march to show that he retained hold of the nonviolent character of the Civil Rights Movement. King was especially concerned about the upcoming Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. which was not progressing well. He thought a peaceful, successful showing in Memphis would enhance the campaign.
The book builds in tension as it proceeds. In short, succinct chapters, Rosenbloom describes King's forebodings of death beginning with a possible threat on his final plane trip to Atlanta. The book describes the leaders of the strike and the hard-nosed inflexible response of the mayor, Henry Loeb.
Rosenbloom discusses King's aides and colleagues and their impact on King. The book discusses King's efforts at bridge-building with a small group of Black Power advocates. Rosenbloom threads in a discussion of the legal proceedings which led to a preliminary injunction against the march which was lifted on the morning of April 4.
Most of all the book discusses King and how he struggled with overwork, fatigue, and a sense of pessimism. Rosenbloom offers a sympathetic portrayal of King but does not cover over his failings. Most dramatically, he describes the difficulties in King's married life and his repeated infidelities, including an encounter with a lover the night of April 3. King had just delivered on of his greatest speeches, "From the Mountaintop" on a rainy, windswept Memphis night. He had intended to skip the event but his staff prevailed upon him to attend. King spoke extemporaneously and passionately with barely veiled references to his own death. Rosenbloom offers an excellent reading of this speech with a focus on its religious character.
James Earl Ray, King's assassin, first appears in the middle of the book. Rosenbloom allows the reader to see his impoverished early life and his adult life in and out of jails as a petty, habitual criminal. The intensity of the story builds as Rosenbloom follows Ray's path to Memphis up to the shooting. The book also describes how the layout Lorraine Motel and the publicity given to King's visit made him a tempting target for a would-be assassin. Incredibly, King was only given police protection for the first six hours of his visit.
On of the strongest points of the book was its focus on King's development through his short career. The book describes well the radicalization of King's position following the enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 with King's growing skepticism about capitalism, his opposition to the War in Vietnam, and his campaign to end poverty in America. King's radicalization caused him to lose a great deal of his former support. Rosenbloom also discusses King's own books, particularly "Where do we go from here?" together with some of the earlier influences on his thought such as the social gospel movement.
In a brief epilogue to the book, Rosenbloom describes the lives of the protagonists in the story following the events of April 4. Fifty years after the event, the story of the assassination and the turbulence of the era continue to be moving. Rosenbloom's book will have special meaning to those who lived through and remember the events of the late 1960s.
This carefully researched, eloquent book is an excellent historical account of the final day of King's life. It prompted me to think about and remember Martin Luther King, Jr.
