Compiled from his own papers, this biography of Martin Luther King shows how the mild-mannered, inquisitive child and student rebelled against segregation and how as a dedicated young minister, he constantly questioned the depths of his faith and limits of his wisdom.
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Compiled from his own papers, this biography of Martin Luther King shows how the mild-mannered, inquisitive child and student rebelled against segregation and how as a dedicated young minister, he constantly questioned the depths of his faith and limits of his wisdom.
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At the time of his assassination on April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. had written and accomplished a great deal, but he had not written an autobiography. About 20 years after King's death, his widow, Coretta Scott King, invited historian Clayborne Carson to become the director of the King Papers Project. In the course of this work Carson, already a noted historian of King and of the Civil Rights Movement, had access to a voluminous body of King's writings and interviews, both published and unpublished. Carson took King's writings and put them together to form this Autobiography from King's early years to his untimely death.
At the time of King's assassination, I was 19 years old and have memories of the event and of the tumultuous years of the 1950s and 1960s. Younger readers may not have memories of King and may not be fully aware of his achievements. This book will give readers an overview of King in thought and action. Autobiographies vary in the degree to which they cover the personal and the public aspects of the subject's life. King was notably reticent about the intimate details of his life. Thus this book, in Carson's words,is "largely a religious and political autobiography rather than an exploration of a private life." It gives, in King's own words, a view of his thought, religious views, and social and political activity.
Carson has drawn from King's writings to present a chronological account of King's life in King's own words. A variety of source material is used. Some of the material, lightly edited for continuity and readability, is presented in standard type. Other selections, in King's own words, are presented in italics. Still further material, usually short and taken from diaries, letters, or speeches, is included in blocks. The source materials used for each chapter are given at the end of the volume. At times, it is difficult to identify a specific text with its source.
The Autobiography includes 32 chapters beginning with King's childhood and concluding with his activities in Memphis at the time of his assassination. The first chapter covers King's early years. The three following chapters describe King's education and formative influences at Moorehouse College, Crozer Seminary, and Boston University, where King earned his PhD in Systematic Theology. A chapter describes King's courtship of and marriage to Coretta Scott. The remaining chapters of the book focus on King's adulthood and on the work for which he became remembered.
Up to 1965, King worked primarily to end segregation in the South. From 1965 to the end of his life, King's mission broadened to end discrimination in the North, to fight poverty, and to oppose militarism, particularly the Vietnam War. During his lifetime, King lost substantial support for these latter activities. Both parts of King's work are included in this Autobiography.
The Autobiography includes chapters devoted to King's key accomplishments including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Birmingham Campaign, which led to the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1963 March on Washington, and the Selma Campaign, which led to the enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The book includes famous speeches and writings, including the "Letter from Birmingham Jail", the "I have a Dream" speech delivered on the Washington Mall, and King's 1967 speech breaking silence and opposing the Vietnam War, together with excerpts from many other speeches.
The Autobiography also includes chapters on other campaigns led by King and on other Civil Rights events in which he participated. Thus the book covers the Albany, Georgia campaign which at best achieved mixed results at the time. It covers King's jailing in Atlanta which resulted in intervention by presidential candidate John Kennedy which may have won Kennedy the presidency. It discusses campaigns in St Augustine, Florida and in Mississippi and the violence these campaigns provoked. The book shows King's activities in connection with the student sit- in movement at segregated lunch counters. The book shows King visiting Watts and other urban areas during the riots, shows his views on the Black Power Movement, and shows King receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. It includes a chapter describing King's trip to India. King was greatly influenced by Gandhi and his philosophy of nonviolence.
This book gives a moving portrayal of King and his achievement drawn from his own words. It is a worthy autobiography and a moving tribute to King. The book constitutes an excellent introduction to King's life and mission.
Robin Friedman
csagoose@yahoo.com
May 10, 2012
Inspiring
This book was an inspiration and joyful read. Buy it!
