During a public career spanning only twelve years, Martin Luther
King Jr. transformed the South--and the nation--and reinvigorated
American democracy. From the pulpit and from jail, he inspired
African Americans to rebel against white supremacy, nonviolently
defying racism, bigotry, and brutality. He also sought a better way
of life for all poor and powerless people, black and white alike.
In this concise and readable biography, Adam Fairclough chronicles
the major events of King's life and assesses his achievements as
the preeminent leader of the civil rights movement.
The biography begins with an examination of King's upbringing in
Atlanta, Georgia, and a description of the conditions suffered by
black southerners in the 1930s. After tracing King's intellectual
growth through college, graduate school, and seminary, Fairclough
then tracks his fortuitous involvement in the Montgomery bus
boycott and his swift rise to prominence as a spokesman and leader.
Subsequent chapters offer incisive accounts of King's major
campaigns: the demonstrations in Albany, Georgia, where a wily
police chief outwitted him; the militant protests in Birmingham,
Alabama, where King transmuted police brutality into a historic
victory for African Americans; and the campaign in Selma, Alabama,
which paved the way for black political representation throughout
the South. Fairclough also looks at other notable triumphs and
struggles, from the inspirational "I Have a Dream" speech delivered
at the March on Washington rally to King's ill-fated journey to
Memphis to help striking sanitation workers.
Throughout, Fairclough charts the major stages of King's
philosophical and political growth, examining his opposition to the
Vietnam War, his response to Black Power, and his growing concern
for economic justice. Fairclough rounds out his portrait with an
assessment of King's legacy to America and his continuing relevance
to the struggle throughout the world for freedom and equality.
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