It has been nearly fifty years since Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Appraisals of King's contributions began almost immediately and continues to this day. The author explores an astonishing number of King's chief ideas and social-ethical practice: his concept of a moral universe; his doctrine of human dignity; his belief that not all suffering is redemptive; his brand of personalism; his contribution to the development of social ethics; the inclusion of young people in the movement; sexism as a contradiction to his personalism; the problem of black-on-black violence, and others. Burrows' essays reveal both the strengths and the limitations in King's theological socio-ethical project, and shows him to have relentlessly applied personalist ideas to organized nonviolent resistance campaigns in order to change the world.

The burgeoning terrain of Martin Luther King Jr. studies is leading to a new appreciation of his thought and its meaningfulness for the emergence and shaping of the twenty-first-century world. This volume brings together an impressive array of scholars from various backgrounds and disciplines to explore the global significance of King-then, now, and in the future. Employing King's metaphor of "the great world house," the major focus is on King's appraisal of the global-human struggle in the 1950s and 1960s, his relevance for today's world, and how future generations might constructively apply or appropriate his key ideas and values in addressing racism, poverty and economic injustice, militarism, sexism, homophobia, the environmental crisis, globalization, and other challenges confronting humanity today. The contributors treat King in context and beyond context, taking seriously the historical King while also exploring how his name, activities, contributions, and legacy are still associated with a globalized rights culture.

The burgeoning terrain of Martin Luther King Jr. studies is leading to a new appreciation of his thought and its meaningfulness for the emergence and shaping of the twenty-first-century world. This volume brings together an impressive array of scholars from various backgrounds and disciplines to explore the global significance of King-then, now, and in the future. Employing King's metaphor of "the great world house," the major focus is on King's appraisal of the global-human struggle in the 1950s and 1960s, his relevance for today's world, and how future generations might constructively apply or appropriate his key ideas and values in addressing racism, poverty and economic injustice, militarism, sexism, homophobia, the environmental crisis, globalization, and other challenges confronting humanity today. The contributors treat King in context and beyond context, taking seriously the historical King while also exploring how his name, activities, contributions, and legacy are still associated with a globalized rights culture.

In an era where people are often sorted into the categories of 'thinker' and 'doer', Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stands out - a rare mix of the deeply profound thinker and intellect who put the fruit of that reflection into the service of direct social action.In this helpful telling of King's life, Dr. Rufus Burrow knits together the story of King's family, his intellectual journey, and his experience of the pervasive racism of America in that era in a way that highlights the onnections between King's thought and his actions. The result is a renewed understanding of the roots of King's actions and a fresh appreciation for how intellectual activity can impact our world in surprisingly direct ways.

In this interesting and important introduction to the life and thought of Martin Luther King Jr., theologian Rufus Burrow explores King's life as well as his thinking and activism. Burrow addresses those who see King as only a social activist by showing how his studies, particularly his theological studies, influenced, shaped, and transformed the activist path he pursued during his public life. This book, with dozens of illustrations by artist Ron Hill, is written for a broad audience. It explores King's legacy, the continuing importance of his work, and it will serve as an excellent introduction to King's life and thinking.

Written by experts but designed for the novice, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound moments and theologians in Christian history. These books are essential supplements for first-time encounters with primary texts, lucid refreshers for scholars and clergy, and enjoyable reads for the theologically curious.

Although countless books have been devoted to the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., few, if any, have focused on King's appropriation of, and contribution to, the intellectual tradition of personalism. Emerging as a philosophical movement in the early 1900s, personalism is a type of philosophical idealism that has a number of affinities with Christianity, such as a focus on a personal God and the sanctity of persons. Burrow points to similarities and dissimilarities between personalism and the social gospel movement with its call to churchgoers to involve themselves in the welfare of both individuals and society. He argues that King's adoption of personalism represented the fusion of his black Christian faith and his commitment not only to the social gospel of Rauschenbusch, but most especially to the social gospelism practiced by his grandfather, father, and black preacher-scholars at Morehouse College. Burrow devotes much-needed attention both to King's conviction that the universe is value-infused and to the implications of this ideology for King's views on human dignity and his concept of the "Beloved Community." Burrow also sheds light on King's doctrine of God. He contends that King's view of God has been uncritically and erroneously relegated by black liberation theologians to the general category of "theistic absolutism" and he offers corrections to what he believes are misinterpretations of this and other aspects of King's thought. He concludes with an application of King's personalism to present-day social problems, particularly as they pertain to violence in the black community. This book is a useful and fresh contribution to our understanding of the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be read with interest by ethicists, theologians, philosophers, and social historians.

Half a century after some of its most important moments, the assessment of the Civil Rights Era continues. In this exciting volume, Dr. Rufus Burrow turns his attention to a less investigated but critically important byway in this powerful story - the role of children and young people in the Civil Rights Movement. What role did young people play, and how did they support the efforts of their elders? What did they see - and what did they do - that their elders were unable to envision? How did children play their part in the liberation of their people? In this project, Burrow reveals the surprising power of youth to change the world.

The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. explores the development of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s understanding of the relationship between religion, morality, law, and politics. This fascinating work is part of a broader effort by scholars in various fields to examine unexplored areas in the life, thought, and activism of Martin Luther King, Jr., and it represents the first book length treatment of how King united moral-religious convictions and political activity. This timely study is also the first in-depth analysis of King's views on the roles that religion and morality ought to play, not only in public debate concerning political choices and law, but also in efforts to create political and legal structures that are just and to perpetuate participatory democracy.

Beginning with the social, political, and economic implications of King's vision of the "New South" and his prophetic critique of southern civil religion, this pathbreaking study casts King in the role of "political liberal, " "consummate politician, " and "political theologian." The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses considerable attention on King's refusal to separate religious faith and moral considerations from politics, legal matters, and social reformism. In so doing, it demonstrates King's remarkable ability to transcend church-state boundaries and to formulate an alliance that permeated every facet of American life.

Featuring four chapters by Lewis V. Baldwin -- a leading authority on King -- as well as a chapter by Rufus Burrow, Jr., and one co-authored by Barbara Holmes and the Honorable Susan Holmes Winfield, this volume reveals how King moved beyond southern particularism to create a more democratic Americaand a more inclusive world. Among the topics covered are King's relationship to various American political traditions and figures, King's theories of civil disobedience and his understanding of the Constitution, and the influence of moral law and personal idealism on King's teachings.