In these eloquent essays, the noted scholar and activist Vincent Harding reflects on the forgotten legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the meaning of his life today. Many of these reflections are inspired by the ambiguous message surrounding the official celebration of King's birthday. Harding sees a tendency to freeze an image of King from the period of his early leadership of the Civil Rights movement, the period culminating with his famous "I Have a Dream Speech". Harding writes passionately of King's later years, when his message and witness became more radical and challenging to the status quo at every level. In those final years before his assassination King took up the struggle against racism in the urban ghettos of the North; he became an eloquent critic of the Vietnam war; he laid the foundations for the Poor People's Campaign. This widening of his message and his tactics entailed controversy even within his own movement. But they point to a consistent expansion of his critique of American injustice and his solidarity with the oppressed. It was this spirit that brought him to Memphis in 1968 to lend his support to striking sanitation workers. It was there that he paid the final price for his prophetic witness.

"An important volume for students and professionals who wish to grasp the basic nature of the Civil Rights Movement and how it changed America in fundamental ways."—Aldon Morris, Northwestern Univ. The Eyes on the Prize Reader brings together the most comprehensive anthology of primary sources available, spanning the entire history of the Civil Rights Movement. "A remarkable collection...Indispensable."—William H. Harris, Texas Southern Univ.

In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower--it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manuscript. In this important work, which has been unavailable for more than ten years, we find King's acute analysis of American race relations and the state of the movement after a decade of civil rights efforts.

King lays out his thoughts, plans, and dreams for America's future, including the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education. Today, as African American communities stand to lose more wealth than any other demographic during this economic crisis, King's call for economic equality and sustainability is especially pertinent. With a universal message of hope that continues to resonate, King demanded an end to global suffering, asserting that humankind--for the first time--has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty.

The only female in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s inner circle of leadership, for the first time, offers her account of the Civil Rights Movement and what it means to us now.

Dorothy Cotton, recently honored with a Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, is the former director for the Southern Christian Leader Conference's Citizens Education Project. Ms. Cotton was at the front lines in the fight for civil rights. In "If Your Back's Not Bent" she shares an up-close and personal account of those turbulent times, as no one else can.

Born into poverty in North Carolina, she survived deprivation and racism by seeking solace in books and spirituality, worked her way through college, earned a master's degree, and married. But something was missing. She found it through her work with the Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., then a charismatic young preacher. She became a member the his Executive Committee for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, training and organizing men and women across the South to participate in nonviolent demonstrations, including the fateful 1963 Birmingham campaign. After King's death, she continued her work as an activist, serving as vice president of field operations for the King Center for Nonviolent Change. Today she speaks around the world, from Africa to China, and has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the BBC, PBS' "American Experience," and many more. "If Your Back's Not Bent" is the first published account of how her work and the CEP were fundamental to the success of the Civil Rights Movement.

A great black river surges in opposition to the powerful currents of slavery and racism: This is black history--American history--boldly and triumphantly redefined by Vincent Harding. From an unflinchingly black perspective, Harding writes of the well-known members of the struggle--Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman--and the anonymous as well. 24 pages of photos.