Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work as a champion of civil rights was largely realized through his marvelous abilities as a speaker and writer. This fourth volume of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project chronicles his writings from the years 1957 and 1958 and highlights the end of the historic Montgomery bus boycott, King's trip to Ghana on the eve of its independence, his monumental "Pilgrimage for Freedom" address, and his "Advice for Living" column for Ebony magazine. It also details the creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King's White House meeting with President Eisenhower, and the release of his first book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. Edited by Clayborne Carson, director of the project at Stanford University, the writings were culled from 6,000 documents, including speeches, sermons, correspondence, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts.

Along with their historical significance, these writings reveal the human side of King as well. In a sermon delivered in Birmingham, Alabama, around the time of several bombings in black neighborhoods, a crestfallen King asked a haunting question: "Where is God while hundreds and thousands of his children suffer merely because they are desirous of having freedom and human dignity?" In his acceptance speech for the NAACP Spingarn Medal in Detroit, he proclaimed, "This is a great time to be alive in America. We stand today on the threshold of the most constructive period of our nation's history.... It is one of the ironies of present history that the Negro, in his struggle for freedom, is no longer struggling for himself alone, but he is really struggling to save America." In a letter, he cites Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau as intellectual influences. There are also interesting correspondences between King and Harry Belafonte, Elijah Muhammad, C.L.R. James, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others, making this an excellent reference work to this complex warrior for peace. --Eugene Holley Jr.


Chicago Sun-Times
"A landmark of 20th century history. . . . Allows a glimpse into the restless intellect of the black Baptist preacher who just happened to change the world."


Booklist
"King's passion and eloquence not only come to the fore but ring from every document. . . . Invaluable."


Book Description
Acclaimed by Ebony magazine as "one of those rare publishing events that generate as much excitement in the cloistered confines of the academy as they do in the general public," The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. chronicles one of the twentieth century's most dynamic personalities and one of the nation's greatest social struggles. King's call for racial justice and his faith in the power of nonviolence to engender a major transformation of American society is movingly conveyed in this authoritative multivolume series. In Volume IV, with the Montgomery bus boycott at an end, King confronts the sudden demands of celebrity while trying to identify the next steps in the burgeoning struggle for equality. Anxious to duplicate the success of the boycott, he spends much of 1957 and 1958 establishing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. But advancing the movement in the face of dogged resistance, he finds that it is easier to inspire supporters with his potent oratory than to organize a mass movement for social change. Yet King remains committed: "The vast possibilities of a nonviolent, non-cooperative approach to the solution of the race problem are still challenging indeed. I would like to remain a part of the unfolding development of this approach for a few more years." King's budding international prestige is affirmed in March 1957, when he attends the independence ceremonies in Ghana, West Africa. Two months later his first national address, at the "Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom," is widely praised, and in June 1958, King's increasing prominence is recognized with a long-overdue White House meeting. During this period King also cultivates alliances with the labor and pacifist movements, and international anticolonial organizations. As Volume IV closes, King is enjoying the acclaim that has greeted his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, only to suffer a near-fatal stabbing in New York City.


About the Author
Clayborne Carson is Director and Senior Editor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. A history professor at Stanford University, he is the author of In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s (1981) and editor of Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (1998) and Malcolm X: The FBI File (1991). Susan Carson, managing editor, holds an M.L.S. from San Jose State University. She joined the Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project in 1987 as the librarian and archivist. Adrienne Clay, assistant editor, is a graduate of Colby College. A participant in the 1996 King Summer Research Fellowship program, Adrienne joined the staff of the Project in 1997. Kieran Taylor, assistant editor, earned an M.A. in southern studies from the University of Mississippi. He worked as a reporter and community organizer before joining the Project in 1997. Virginia Shadron earned a Ph.D. in American studies from Emory University.