Sublime

Imagine if we were to faithfully whisper the immortal words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream . . . ,” as a preface to our every next remark.

Dr. King said he was uncomfortable at first going to jail, but then he looked at history and saw that he was in good company. Jesus for starters. And so many of the saints and heroes of history have gone to jail. And still do.

But now, partly because of their new leader, partly because of a new determination, emblematic of the widespread new determination among southern blacks, Montgomery’s blacks kept on walking even when ten thousand people attended a White Citizens Council rally in the Montgomery Coliseum—“the largest pro-segregation rally in history”—to hear Mississi

Kennedy’s language was straightforward, his tone reasonable. “This is not a sectional issue,” he said. “Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue….We are confronted primarily wi

In the Pulitzer Prize–winning book Bearing the Cross, historian David Garrow observes that King improvised “like some sort of jazz

A man said to me, “I believe in integration, but I know it will not come until God wants it to come. You Negroes should stop protesting and start praying.” I am certain we need to pray for God’s help and guidance in this integration struggle, but we are gravely misled if we think the struggle will be won only by prayer. God, who gave us minds for t

King pushed through the crowd. The front porch, broken in two by the bomb, was covered with shattered glass from broken windows. He walked across it. Inside the front room, which was still reeking of dynamite fumes, were the Mayor and other city officials, whom King brushed past. In a back room was a crowd of neighbors; it was only when they parted