A Summary Of The Autobiography Of Martin Luther King

For additional help in understanding his reasoning and thought processes, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson, can give one a sense of exactly why King had such a strong religious background. In fact, the first words of the writing state “Of course I was religious. I grew up in the church. My father was a preacher, my grandfather was a preacher, my great-grandfather was a preacher, my only brother is a preacher, my daddy’s brother is a preacher. So of course I didn’t have much choice” (Carson 1). Furthermore, this work is special because it combines hundreds of King’s writings in order to make a first person narrative of his life. The book skips no part of his life and includes his thoughts and feelings

On the day of his “I Have a Dream” speech, King stood upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial located in the heart of our nation’s capital. This location was essential to King’s success because it was a symbol of our nation’s historic efforts to abolish the enslavement of African-Americans; an act which was made possible due to the valiant efforts of Abraham Lincoln. As the preponderance of the speech began, King made reference to the former president in what Peter Paris said was a “Declaration proclaimed to America on behalf of all African people”. King stated, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice” (I Have a Dream 2). Through these words, he was able to mimic the tone and style of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address while also evoking remembrance of the nation’s harsh past. The signing of one such bill, the Emancipation Proclamation, was the first time in history that African-Americans were able to progress in the social order. King tied this into his argument by introducing the concept that other laws could be enacted in order to allow the African-American population to continue

proved to be extremely helpful in aiding my understanding of King’s speech. Although not any one of the books were all-encompassing, they provided vital information that made my research more efficient. In my opinion, The Dream, by Drew D. Hansen, proved to be the strongest of the compositions because it provided information that was overlooked in my other selections. This work detailed the events before, during, and after his “I Have a Dream” speech. At the same time, it also dove into the important aspects of his philosophies which later became the driving force of his March on Washington. Moreover, this book provided graphics that compared the written notes of King’s sermons and speeches to the dialogue that was actually given. Correspondingly, it used the same technique to explain and organize his metaphorical references. In contrast, I found that “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.” was the weakest of the three books. Since this book sheds light on King’s entire life, the “I Have a Dream” portion was somewhat short and undetailed compared to the other selections. Also, due to the lack of a third person analysis, it seemed one dimensional and monotonous. As a result of these issues, I was less interested in quoting the material and more concerned with obtaining an understanding of King’s thought