Lives; Martin Luther King Jr

Eloquent and courageous, Martin Luther King rose to become the spokesman for the American civil rights movement during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Following Gandhi's example of non-violent resistance he quickly gained support, and was instrumental in securing the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, but was tragically assassinated four years later, aged only thirty-nine.
Marshall Frady looks beyond these epoch-making events, to Luther King's background in Georgia, his theological training and the reasons why this 26-year-old pastor came to prominence, and brought about such huge changes in the American constitution.