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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peter J. Ling
Routledge Historical Biographies London:
Routledge, 2015 (Second Edition [First edition, 2002]) Paperback.
xxxvii+382 p. ISBN 978-1138781634. £24.99
Reviewed
by Jennifer J. Yanco West
African Research Association & Boston
University African Studies Center
This second edition (the first
published in 2002) of Peter Ling’s biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. will be
especially valuable to those who would draw inspiration from his work and life.
Martin Luther King, Jr. summarily interrupts
the increasingly popular portrayals of King, revealing a man of great moral
stature, but a man nonetheless, acting within a complex and changing web of
people and attending to the imperatives of his own inner voice. Ling’s book
dispels the Dr. King of popular memory—the gentle preacher living outside of
time and history, someone exhorting us to do nice things for one another—and
focuses our attention on the
radical prophet who felt that the very architecture of American society had to
be transformed so that it no longer sustained injustice and fetishized wealth
but cherished the sanctity of every person by guaranteeing their human rights
to food, shelter, healthcare, work, and security. [Introduction : 8] Ling’s book is a detailed
recounting of King’s life and the many forces that shaped it at each turn. One
of the great strengths of the book is its attention to context. At the outset,
Ling notes Ella Baker’s claim that ‘the Movement made Martin, not Martin the
Movement’ [Introduction : 1]. But if Ling’s book shows the ways in which
Baker’s criticism is valid, it also makes clear the impact Martin had—and
continues to have—on the Civil Rights Movement and on subsequent movements for justice.
He shows how closely intertwined King’s life was with a wide range of characters,
from local police chiefs to the president, from community organizers to
internationally known figures like Thich Nhat Hahn. We see from the inside the
intrigues and power struggles King was part of, as well as the loneliness that
dogged him as he stepped further and further out into the sparsely occupied
territory reserved for those categorically committed to justice. And, we see that King’s strategies,
although carefully calculated, were not foregone successes, but were often likely
disasters, saved by circumstances and by the sheer power of his oratory and
moral leadership. Reading through the hair-raising stories of Albany and
Birmingham puts you on the edge of your seat, in spite of the fact that we now know
the outcomes. Ling does a commendable job of conveying the extreme volatility
of the times. I came away from Ling’s book with a visceral sense of the
uncertainty, fear, and confusion, as well as the hope that characterized the
times in which King’s life unfolded. Reading about the various
chapters in King’s life, we get a sense of this extraordinary man as a person:
we see his foibles and his strengths, his doubts and missteps, as well as his
victories. We see resentments and jealousy growing as King’s oratory and what
some considered recklessness put him at the center of the public spotlight. King’s
moral sense was grounded in his strong Christian faith, which he believed
called upon him to take an unequivocal stand for justice. This led him to make
choices that few have the courage to make—especially in the face of betrayal
and abandonment. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
consists of eleven chapters, and includes a tabular chronology at the
beginning, which serves as a useful point of reference for contextually
situating particular points in Dr. King’s trajectory. The chapters are arranged
chronologically, beginning with King’s early years, and following him through
various points along his itinerary: Montgomery; Albany; Birmingham; Selma;
Chicago; his increasingly vocal stance against economic injustice, white
racism, and US military involvement in Vietnam; and finally, his stand in
solidarity with poor black sanitation workers in Memphis. Each chapter is a detailed
and clear presentation of events, characters, and descriptions of how events
unfolded. We see the interdependence of King and ‘the Movement’ and the ways
they learned as they went along. We see the careful planning, the disagreements,
the strategies designed to increase ‘creative tension’ without losing allies.
Most importantly, we see King in the changing swirl of people who made up his
universe. Ling presents so many of the countless people working on the
different sides of the issues King engaged. The last chapter, entitled ‘In
Memoriam,’ looks at the ways in which King’s memory has become ‘a contested
commodity’, used by those who continue in his tradition of protest as well as
those promoting the idea of a colorblind society, and various other factions
along the spectrum. This final chapter is followed by a quite comprehensive Guide
to Further Reading that provides a background on how the literature on King has
developed over time, with annotated references in a number of categories.
Again, Ling demonstrates the importance of context—this time, the literary
context in which his work appears. I would add my own 2014 book, Misremembering Dr. King, a short
presentation of King’s ideas, to the list. Ling’s biography is a
much-needed antidote to the common portrayals of King as a kindly and meek
voice for peace rather than a fiery and committed force for justice. Ling
reminds us that King identified the source of racial injustice in persistent
white racism and points to his disappointment in the fearfulness and inertia of
white allies. This is something that is virtually absent from the popular
memories of King. As I read through Ling’s
book, I saw so many parallels to current protest movements and the kinds of
arguments marshaled to resist change. White supremacy remains a key organizing
principle of American society, kept in place through institutional structures
that few are willing to seriously challenge. Witness the recent subprime
lending debacle and the disproportionate effect on African American homeowners.
Look at continuing police brutality against communities of color. Look at
economic disparities along lines of race. Ling notes that in 1962, A. Phillip
Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and others made an initial plan to gather 100,000
people in Washington to call attention to the shocking disparity in employment:
at the beginning of that year, black unemployment rates were double those of
whites. In April of 2015, in the U.S., black unemployment was 9.6%; white
unemployment was 4.7%. Data for other measures of social well-being are
similarly skewed. When I read the quote from George Wallace denouncing civil
rights demonstrations because they were ‘not conducive to the orderly flow of
traffic and commerce,’ I thought of similar arguments used to discount and
often demonize Black Lives Matter and allied demonstrations. In Massachusetts, 18
young people arrested for blocking highway traffic to call attention to police
killings of unarmed black men were charged with trespassing, disorderly
conduct, and conspiracy. Some state legislators suggested that anyone blocking
the highway should be charged with attempted murder. They were calling
attention to actual murder. The demonstration was on Martin Luther King Jr’s
birthday. In his concluding remarks
about King’s ‘lasting significance,’ Ling maintains that his first legacy ‘is
an exhortation to take risks for what you believe to be right’ [335]. It is
indeed heartening to see that there are still those willing to put their lives
on the line to call out injustice, knowing that calls for peace and order are
hollow if not grounded in justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was inspired by his faith, an extraordinary man shaped by and shaping the
extraordinary times in which he lived. In Martin
Luther King, Jr, Peter Ling presents his readers with a deeply nuanced
account of the life and struggles of this activist and visionary who had the
rare courage to listen to and heed his inner voice. His courage, conviction,
and social vision are much-needed resources for all of us at this moment in
time.
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