Misremembering Dr. King : Revisiting the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr

111 Pages·2014·1.06 MB·English

by  Jennifer J

MisreMeMbering Dr. King
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MisreMeMbering

Dr . K i ng
revisiting the legacy of
Martin luther king jr.
S
jennifer j. yanco
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of The paper used in this publication
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Indiana University Press American National Standard for Information
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Herman B Wells Library 350 Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992.
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Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA Manufactured in the
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Telephone [phone] in-Publication Data
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Yanco, Jennifer J.
© 2014 by Jennifer J. Yanco Misremembering Dr. King : revisiting the
legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. / Jennifer J. Yanco.
Quotations from the writings of Martin pages cm
Luther King, Jr., are reprinted by arrangement Includes bibliographical references.
with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin ISBN 978-0-253-01424-5 (eb)
Luther King, Jr., c/o Writers House as 1. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. 2. King,
agent for the proprietor New York, NY. Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968—Political and social
© 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. views. 3. Civil rights movements—United States—
© renewed 1996 Coretta Scott King History—20th century. 4. Nonviolence—United
All rights reserved States—History—20th century. 5. Civil rights
workers—United States—Biography. 6. Baptists—
No part of this book may be reproduced or United States—Clergy—Biography. I. Title.
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic E185.97.K5Y36 2014
or mechanical, including photocopying and 323.092—dc23
recording, or by any information storage and [B]
retrieval system, without permission in writing 2013050152
from the publisher. The Association of American
University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions
constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. 1 2 3 4 5 19 18 17 16 15 14
To the memory of my father,
Allan Julian Yanco, 1921–2012
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A civilization can flounder as readily in the face of moral and
spiritual bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy.
Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go
from Here: Chaos or Community?
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Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Memory and Forgetting 1
The Misappropriation of Memory 4
1. What We Remember 9
Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement 12
Dr. King and Nonviolence 16
2. What We Forget: Dr. King’s Warning about the “Giant Triplets” 20
Militarism 21
Materialism 34
Racism 51
3. Why It Matters 70
Whose Problem? White America’s Special Responsibility 71
A Challenge for All of Us 78
Notes 83