John A. Kirk - Martin Luther King, Jr. And the Civil Rights Movement

First published 2013 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2013 by Routledge
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Copyright 2013, Taylor & Francis.

The right of John A. Kirk to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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ISBN: 978-1-4082-2013-9 (pbk)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kirk, John A., 1970

Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement / John A. Kirk.

pages cm. (Seminar studies)

Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4082-2013-9 (pbk.)
1. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 19291968. 2. African AmericansCivil rightsHistory20th

century. 3. Civil rights movementsUnited StatesHistory20th century. I. Title.

E185.97.K5K57 2013
323.092dc23
[B]

2012049193

Cover image Getty Images

Print edition typeset in 10/13.5pt ITC Berkeley by 35

History is narrative constructed by historians from traces left by the past. Historical enquiry is often driven by contemporary issues and, in consequence, historical narratives are constantly reconsidered, reconstructed and reshaped. The fact that different historians have different perspectives on issues means that there is also often controversy and no universally agreed version of past events. Seminar Studies was designed to bridge the gap between current research and debate, and the broad, popular general surveys that often date rapidly.

The volumes in the series are written by historians who are not only familiar with the latest research and current debates concerning their topic, but who have themselves contributed to our understanding of the subject. The books are intended to provide the reader with a clear introduction to a major topic in history. They provide both a narrative of events and a critical analysis of contemporary interpretations. They include the kinds of tools generally omitted from specialist monographs: a chronology of events, a glossary of terms and brief biographies of whos who. They also include bibliographical essays in order to guide students to the literature on various aspects of the subject. Students and teachers alike will find that the selection of documents will stimulate discussion and offer insight into the raw materials used by historians in their attempt to understand the past.

Clive Emsley and Gordon Martel
Series Editors

The making of this book has stretched over a decade and three different employers. It is a substantially revised, reorganized and updated version of my earlier Martin Luther King, Jr. volume that appeared in Pearson Longmans Profiles in Power series in 2005. That project began when series editor Keith Robbins, who was principal at the University of Wales, Lampeter, at the time, suggested I write the King book when I was a lecturer in the History Department there. Heather McCallum oversaw much of the editorial work on that project. I completed the book while in the History Department at Royal Holloway, University of London, where 1 moved in 1999. In 2009, Christina Wipf Perry at Pearson Longman suggested converting the book into a format suitable for the Seminar Studies series. One transatlantic move later, to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), in 2010, and the book was soon(ish) thereafter finished. At Pearson Longman, Mari Shullaw and Sarah Turpie have overseen the project to completion. Finishing the book in Little Rock, Arkansas, which was home to one of the major flash-points of the civil rights movement in September 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to the city to desegregate Central High School, has been a fitting backdrop to the end of the journey.

The launch of UALRs Institute on Race and Ethnicity in the summer of 2011 staked its claim to be the keeper of the flame on race relations in the city. The institute, driven by a sense of personal mission by UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson, and the regular weekly meetings of the Chancellors Committee on Race and Ethnicity every Monday during semester time, has provided a stimulating and nurturing environment for my work. I would like to thank everyone on the committee with its members drawn from right across the university and who give their time voluntarily to participate for their insights and dedication. The other big change in the last decade alongside the various job moves is the birth of my daughter, Sadie. My earlier Profiles in Power book was dedicated to my wife, Charlene. Now I can dedicate this book to both of the ladies in my life, who, though they are probably guilty of stretching out its completion for longer than it should have taken, have made that time much more enjoyable too.

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