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4.64 AVERAGE
4.64 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I’m going to be processing this one for moooonths
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The inspiring story of MLK Jr.
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
The depths of this wonderful biography were striking. Eig effortlessly layers a portrait of Dr King over the background structures of his family, region, nation and world.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Although this is a very lengthy book, it was a relatively easy and quick read. It really changed my perception of Martin Luther King Jr. I’m saddened to say that learning about some of his private actions and how he treated Coretta Scott King makes me reconsider how highly we’ve placed him on a pedestal without fully understanding his true nature.
After finishing the book, I am CONVINCED that J. Edgar Hoover and President Johnson were responsible for Martin’s assassination.
When Martin no longer served their purpose in garnering the Black vote through civil rights negotiations and he increasingly spoke out against the evils of the Vietnam War, the flaws of capitalism, and advocating for reparations for African Americans, he became a liability. I believe he became increasingly difficult for the President to control. Despite them having numerous secret recordings of his affairs and his questionable behaviors behind closed doors, they still couldn’t rein him in.
Some of Eig's writing that resonated with me.
Pg.78
“Can you be taught to preach? I didn’t think you could.”
My own dad certainly wasn’t taught to preach, but he was a brilliant orator on the pulpit. It truly was a gift.
Pg.140
“To accept evil without challenging it, King concluded, would be to condone it.”
King would not be happy about President Trump’s evil doings today. We as a people need to challenge him and fight back on all of his evils.
Pg.198
(Ella Baker) “Though she had the qualifications to run the entire organization, Baker knew the group would never put a woman in charge.”
“King also wasn’t seasoned to accept women in positions of authority.”
I wonder how his image of women would have evolved over the years if he hadn’t been killed?
Pg.230
“It was a sign of King’s greatest flaw as a leader, an ironic flaw for a protest leader, Rustin Scudi said: he hated conflict.”
I never imagined that some of the people closest to him, saw him as a coward.
Pg.322
“The night before, Malcolm X had urged his followers to ‘go up there tomorrow and let Uncle Tom know that we are against him and do not believe what he preaches.’”
Pg.323
“I can’t understand what my colored brothers have against me, he told the crowd inside the church.”
Halfway through the book and the author has yet to address cointelpro measures used by the FBI and CIA. All he has addressed is the inside bickering among fellow Black leaders on how to lead the civil rights movement.
Pg.356
“Agents also discussed the possibility of elevating another Black man to replace King as the leader of the movement after the bureau wrecked King’s reputation.”
One of only a few times Eig mentioned cointelpro measures used by the FBI.
Pg.361
“Some of the protesters who had viewed nonviolence as a useful tactic, grew angry at the slow pace of change.”
One of the reasons why MLK became unpopular.
Pg.362
“King was wise enough to know he needed mad geniuses such as Williams and James Bevel, although sometimes he got more madness than he could handle. Bevel said Young, ‘was probably clinically insane’.”
This sentence made me laugh out loud! And peaked my interest to read more about James Bevel.
Pg.363
“By the mid -1960’s, Williams said, the Black masses began to lose interest in leadership by the Black middle and upper classes. When that happened, King didn’t adapt…”
“King wanted to believe, Harding added, that politicians would be guided by the same moral imperatives that guided him…”
I often fall into that mind trap; often believing that others always have good intentions like me.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS
📌Did not know that MLK grew up somewhat privileged.
📌I never imagined MLK as a narcissist, but he did exhibit several characteristics of one.
1. Charming
2. Prolific philanderer
3. Overly confident at times
4. ? Used gaslighting
5. Misogynist
According to author Robert Green, everyone is self absorbed and we each have narcissistic tendencies. Some of us are healthy narcissists and many are not. Green noted in a podcast recently that MLK had “strong narcissistic tendencies”. So I don’t feel alone in my assessment of this part of MLK’s character. Never before had I imagined that there was ever such a thing as a “healthy narcissist”!
📌MLK was a rabid plagiarist in his early days of writing and preaching, with little to no consequences. WOW! He would be ROASTED in today’s climate of accountability!
📌Midway through, right about the 25th chapter I started growing weary of Eig’s progression of facts. I had yet to read about the deep discontent that Black Americans felt towards King. As if Eig was glossing over it. But as I delved more into the book, I learned how and why he was despised by some Black Americans.
After finishing the book, I am CONVINCED that J. Edgar Hoover and President Johnson were responsible for Martin’s assassination.
When Martin no longer served their purpose in garnering the Black vote through civil rights negotiations and he increasingly spoke out against the evils of the Vietnam War, the flaws of capitalism, and advocating for reparations for African Americans, he became a liability. I believe he became increasingly difficult for the President to control. Despite them having numerous secret recordings of his affairs and his questionable behaviors behind closed doors, they still couldn’t rein him in.
Some of Eig's writing that resonated with me.
Pg.78
“Can you be taught to preach? I didn’t think you could.”
My own dad certainly wasn’t taught to preach, but he was a brilliant orator on the pulpit. It truly was a gift.
Pg.140
“To accept evil without challenging it, King concluded, would be to condone it.”
King would not be happy about President Trump’s evil doings today. We as a people need to challenge him and fight back on all of his evils.
Pg.198
(Ella Baker) “Though she had the qualifications to run the entire organization, Baker knew the group would never put a woman in charge.”
“King also wasn’t seasoned to accept women in positions of authority.”
I wonder how his image of women would have evolved over the years if he hadn’t been killed?
Pg.230
“It was a sign of King’s greatest flaw as a leader, an ironic flaw for a protest leader, Rustin Scudi said: he hated conflict.”
I never imagined that some of the people closest to him, saw him as a coward.
Pg.322
“The night before, Malcolm X had urged his followers to ‘go up there tomorrow and let Uncle Tom know that we are against him and do not believe what he preaches.’”
Pg.323
“I can’t understand what my colored brothers have against me, he told the crowd inside the church.”
Halfway through the book and the author has yet to address cointelpro measures used by the FBI and CIA. All he has addressed is the inside bickering among fellow Black leaders on how to lead the civil rights movement.
Pg.356
“Agents also discussed the possibility of elevating another Black man to replace King as the leader of the movement after the bureau wrecked King’s reputation.”
One of only a few times Eig mentioned cointelpro measures used by the FBI.
Pg.361
“Some of the protesters who had viewed nonviolence as a useful tactic, grew angry at the slow pace of change.”
One of the reasons why MLK became unpopular.
Pg.362
“King was wise enough to know he needed mad geniuses such as Williams and James Bevel, although sometimes he got more madness than he could handle. Bevel said Young, ‘was probably clinically insane’.”
This sentence made me laugh out loud! And peaked my interest to read more about James Bevel.
Pg.363
“By the mid -1960’s, Williams said, the Black masses began to lose interest in leadership by the Black middle and upper classes. When that happened, King didn’t adapt…”
“King wanted to believe, Harding added, that politicians would be guided by the same moral imperatives that guided him…”
I often fall into that mind trap; often believing that others always have good intentions like me.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS
📌Did not know that MLK grew up somewhat privileged.
📌I never imagined MLK as a narcissist, but he did exhibit several characteristics of one.
1. Charming
2. Prolific philanderer
3. Overly confident at times
4. ? Used gaslighting
5. Misogynist
According to author Robert Green, everyone is self absorbed and we each have narcissistic tendencies. Some of us are healthy narcissists and many are not. Green noted in a podcast recently that MLK had “strong narcissistic tendencies”. So I don’t feel alone in my assessment of this part of MLK’s character. Never before had I imagined that there was ever such a thing as a “healthy narcissist”!
📌MLK was a rabid plagiarist in his early days of writing and preaching, with little to no consequences. WOW! He would be ROASTED in today’s climate of accountability!
📌Midway through, right about the 25th chapter I started growing weary of Eig’s progression of facts. I had yet to read about the deep discontent that Black Americans felt towards King. As if Eig was glossing over it. But as I delved more into the book, I learned how and why he was despised by some Black Americans.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Child abuse
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, Classism