April 4, 1968

by Dyson, Michael Eric

• ISBN13: 9780465002122
• ISBN10: 0465002129
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-24
• Publisher: Basic Civitas Books

Summary

On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 PM, while he was standing on a balcony at a Memphis hotel, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and fatally wounded. Only hours earlier Kingthe prophet for racial and economic justice in Americaended his final speech with the words, "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land." Acclaimed public intellectual and best-selling author Michael Eric Dyson uses the fortieth anniversary of King's assassination as the occasion for a provocative and fresh examination of how King fought, and faced, his own death, and we should use his death and legacy. Dyson also uses this landmark anniversary as the starting point for a comprehensive reevaluation of the fate of Black America over the four decades that followed King's death. Dyson ambitiously investigates the ways in which African-Americans have in fact made it to the Promised Land of which King spoke, while shining a bright light on the ways in which the nation has faltered in the quest for racial justice. He also probes the virtues and flaws of charismatic black leadership that has followed in King's wake, from Jesse Jackson to Barack Obama. Always engaging and inspiring,April 4, 1968celebrates the prophetic leadership of Dr. King, and challenges America to renew its commitment to his deeply moral vision.

Author Biography

Michael Eric Dyson, named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me, Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Moses: A Prophet's Death in Three Acts
(Act 1) Fighting Death	p. 3
(Act 2) Talking Death	p. 25
(Act 3) Facing Death	p. 45
Promised Land, or Wilderness?
Report Card on Black America	p. 79
The Black Family and Black Inequality	p. 101
What Would Martin Do? Poverty, Prosperity, and the Performance of Blackness	p. 119
Joshua: Charismatic Black Leadership in a Prophet's Shadow
A Messiah Measures Leadership	p. 145
Heir Apparent	p. 171
Last of a Dying Breed?	p. 201
Black Kennedy	p. 223
Afterword: Interview with Dr. King on His 80th Birthday	p. 245
Acknowledgments	p. 271
Bibliographical Notes	p. 275
Index	p. 283
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