About halfway through the book comes the most famous speech delivered in the twentieth century. We are of course talking about the speech in which Martin Luther King repeatedly says that he has a dream. One of the things he dreams of is that there will come a day when his four children are judged based on their character (“the content of their character”) – and not the color of their skin (“the color of their skin”). These phrases have since then inspired countless gifted and less gifted politicians around the world. It is as if one can hear the echo of this speech both forward and backward in time. Facts about Martin Luther King Jr. Born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1948. In 1955 he received a doctorate in theology at Boston University. Was president of the civil rights group Montgomery Improvement Association (1955–60) and president of the Christian civil rights group Southern Christian Leadership Conference (from 1957). Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work for black rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, leaving behind a wife and four children. The third Monday in January is a public holiday in the United States in memory of King. (Source: The King Center, Nobel Committee, NTB) Marched towards Washington Writer Jonathan Eig sees the specific scene from the point of view of 19-year-old Francine Yeager, who has entered Washington by train from Chicago. Her journey is described as follows in Inger Sverreson Holmes’ solid translation: In addition, there is more interesting information that completes the picture. Singer Mahaila Jackson is also on stage and makes small, encouraging calls: “Tell us about the dream!”. “I HAVE A DREAM”: It was on August 28, 1963 that King gave the famous speech. The picture also shows the political activist Bayard Rustin (with glasses) behind him, and the singer Mahalia Jackson (with a stately hat) by the picture frame on the right. Photo: From “King – a life” by Jonathan Eig, page 361 Turning the other cheek to “King. A life’ is this autumn’s big venture from the small Christian publisher Verbum, and is an event for all those interested in politics. Not least for all those who these days sit and bite their nails while waiting for the results of the American election. Jonathan Eig spends a lot of time showing how Martin Luther King developed his distinctive version of Christian ethics – and he is right about that. It is simply very interesting to go deeper into how King combined the Bible’s command to turn the other cheek, with Gandhi’s idea of non-violence, pacifism and civil resistance. TURNED THE OTHER CHEEK: After being punched twice in the face by Rick James, King says he will not report the assault but rather pray for James, who was a member of the American Nazi Party. Photo: From “King – a life” by Jonathan Eig, page 357 It is now 35 years since the last major biography of Martin Luther King was published. But even those who have read David Garrow’s (also Pulitzer Prize-winning) winning biography will still find a lot of new material here. Sex surveillance Jonathan Eig, a former Wall Street Journal journalist, has also had access to extensive surveillance material from the FBI, as well as transcripts of telephone conversations that have not been available before. THE BIOGRAPHER: Author Jonathan Eig has previously written, among other things, an award-winning biography of Muhammad Ali. Photo: Verbum From the material, it appears that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover worked for years with various plans on how they would be able to break the eventually world-famous civil rights activist. Much of this involved revealing to the world that the young Baptist minister was notoriously unfaithful. He was in love with his wife, but he was also in love with many others. It obviously says something about who Martin Luther King was as a person. In addition, it is also politically relevant, since the FBI, like the Stasi in Germany, did their utmost to use people’s sex lives to harm them politically. THE LAST MARCH: Martin Luther King at his last public demonstration in Memphis, Tennessee before being shot at a motel on April 4, 1968. Photo: From “King – a Life” by Jonathan Eig, page 366 Despite the fact that the White house was fully informed of the infidelity, it did not prevent King from almost having a direct line to both the American president John F. Kennedy until he was assassinated, and not least to his successor Lyndon B. Johnson. These phone calls have in recent years been released, and show how consistent and unyielding King was in his opposition to the Vietnam War. All these recordings are available online, but they are of such poor quality that even playing them on the radio is out of the question. Hear more about King’s speech, life and death in “Historical celebrities”: Exemplary So good, then, that the material can be found in such a successfully edited form in this biography. “King. A life’ is everything a really good biography should be. It has the details. Like when he gets his first car as a present from his parents: Or when King later meets members of the criminal and violent gang “Vice Lords” and discusses non-violence as a political power strategy. We understand more of why the gang members met King with respect when we learn that they sat on the floor throughout the meeting. In OSLO: He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work for black rights. Photo: Henrik Laurvik / NTB Lærerik The lessons are lined up here, also for Norwegian shop stewards and politicians. The message from Martin Luther King became only sharper towards his death: Only with a fundamental social reform could real liberation take place in American society. That the black minority population used the right to vote and gained access to schools, cafes and buses was a step on the way, but not enough. HAD THE CURTAIN REMOVED: King and his closest associate Ralph Abernathy sit at the front of the bus after leading the boycott of the racially segregated buses in the small town of Montgomery. Photo: From “King – A Life” by Jonathan Eig, page 356 Martin Luther King sent his children to public school so that they would not become part of a new privileged social class. He settled in poor neighborhoods for the same reason. He lived long enough to pressure President Lyndon B. Johnson to pass the Fair Housing Act, which would ensure fair housing for all. We are a long way from reaching that goal today – also in this country. One gets to thinking about what today’s polarized USA, and the world in general, would look like if Martin Luther King had lived a little longer. GIANT MEETS KING: Erik Bye in conversation with Martin Luther King jr. the same day that King received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo 1964. They talk about the racial divide in the USA, the civil rights movement, non-violence, family life and the American dream. Interrupted by life The feeling of really being inside a book occurs, unfortunately, less and less often. Of course, I am also interrupted during Jonathan Eig’s nearly 700-page biography. Of work meetings, family text messages, e-mails. In short, of life itself. But every time I want to return to the story of this man, who during his short life managed to force fundamental changes in American society. Because with this history in mind, it feels a little less utopian to dream that similar societal changes will be able to happen again. news reviews Photo: Verbum Title: “King. Et liv” Original title: “King: A life” Author: Jonathan Eig Translator: Inger Sverreson Holmes Genre: Biography Number of pages: 684 Date: 11 October 2024 Hi! I read and review literature in news. Please also read my review of “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Details” by Ia Genberg, or Franz Kafka’s “The Process” translated by Jon Fosse. Published 01.11.2024, at 15.58 Updated 01.11.2024, at 18.04
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“King. A Life” by Jonathan Eig – Reviews and recommendations
