I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King Jr.

I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King Jr.

by Michael Eric Dyson (Author)

Synopsis

Michael Eric Dyson, former welfare father, Princeton Ph.D. and Baptist preacher, reassesses the legacy of Martin Luther King in the years since his death. A legacy, he argues, which has been misappropriated by groups ranging from white conservatives, black church leaders to advertisers and even the King family. Dyson brings alive a true revolutionary, a hero willing to sacrifice his reputation for the sake of the poor, a Ph.D. willing to roll up his sleeves and work for justice, a prince of the black pulpit willing to go to gaol for his beliefs. He rescues from history a man who is as important today as he was in the 60's, a man as radical as Malcolm X, who has as much in common with the rap artists and church leaders of today. Unafraid to confront King's personal life, Dyson defends King from the forces of historical amnesia, in a book that is ultimately as moving as it is controversial.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 404
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York
Published: 06 Feb 2001

ISBN 10: 068483037X
ISBN 13: 9780684830377

Media Reviews
Robert Boynton The New York Times Dyson gives us a thoroughly contemporary King, an enigmatic hero whose flaws and failings make him more, not less, relevant to our times.
Jake Lamar The New York Observer Not simply an important book -- it is a necessary one. In prose that is always sharp and engaging, Dyson uses King's life and legacy to take on everything from contemporary conservatism to hip-hop culture...An indispensable contribution to American social criticism.
Paul Rosenberg The Denver Post Masterfully, Dyson...seamlessly combines a passionate exploration of King's battles, values and ideas with a highly nuanced picture of the contexts he struggled in and transformed, then draws parallels and contrasts to our world today. Like King himself, the result speaks to everyone, from ivory tower to hip-hop streets, challenging all of us to move beyond our present limitations.
Michael Fletcher The Washington Post Such is the genius of Dyson. He...flows freely from the profound to the profane, from popular culture to classical literature...Dyson's latest book should only enhance his reputation...The book resurrects a King who bears little resemblance to the sainted -- some say homogenized -- integrationist fixed in the national consciousness.
Author Bio
Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister and Ida B. Wells Barnett University Professor at DePaul University. He is the author of Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X, Between God and Gangsta Rap, and Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line. He lives with his family in Chicago.