For legal help and insights into the publishing world, I was fortunate to have lawyers Rob Bertsche, Lloyd Constantine, and Bruce Kramer and book editor Barbara Grossman. For leads to literary agents or assistance with photos, I heartily thank Sarah and Josh Lamstein, Corby Kummer, Michael Useem, Lee Van Kirk, and Peter Cowen.
Colleagues and friends generously read early drafts and penned comments that helped shape the book. For that invaluable feedback at a critical stage in the book’s gestation, I warmly thank Sue Bass, Mark Brodin, Frank Levy, David Whitford, Jim Wexler, and Seth and Alexa Rosenbloom. I owe a large debt of gratitude to the labor historian Michael Honey, who astutely critiqued a later draft.
My agent, William Clark, has been an indispensable ally at every stage of the publishing process. At Beacon Press, I have been blessed with a superb editor, Gayatri Patnaik. She enthusiastically embraced the book on a first reading and has nurtured it skillfully along ever since. I thank as well the rest of the top-notch team at Beacon, including Helene Atwan, Marcy Barnes, Susan Lumenello, Melissa Nasson, Nicholas DiSabatino, Pam MacColl, and Bob Kosturko.
I inflicted early versions of my manuscript on Paul Osterman and Evan Schouten. They brought their sharp eyes and sound judgment to the reading and assessing of it. They buoyed me throughout the whole editorial journey with unstinting support. I cannot thank them enough.
– Index –
Please note that page numbers are not accurate for the e-book edition.
Abernathy, Ralph: at Centenary Church meeting, 55; and Georgia Davis, 120; at death of MLK, 155, 157–58; on decision to go to Memphis, 51; dinner after Mason Temple rally with, 117; on effect of adverse publicity, 6; on exhaustion and illness of MLK, 81–82; on extramarital affairs, 130; final lunch with, 135–36; on flight from Atlanta, 1, 2; friendship with MLK, 103–5; on injunction, 56, 57, 60; on the Invaders, 70; on last afternoon, 141, 146, 147; at Lorraine Motel, 48, 49; at march after death of MLK, 159; at Mason Temple rally, 81, 83, 102–3, 114; on MLK’s love of life, 161; on Poor People’s Campaign, 13, 144; relationship and role of, 27; on staff of SCLC, 50; subsequent life and death of, 171; tribute to MLK at Mason Temple rally, 104–5; week of recuperation with, 5
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 60–61
AFL-CIO, 101
AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees), 18–19, 20, 101, 169
Alabama, Poor People’s Campaign in, 13
Albany, Georgia, 34, 45, 77
Ali, Muhammad, 119
Allied Organization for Civil Rights, 119–20
Alpha Phi Alpha, 33
Alton, Illinois, 90, 92, 93, 95
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 60–61
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), 18–19, 20, 101, 169
Anschutz, Willie, 153
anticolonial movement, 10
antipoverty movement, 10
antiwar movement. See Vietnam War
Aquamarine Supply Company (Birmingham), 96–97
Armour, Claude, 78–79
Armstrong, Louis, 48
assassination: fear and expectation of, 2, 74–75, 112–15, 161, 164; threats of, 6, 75, 112–13, 126
Atlanta: flight from, 1–6; James Earl Ray in, 96
Avery Corporation, 93
Bailey, Lorene, 47–48
Bailey, Walter, 47–48, 56, 62
Baker, Ella, 128
“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” 113–14
Beifuss, Joan: on arrival at Lorraine
Motel, 48; on early history of Memphis, 41; on first Mason Temple rally, 36; on garbage workers strike, 3, 20; on invitation to speak in Memphis, 37; on racism in Memphis, 3; on second Mason Temple rally, 114, 115
Belafonte, Harry, 5, 87, 144
Bevel, James: at death of MLK, 155; and injunction, 56; and the Invaders, 67, 135, 137; at Lorraine Motel, 49; in Poor People’s Campaign, 145; return to Memphis of, 13; on SCLC staff, 50–52
biblical themes, 110–11, 112–14
Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged, 86, 165
Birmingham, Alabama: injunction in, 57; in Mason Temple speech, 110; media coverage in, 82–83; provocation of violent reaction in, 44; James Earl Ray in, 94, 96–97
black nationalism, 68
Black Organizing Project, 69, 71
Black Power militants: background of, 68–69; and injunction, 63; and nonviolence, 5, 9, 137–39; and Poor People’s Campaign, 10, 66, 70, 165. See also the Invaders
Blackstone Rangers (Chicago), 65, 66, 70
Blakey, Robert, 93–94, 138
“blue crush,” 78
Bolton, Wade Hampton, 41
bomb threat on plane from Atlanta, 6, 73
Bonus March, 86–87, 166
Boston University, 162
Boyko, Hugo, 9
Branch, Ben, 146, 156
Branch, Taylor, 50, 104, 111, 129–30
Brando, Marlon, 144
Breathitt, Edward, 118–19
Brewer, Bessie, 150–51
Browder v. Gayle (1956), 58
Brown, Bailey: hearing on injunction from, 60; injunction granted by, 56, 57, 58; and request to vacate injunction, 62, 64, 122–23, 125, 134–35; threat of injunction from, 26
Brown, H. Rap, 9, 68, 69, 137
Brown, James, 68
Brown v. Board of Education (1954), 57
Buckeye Cotton Oil Company, 17
Burch, Lucius Edward, Jr., 60–64, 135, 146, 170
Buttrick, George, 111
Byrd, Robert, 4
Cabbage, Charles, 49, 66–69, 71, 135, 138–39
Canipe Amusement Company (Memphis), 150
capitalism, 86–88, 162–63
Capitol Hill Housing Project (Atlanta), 96
Carmichael, Stokely, 9, 68, 128
Carpenter, Ralph, 151–52
Caywood, David, 53, 63
Centenary United Methodist Church (Memphis), 54–58
Charles, Ray, 48
Charlotte, North Carolina, police security in, 77
Chicago: James Earl Ray in, 92–93; slums of, 86; street gangs of, 65–66, 70–71
civil disobedience, massive, 8, 70, 145, 166
civil rights movement: criticism from, 4–5; MLK on, 10; sexism in, 128
Cobras (Chicago), 65
Cody, J. Michael, 61, 63–64, 99, 114
COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program), 76
Cole, Echol, 19–20
Commercial Appeal (newspaper): on planned second march, 55; on rioting, 4
communism, 163
Community on the Move for Equality (COME), 25, 69, 71
Connor, Theophilus Eugene “Bull,” 44
Copeland, Elizabeth, 152
Cotton, Dorothy: background of, 133–34; departure from Memphis of, 125, 133–34, 141; on desegregation campaign in Albany, Georgia, 34; on flight from Atlanta, 1, 6; and the Invaders, 67; on leadership and charisma of MLK, 50, 51; at Lorraine Motel, 49; in Poor People’s Campaign, 13; relationship and role of, 28
Cotton, George, 134
Cotton Carnival, 24
Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO), 76
Crozer Theological Seminary, 162
Crump, E. H., 61
damage control, 11–12, 53–58
Dattel, Eugene, 17
Davis, Fred, 45
Davis, George, 26, 28
Davis, Georgia, 117–23; early life of, 118–19; helping of MLK brother by, 121–22; at Lorraine Motel, 118, 122–23, 126, 142, 143; marriages of, 119; political career of, 119–20, 122; relationship of MLK with, 117, 120–21, 129; subsequent life and death of, 170
death threats, 6, 75, 112–13, 126
Demopolis, Alabama, 113
depression, King suffered from, 6, 82
desegregation: in Albany, Georgia, 34; legislation on, 5; in Memphis, 3, 16, 25–26, 43, 57, 61
Detroit, rioting in, 9
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (Montgomery), 1–2, 162, 163
&n
bsp; Dorsey, Thomas, 156
Drum Major Sermon, 167
Dryden Rubber Company, 92
DuBois, Barney, 78
dues checkoff, 19, 43, 45, 169
Eastern Airlines, flight to Memphis of, 1, 6
Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta): first sermon at, 111; plans for next sermon at, 142; preaching own eulogy at, 113, 167; James Earl Ray and, 96; SCLC staff retreat at, 145; self-condemnation sermon at, 131; young MLK at, 2
Economic Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged, 86, 165
economic boycott, 55–56, 110
economic justice, shift from racial segregation to, 10, 11, 86–88
Ellington, Duke, 84
Ellis, Cato, 59–60
Eskridge, Chauncey, 113, 122–23, 146
extramarital affairs, 117, 120–21, 129–31
Fairclough, Adam, 128, 137–38
fascism, 165
fast-food franchises, 88
fatalism, 74–75, 113–14, 161
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 29, 130, 142; smear campaign by, 145–46
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, 17
Foreman, Percy, 93, 95
Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 40
Fosdick, Emerson, 111
Frank, Gerold, 84, 151
Franklin, Aretha, 144
Franklin, C. L., 111
Gagliano, J. S., 47
Galt, Eric Starvo (alias), 90, 94, 96, 97
Gandhi, Mahatma, 105
garbage workers strike: background of, 15–21; and credibility as nonviolent leader, 4–5; first march in support of, 2, 4; invitation to speak in support of, 31–37; and MLK speech on March 18, 100; plans for second march in support of, 3; as racial discrimination issue, 3, 15–16, 19–20; response of mayor to, 43–44, 45–46; rioting during first march in support of, 2, 4; slogan of, 15
Garrow, David, 87, 130, 131
Georgia, Poor People’s Campaign in, 13
GI Bill (1944), 166
Good Samaritan parable, 110
Hagemaster, Henrietta, 90
Halberstam, David, 82, 165
Hamby, Jack, 47
Harlem (New York), knife attack in, 111–12, 126
Harrington, Michael, 166
Hemingway, Ernest, 61, 63
Holloman, Frank, 74, 75–77, 134, 146–47, 170
Honey, Michael K., 15, 35, 49, 102
Hooks, Benjamin: on fast-food franchises, 88; on injunctions, 58; in NAACP, 40; on soul food, 136; on Vietnam War, 33, 34
Hoover, Herbert, 87, 166
Hoover, J. Edgar, 76, 130, 145–46
Howe, Julia Ward, 113–14
Howell, Ronald, 28
Hunt and Polo Club (Memphis), 61
“I Have a Dream” speech, 5, 108, 164
Illinois Central Railroad, 62
imagery in speeches, 111
income, guaranteed minimum, 86, 165–66
Ingersoll, John, 77
Ingram, William, 43
injunction: petition for, 56–58; possibility of, 24, 26–27, 45; request to vacate, 122–23, 125, 134–35; ruling on, 141, 146–47; serving of and response to, 59–64; violation of, 126
insomnia, 82
integration. See desegregation International Shoe Tannery, 92 the Invaders, 65–71; background of, 68–69; breakdown in negotiations with, 133, 135, 136–39; at Lorraine Motel, 49, 66; and Memphis rioting, 66–67, 122, 136, 138; misjudgment of, 138–39; money demanded by, 67, 71, 133, 135, 136; negotiations between MLK and, 65–66, 67, 70–71; and nonviolence, 27, 70–71, 133, 134, 136–37; as parade marshals, 49–50, 65, 71, 135, 138; and “tactical” violence, 135, 136–37
Jackson, Andrew, 61
Jackson, Jesse: at Centenary Church meeting, 55–56; at death of MLK, 155, 156; on last afternoon, 146; at Lorraine Motel, 49; at Mason Temple rally, 83, 102–3, 114; on media coverage, 83; return to Memphis of, 13; on SCLC staff, 50–52; subsequent life of, 171
Jackson, Mahalia, 88
Jahn, Gunnar, 104
Jaynes, Gregory, 78, 158
Jenkins, W. A., 57
Jim Crow life, 41–42
Jim’s Grill (Memphis), 150
jobs, guaranteed, 86, 165–66
“John Gaston turbans,” 78
Johnson, Frank, 45
Johnson, Lyndon B.: meeting with, 165; and Poor People’s Campaign, 86, 145; and Vietnam War, 8, 10, 33, 34
Jones, Solomon, 156–57
Jones, Thomas Oliver “T. O.,” 18, 19
Kennedy, John F., 44, 74–75, 126–27, 165
Kentucky Leadership Conference, 120
King, A. D.: alcoholism of, 121–22; arrival at Lorraine Motel of, 117, 118; Georgia Davis and, 120, 121–22; late-night talk with, 126; phone call to parents with, 142
King, Alberta, 142
King, B. B., 48
King, Coretta, 125–31; in civil rights movement, 126–28; on day of departure to Memphis, 2; early life of, 127; and extramarital affairs of MLK, 129–31; at march after death of MLK, 159; relationship of MLK and, 125–26, 128–29; subsequent life and death of, 171; tension over money with, 129; sexism experienced by, 128
King, Martin Luther, Jr.: airport arrival of, 23–29; calling to political activism of, 163–64; change in appearance of, 1–2; contents of briefcase of, 8–10; credibility as leader of, 4–6; death of, 155–59; death threats against, 6, 75, 112–13, 126; decision not to speak at rally by, 81–83; exhaustion and illness of, 5, 81–82; expectation of violent death by, 2, 74–75, 112–15, 161, 164; extramarital affairs of, 117, 120–21, 129–31; fatalism of, 74–75, 113–14, 161; fear for safety of, 73–75; on flight from Atlanta, 1–6; and the Invaders, 49–50; invitation to speak in Memphis, 31–37; knife attack on, 111–12, 126; last afternoon in life of, 141–47; leadership and charisma of, 50–51; leftist politics of, 86–88, 162–63; legacy of, 167; and Marian Logan, 83–88; at Lorraine Motel, 49; Memphis newspapers on, 54; as nonviolent leader, 12; personal safety of, 24–25; possible injunction against, 24, 26–27; preaching own eulogy by, 113, 167; public speaking by, 108, 109, 111; religious training and faith of, 161–62; sabbatical job offered to, 158; salary taken by, 129; scope of purpose of, 165; and Southern food, 135–36; speech at Mason Temple rally by, 107–15; and staff of SCLC, 50–52; view of most white Memphians of, 53; voice of, 109; oratorical excellence of, 12, 85, 111 Chicago campaign of, 5, 55, 58, 65-66, 70–71, 86
King, Martin Luther, Sr., 111, 142
King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, 171
Kirk, Claude, Jr., 9
knife attack in Harlem (New York), 111–12, 126
Ku Klux Klan, 40
Kyles, Gwen, 147
Kyles, Samuel “Billy”: at death of MLK, 155, 156, 157; on death threats in Miami, 77; in desegregation of Memphis, 16; on first Mason Temple rally, 36; on garbage workers strike, 16; invitation to speak by, 31–32; on last afternoon, 146, 147; on second Mason Temple rally, 108, 114
labor unions, relationship of MLK to, 101–2
Lafayette, Bernard, 145
Lawson, James (Jim): at airport arrival, 25; background of, 56–57; at first Mason Temple rally, 35–36; on injunction, 56, 57, 58, 135, 141, 147; and the Invaders, 69–70, 71, 138; invitation to speak by, 32; on Poor People’s Campaign, 53; at second Mason Temple rally, 102
Lee, Bernard: at death of MLK, 155; dinner after Mason Temple rally with, 117; on flight from Atlanta, 1, 6; on injunction, 56, 60; and the Invaders, 135; at Lorraine Motel, 49; relationship and role of, 27, 28
leftist politics, 86–88, 162–63
Lewis, David, 104
Lewis, John, 73–74
Lightman, M. A., 16
Loeb, Henry, 39–46; background of, 41, 42–43; demeanor of, 40–41, 42–43; desegregation under, 43; hiring of replacement workers by, 20–21; injunction sought by, 26; in Mason Temple speech, 109–10; and Frank McRae, 40, 41, 42–43, 46, 100; office of, 40–41; racism of, 44–45; refusal to recognize union by, 19, 45, 169; response to riot by, 24; response to strike by, 43–
44, 45–46; retirement and death of, 169; unwillingness to negotiate by, 3, 31
Loeb, Mary Gregg, 42
Loeb Laundry Cleaner Company (Memphis), 42, 43, 45
Logan, Arthur, 84
Logan, Marian, 14, 83–88, 143
Lorraine Motel (Memphis), 47–49; arrival at, 29, 47, 48; final lunch at, 135–36; history of, 47–48; media identification of, 149; security risks at, 48–49
Los Angeles: police security in, 77; James Earl Ray in, 95–96
Lowmeyer, Harvey (alias), 97
Lucas, Louis, 56
MacDonald, J. C., 76
Manire, James, 60
marital infidelity, 117, 120–21, 129–31
Marks, Mississippi, 12–13
martyrdom, 161
Mason Temple (Memphis): decision not to speak at rally at, 81–83; first rally at, 36; late-night dinner after rally at, 117–18; media coverage at, 82–83, 102–3; meeting at, 35–37; speech by MLK at, 107–15; summoning MLK to speak at, 99–105; turnout at, 99–100
massive civil disobedience, 8, 70, 145, 166
Matthews, Tarlese, 25–26, 54
McCarthy, Eugene, 8
McCollough, Marrell, 76–77, 135, 138
McDonald, Dora, 142
McGrory, Mary, 109
McRae, Frank, 40, 41, 42–43, 46, 57, 100
media coverage at Mason Temple rally, 82–83, 102–3
Medrano, Manuela Aguirre, 95
Memphis: background of strike in, 15–21; black police officers in, 28; damage control in, 11–12; desegregation of, 3, 16, 25–26, 43, 57, 61; as detour from Poor People’s Campaign planning, 7–14; early years of, 41; first pro-strike march in, 2, 3, 10, 36; history of race relations in, 3; invitation to speak in, 31–37; MLK’s knowledge and understanding of, 55; motto of, 41; NAACP in, 39–40; vs. other Southern cities, 40; participants expected at second march in, 53; plans for second pro-strike march in, 3; police response to rioting in, 26; segregation in, 41–42; self-image of, 39, 41; slave trade in, 41; state of city after rioting in, 24
Memphis Bar Association, desegregation of, 61
Memphis Civitan Club, 43
Memphis Country Club, 61
Memphis Department of Public Works, 18, 20, sewer and drain workers of, 19
Memphis police: arrival at scene of shooting, 158; death threats received by, 75; Inspectional Division of, 76; misconduct by, 78; security provided by, 73–79
Memphis Press-Scimitar (newspaper) on planned second march, 55
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