The Everything Martin Luther King Jr. Book, The Struggle. The Dream. The Legacy.  by Jessica McElrath; 2008; adams media, Avon, MA; 302 pages; 978-1-59869-528-1; 4/5-4/8

Everything (and then some) you ever wanted to know about Dr. King and his family, his faith, his involvement in the civil rights movement, his fight against poverty and his stand against the Vietnam War.   Born Michael Luther King, Jr.  he was raised to be an associate pastor at his father’s church.  But like so many of us, we question our faith that was passed down to us and must somehow make it our own.  MLK did this through his time at college and through extensive reading.  He also had the conviction to stand up for what he knew what he knew was right.  This is what made him stand out, so many of us know what is right but don’t stand up for it, we let others do it.  He was not a saint, he was a humble man who was aware of his shortcomings.  He stumbled like all of us do.  He did what he believed was right, even though it cost him something.  His vocal opposition to the war in Vietnam cost him some support in the civil rights movement.  It is appropriate that we celebrate his legacy because he played a large part in turning the country in a new direction.  The country has not yet completed that turn yet.  There are still economic disparities, that may actually be worse than when Dr. King was among  us.  The are still dangerous stereotypes which infect us all.  There is still discrimination  against people of color.  We have a long way to go.

The book was very informative, I felt that the information was too choppy.  No section was ever more than two paragraphs.  All controversy about Dr. King was moved to the end of the book and presented in it’s own section instead of being printed linerally.  RRR