Ring out freedom! : the voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the making of the civil rights movement

287 Pages·2004·3.13 MB·English

by  Fredrik Sunnemark

Chapter Title i
Ring Out
Freedom!
ii Ring Out Freedom!
Chapter Title iii
RING OUT
FREEDOM!
THE VOICE OF
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
AND THE MAKING
OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT
Fredrik Sunnemark
Indiana University Press
bloomington and indianapolis
iv Ring Out Freedom!
Publication of this book is made possible in part with the assistance of a Challenge
Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency that
supports research, education, and public programming in the humanities.
All texts by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reprinted by arrangement with the Estate
of Martin Luther King, Jr., c/o Writers House as agent for the proprietor, New
York, NY. Copyright 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr.; copyright renewed 1991
Coretta Scott King.
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
© 2004 by Fredrik Sunnemark
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on
Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sunnemark, Fredrik.
Ring out freedom! : the voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the making of the
civil rights movement / Fredrik Sunnemark.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-253-34376-3 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-253-21659-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929–1968—Language. 2. King, Martin Luther, Jr.,
1929–1968—Oratory. 3. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929–1968—Political and social
views. 4. Rhetoric—Political aspects—United States—History—20th century.
5. English language—Discourse analysis. 6. English language—United States—
Rhetoric. 7. Speeches, addresses, etc., American—History and criticism. 8. Civil
rights movements—United States—History—20th century. 9. African Ameri-
cans—Civil rights—United States—History—20th century. I. Title.
E185.97.K5S866 2004
323'.092—dc21 2003012813
1 2 3 4 5 09 08 07 06 05 04
Chapter Title v
To Ludvig and Viktor
vi Ring Out Freedom!
Chapter Title vii
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “There Must Be Somebody
to Communicate . . .” 1
1. A Discourse of Faith 11
2. Western Intellectualism and American
Ideals 79
3. The Problem of Race 123
4. Third World, Cold War, and Vietnam 155
5. Radicalization 195
Epilogue 233
Notes 235
Bibliography 257
Index 265
vii
viii Ring Out Freedom!
Chapter Title ix
Acknowledgments
This work would never have been completed without help and
support from many individuals and institutions.
For reading drafts of different parts of the manuscript at dif-
ferent stages of the process and forcing me to sharpen my ar-
guments and pointing me in directions that proved to be cre-
ative, I would like to thank Eva-Lena Dahl, Bryan Errington,
Klas Grinell, Maria Johansen, Johan Kärnfelt (whose computer
wizardry also has been greatly appreciated), Kaj Johansson,
Sven-Eric Liedman, Mikela Lundahl, Daniel Nordin, Ingemar
Nilsson, Lennart Olausson and Amanda Peralta at Gothenburg
University; Magnus Berg and Martin Åberg at University
Trollhättan-Uddevalla; Mattias Gardell at Stockholm Univer-
sity; Keith D. Miller at Arizona State University; Richard H.
King at Nottingham University; and Kate Babbitt and Robert
J. Sloan at Indiana University Press.
For helping a bewildered Swedish researcher I would like to
thank Diane Ware and the other staff at the King Library and
Archives at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent
Social Change in Atlanta and John H. Noël at Special Collec-
tions, Mugar Library, Boston University.
For financial aid I would like to thank Adlerbertska
forskningsfonden, Jubileumsfonden, Paul och Marie Berghaus
fond, Stiftelsen Anna Ahrenbergs fond för vetenskapliga mf.l.
ändamål, Wilhelm och Martina Lundgrens vetenskapsfond,
Överskottsfonden, and the Department of Work, Economics and
Health at University Trollhättan-Uddevalla.
finally, my deepest sense of gratitude goes to my family. To
my mother, Ann-Christin, my father, Per, and my brother,
ix