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I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr. by Michael Eric Dyson
Provocative preacher-teacher Michael Eric Dyson, known for his hip-hop-style delivery and encyclopedic intellectual powers, heroically tries to update and examine the true legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. for a glib Generation-X world. Calling I May Not Get There with You a work of "biocriticism," Dyson peels away the superficial image of King the man to reveal a complex human being whose work was far from finished or totally understood. "In the last thirty years we have trapped King in romantic images or frozen his legacy in worship," he writes. "I seek to rescue King from his admirers and deliver him from his foes." To that end, Dyson takes aim at neoconservatives like Shelby Steele, who spin King's multiracial dreams into a right-wing call to end affirmative action, and goes after black militants who thought King was "soft" and overlooked the power of his "black radical Christianity." He also criticizes the government's co-opting of King's philosophy in a holiday, as well as what he calls the King family's well-meaning, but destructive, attempts to protect King's legacy. Dyson forces us to accept King for all of his faults--including plagiarism and womanizing--but more importantly allows us to see a real human being who rose to the height of humanity. --Eugene Holley, Jr.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Michael Eric Dyson
78 books1,146 followersMichael Eric Dyson is an American academic, author, and radio host. He is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University.
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April 4, 2024
I found this study of the life, work, influence, and image of Martin Luther King Jr. both moving and challenging - and I would hazard a guess that author Michael Eric Dyson probably hoped that his readers would approach this book in exactly that spirit.
I May Not Get There With You takes its title from one of Dr. King’s most famous speeches – one that has gained fame not only for the eloquence that was characteristic of Dr. King’s public utterances, but also for its prophetic qualities. The speech, widely known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” was delivered by Dr. King at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968 – the day before his assassination. The concluding passages of the speech included these words:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Dr. Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, has also worked as a Baptist minister; he can consider Dr. King’s life and work as both fellow scholar and fellow church leader. He suggests, among other things, that Dr. King’s vision for America and his tactics for making that vision into a reality were considerably more militant than the safer, “sanitized” Dr. King that one often sees in American popular culture – particularly when Dr. King’s mantle is claimed by contemporary political conservatives who, Dr. Dyson argues, would be bitterly opposed to Dr. King’s initiatives if Dr. King were alive today.
In Dr. Dyson’s analysis, the Vietnam War is particularly important in propelling Dr. King down a more militant path. Dr. King angered former allies like President Lyndon B. Johnson; and even if, “In retrospect, King turns out to have been right…he clarified his views [of the war] when it was riskiest to do so, long before anyone was sure what the outcome of the war would be” (p. 50). Dr. Dyson’s book is comparably challenging when it analyzes Dr. King’s complex relationship with black nationalism, his increasingly sharp critiques of American capitalism, and his gradual movement toward democratic socialism (though, understandably, Dr. King was careful not to use those exact words in public).
Some parts of the book worked better for me than others. I was not altogether persuaded, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s attempt to link Dr. King’s activism with the work of hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. At the same time, it was powerful and moving to hear Dr. Dyson confronting the allegations of womanizing and plagiarism against Dr. King. I was struck, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s suggestion that “King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared by many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race. The racial climate that made race a scholarly taboo and encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism” (p. 150).
While acknowledging Dr. King’s human imperfections, Dr. Dyson quickly, and appropriately, makes two important points regarding those imperfections. The first is that a human Dr. King who managed to do so much good in such a short life, in spite of his imperfections, is more real, a better example, than a media-manufactured saint. The second is that many who have focused on Dr. King’s faults have done so not out of a disinterested desire to find truth, but rather from a malign wish to discredit the civil-rights cause for which Dr. King fought by attacking its best-known messenger.
Dr. Dyson is comparably tough-minded and perceptive when examining Dr. King’s view of gender relations (relatively old-fashioned, and not fully recognizing the vital role of women in the Civil Rights Movement), and when looking at the inconsistent record of Dr. King’s family as conservators of the MLK legacy.
Overall, I May Not Get There With You is a thoughtful consideration of, as Dr. Dyson puts it, “how difficult it is to convert memory into fitting memorials for fallen heroes. Each gesture of remembrance inevitably invites accusations of abusing the hero’s image or misusing her identity in the effort to celebrate her greatness. Furthermore, one runs the risk in memorialization of turning a hero into a mere commodity, a commercial interest stripped of redeeming social and moral value” (p. 250). In his book, Dr. Dyson gives us a Dr. King of true and human, not artificial greatness, and he relates Dr. King well to the problems and struggles of the modern era.
I May Not Get There With You takes its title from one of Dr. King’s most famous speeches – one that has gained fame not only for the eloquence that was characteristic of Dr. King’s public utterances, but also for its prophetic qualities. The speech, widely known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” was delivered by Dr. King at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968 – the day before his assassination. The concluding passages of the speech included these words:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Dr. Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, has also worked as a Baptist minister; he can consider Dr. King’s life and work as both fellow scholar and fellow church leader. He suggests, among other things, that Dr. King’s vision for America and his tactics for making that vision into a reality were considerably more militant than the safer, “sanitized” Dr. King that one often sees in American popular culture – particularly when Dr. King’s mantle is claimed by contemporary political conservatives who, Dr. Dyson argues, would be bitterly opposed to Dr. King’s initiatives if Dr. King were alive today.
In Dr. Dyson’s analysis, the Vietnam War is particularly important in propelling Dr. King down a more militant path. Dr. King angered former allies like President Lyndon B. Johnson; and even if, “In retrospect, King turns out to have been right…he clarified his views [of the war] when it was riskiest to do so, long before anyone was sure what the outcome of the war would be” (p. 50). Dr. Dyson’s book is comparably challenging when it analyzes Dr. King’s complex relationship with black nationalism, his increasingly sharp critiques of American capitalism, and his gradual movement toward democratic socialism (though, understandably, Dr. King was careful not to use those exact words in public).
Some parts of the book worked better for me than others. I was not altogether persuaded, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s attempt to link Dr. King’s activism with the work of hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. At the same time, it was powerful and moving to hear Dr. Dyson confronting the allegations of womanizing and plagiarism against Dr. King. I was struck, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s suggestion that “King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared by many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race. The racial climate that made race a scholarly taboo and encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism” (p. 150).
While acknowledging Dr. King’s human imperfections, Dr. Dyson quickly, and appropriately, makes two important points regarding those imperfections. The first is that a human Dr. King who managed to do so much good in such a short life, in spite of his imperfections, is more real, a better example, than a media-manufactured saint. The second is that many who have focused on Dr. King’s faults have done so not out of a disinterested desire to find truth, but rather from a malign wish to discredit the civil-rights cause for which Dr. King fought by attacking its best-known messenger.
Dr. Dyson is comparably tough-minded and perceptive when examining Dr. King’s view of gender relations (relatively old-fashioned, and not fully recognizing the vital role of women in the Civil Rights Movement), and when looking at the inconsistent record of Dr. King’s family as conservators of the MLK legacy.
Overall, I May Not Get There With You is a thoughtful consideration of, as Dr. Dyson puts it, “how difficult it is to convert memory into fitting memorials for fallen heroes. Each gesture of remembrance inevitably invites accusations of abusing the hero’s image or misusing her identity in the effort to celebrate her greatness. Furthermore, one runs the risk in memorialization of turning a hero into a mere commodity, a commercial interest stripped of redeeming social and moral value” (p. 250). In his book, Dr. Dyson gives us a Dr. King of true and human, not artificial greatness, and he relates Dr. King well to the problems and struggles of the modern era.
March 22, 2013
An uneven book marred by bad chapters. For instance Chapter 9 tries to relate King to rappers. Did Dr. King swear and use profanities in his speeches from the pulpit? Also there is overuse of rhetoric, repetitiveness and useless digressions (or rants). Is it necessary to know what Mr. Dyson thinks of Clinton – this is a digression.
Nevertheless there are some good critiques. King did not allow women a proper place in the ‘movement’ – the SCLC. For Dr. King women appeared to be playthings.
Also there is good criticism of King’s successors – namely Coretta and family in chapter13.
Nevertheless there are some good critiques. King did not allow women a proper place in the ‘movement’ – the SCLC. For Dr. King women appeared to be playthings.
Also there is good criticism of King’s successors – namely Coretta and family in chapter13.
September 11, 2010
Good book indeed...gave me a new perspective on Kings life and work by presenting his humanity....demystifying his greatness to show that he was just a man, a flawed human being YET look what he accomplished...as a private citizen. And thats why we should honor the guy, because he did what we all could do. He was no superhero, just another man who hated injustice but was willing to do something about it, to rise to the challenge. And exposing King as a man of with weakness as well as strengths, Dyson changes our notion of what it means to be a courageous American.
January 28, 2015
I was at once moved and challenged by this study of the life, work, influence, and image of Martin Luther King Jr.; and I expect that that is exactly how author Michael Eric Dyson hoped his readers would respond.
I May Not Get There With You takes its title from one of Dr. King’s most famous speeches – one that has gained fame not only for the eloquence that was characteristic of Dr. King’s public utterances, but also for its prophetic qualities. The speech, widely known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” was delivered by Dr. King at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968 – the day before his assassination. The concluding passages of the speech included these words:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Dr. Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, has also worked as a Baptist minister; he can consider Dr. King’s life and work from the perspective of fellow scholar and fellow church leader. He suggests, among other things, that Dr. King’s vision for America and his tactics for making that vision into a reality were considerably more militant than the safer, “sanitized” Dr. King that one often sees in American popular culture – particularly when Dr. King’s mantle is claimed by contemporary political conservatives who, Dr. Dyson argues, would be bitterly opposed to Dr. King’s initiatives if Dr. King were alive today.
In Dr. Dyson’s analysis, the Vietnam War is particularly important in propelling Dr. King down a more militant path. Dr. King angered former allies like President Lyndon B. Johnson; and even if, “In retrospect, King turns out to have been right…he clarified his views [of the war] when it was riskiest to do so, long before anyone was sure what the outcome of the war would be” (p. 50). Dr. Dyson’s book is comparably challenging when it analyzes Dr. King’s complex relationship with black nationalism, his increasingly sharp critiques of American capitalism, and his gradual movement toward democratic socialism (though, understandably, Dr. King was careful not to use those exact words in public).
Some parts of the book worked better for me than others. I was not persuaded, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s attempt to link Dr. King’s activism with the work of hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. At the same time, it was powerful and moving to hear Dr. Dyson confronting the allegations of womanizing and plagiarism against Dr. King. I was struck, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s suggestion that “King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared by many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race. The racial climate that made race a scholarly taboo and encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism” (p. 150).
While acknowledging Dr. King’s human imperfections, Dr. Dyson quickly, and appropriately, makes two important points regarding those imperfections. The first is that a human Dr. King who managed to do so much good in such a short life, in spite of his imperfections, is more real, a better example, than a media-manufactured saint. The second is that many who have focused on Dr. King’s faults have done so not out of a disinterested desire to find truth, but rather from a malign wish to discredit the civil-rights cause for which Dr. King fought by attacking its best-known messenger.
Dr. Dyson is comparably tough-minded and perceptive when examining Dr. King’s view of gender relations (relatively old-fashioned, and not fully recognizing the vital role of women in the Civil Rights Movement), and when looking at the inconsistent record of Dr. King’s family as conservators of the MLK legacy.
Overall, I May Not Get There With You is a thoughtful consideration of, as Dr. Dyson puts it, “how difficult it is to convert memory into fitting memorials for fallen heroes. Each gesture of remembrance inevitably invites accusations of abusing the hero’s image or misusing her identity in the effort to celebrate her greatness. Furthermore, one runs the risk in memorialization of turning a hero into a mere commodity, a commercial interest stripped of redeeming social and moral value” (p. 250). In his book, Dr. Dyson gives us a Dr. King of true and human, not artificial greatness, and he relates Dr. King well to the problems and struggles of the modern era.
I May Not Get There With You takes its title from one of Dr. King’s most famous speeches – one that has gained fame not only for the eloquence that was characteristic of Dr. King’s public utterances, but also for its prophetic qualities. The speech, widely known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” was delivered by Dr. King at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968 – the day before his assassination. The concluding passages of the speech included these words:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Dr. Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, has also worked as a Baptist minister; he can consider Dr. King’s life and work from the perspective of fellow scholar and fellow church leader. He suggests, among other things, that Dr. King’s vision for America and his tactics for making that vision into a reality were considerably more militant than the safer, “sanitized” Dr. King that one often sees in American popular culture – particularly when Dr. King’s mantle is claimed by contemporary political conservatives who, Dr. Dyson argues, would be bitterly opposed to Dr. King’s initiatives if Dr. King were alive today.
In Dr. Dyson’s analysis, the Vietnam War is particularly important in propelling Dr. King down a more militant path. Dr. King angered former allies like President Lyndon B. Johnson; and even if, “In retrospect, King turns out to have been right…he clarified his views [of the war] when it was riskiest to do so, long before anyone was sure what the outcome of the war would be” (p. 50). Dr. Dyson’s book is comparably challenging when it analyzes Dr. King’s complex relationship with black nationalism, his increasingly sharp critiques of American capitalism, and his gradual movement toward democratic socialism (though, understandably, Dr. King was careful not to use those exact words in public).
Some parts of the book worked better for me than others. I was not persuaded, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s attempt to link Dr. King’s activism with the work of hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. At the same time, it was powerful and moving to hear Dr. Dyson confronting the allegations of womanizing and plagiarism against Dr. King. I was struck, for example, by Dr. Dyson’s suggestion that “King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared by many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race. The racial climate that made race a scholarly taboo and encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism” (p. 150).
While acknowledging Dr. King’s human imperfections, Dr. Dyson quickly, and appropriately, makes two important points regarding those imperfections. The first is that a human Dr. King who managed to do so much good in such a short life, in spite of his imperfections, is more real, a better example, than a media-manufactured saint. The second is that many who have focused on Dr. King’s faults have done so not out of a disinterested desire to find truth, but rather from a malign wish to discredit the civil-rights cause for which Dr. King fought by attacking its best-known messenger.
Dr. Dyson is comparably tough-minded and perceptive when examining Dr. King’s view of gender relations (relatively old-fashioned, and not fully recognizing the vital role of women in the Civil Rights Movement), and when looking at the inconsistent record of Dr. King’s family as conservators of the MLK legacy.
Overall, I May Not Get There With You is a thoughtful consideration of, as Dr. Dyson puts it, “how difficult it is to convert memory into fitting memorials for fallen heroes. Each gesture of remembrance inevitably invites accusations of abusing the hero’s image or misusing her identity in the effort to celebrate her greatness. Furthermore, one runs the risk in memorialization of turning a hero into a mere commodity, a commercial interest stripped of redeeming social and moral value” (p. 250). In his book, Dr. Dyson gives us a Dr. King of true and human, not artificial greatness, and he relates Dr. King well to the problems and struggles of the modern era.
January 22, 2018
Dyson's set of essays on King gives a deeper and rounder image of his life and impact than we're used to. Dyson gives us a more radical King, probing is final years in which King was increasingly interested in socialism, economic justice, and Black empowerment beyond the voting rights and legislative victories of the Civil Rights movement. Dyson also doesn't hold back on King's flaws and complexities - his patriarchy, his psychologically complex sexual infidelity, his academic plagiarism, and his family's sometimes moral hypocrisy since their patriarch's death. Exploring these angles doesn't lessen King's greatness or impact. Dyson humanizes this extraordinary man while still calling him our greatest ever Amercian, which he just might be.
I was intrigued by Dyson's connection of King to some hip hop artists - gifted with language, samplers, sexually prolific, flawed, and longing for voice and justice and empowerment. Also by the catalogs of the various types of amnesia we can suffer from and perpetrate regarding race in America: reverential amnesia (praise the heroes, don't describe the offense they were against so as not to hurt victims' feelings), repentant amnesia (sorry about the past, can we not talk about it so as not to hurt my White feelings?), revisionist amnesia (minimizing past problems), recalcitrant amnesia (we did nothing wrong!), and resistant amnesia (victims say nothing bad happened so as to avoid psychological pain.)
Dyson's whole work builds to a crescendo in his final essay, in which his skills as a preacher himself are on display. In (small) part:
"When we celebrate the King holiday, we do not simply celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. We celebrate individuals like Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses and ... legions of other souls who sought to bring justice and freedom to Southern black doors and Northern project apartments. We celebrate King's willingness to surrender security and throw safety to the wind as he and many more crossed this nation in pursuit of peace and love. We celebrate King's insistence that 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,' as we extend his radical legacy to embrace citizens who are oppressed because of their sexual orientation or their gender. We celebrate King's ability to lay everything on the line, including his reputation, to do what he deemed was right in the eyes of God.
We must rebel against the varieties of amnesia that compete to reduce King to an icon for the status quo or a puppet of civil and social order.... Through our amnesia, we have attempted to portray King as a meek and mild savior sent to spin beautiful stories about birds and flowers. But King has entered the temple of our conscience and turned over the tables where moral commerce has been cheapened and the tales of justice have been sold for a price. He is a hero who loved America so much that he became full of rage and anger for our failing to treat the least to the best our nation can offer, whether that meant money or enough space to live without cramped ambitions or stunted hopes....
Martin Luther King, Jr., is the greatest American in our history because in his life the contradictory meanings of American democracy found a perfect and healing embodiment....
It is to his everlasting credit that King assaulted the dominion of excluding pronouns, insisting that 'we' no longer meant one's group but the whole republic. He united Whitman and Baldwin in a metaphysical union of American idealism and racial tragedy: He brought them to each and into each other, refusing to differentiate their defining trajectory since neither made sense without the other. Thus the vision of American identity that seized King was both poetic and prophetic: it built out from the Given - where one lived, what one's color was, what language one spoke - and built up to the Giver: if God is the author of our human drama, we must read our divine destiny in each other's hurts and triumphs." (305-306)
I was intrigued by Dyson's connection of King to some hip hop artists - gifted with language, samplers, sexually prolific, flawed, and longing for voice and justice and empowerment. Also by the catalogs of the various types of amnesia we can suffer from and perpetrate regarding race in America: reverential amnesia (praise the heroes, don't describe the offense they were against so as not to hurt victims' feelings), repentant amnesia (sorry about the past, can we not talk about it so as not to hurt my White feelings?), revisionist amnesia (minimizing past problems), recalcitrant amnesia (we did nothing wrong!), and resistant amnesia (victims say nothing bad happened so as to avoid psychological pain.)
Dyson's whole work builds to a crescendo in his final essay, in which his skills as a preacher himself are on display. In (small) part:
"When we celebrate the King holiday, we do not simply celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. We celebrate individuals like Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses and ... legions of other souls who sought to bring justice and freedom to Southern black doors and Northern project apartments. We celebrate King's willingness to surrender security and throw safety to the wind as he and many more crossed this nation in pursuit of peace and love. We celebrate King's insistence that 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,' as we extend his radical legacy to embrace citizens who are oppressed because of their sexual orientation or their gender. We celebrate King's ability to lay everything on the line, including his reputation, to do what he deemed was right in the eyes of God.
We must rebel against the varieties of amnesia that compete to reduce King to an icon for the status quo or a puppet of civil and social order.... Through our amnesia, we have attempted to portray King as a meek and mild savior sent to spin beautiful stories about birds and flowers. But King has entered the temple of our conscience and turned over the tables where moral commerce has been cheapened and the tales of justice have been sold for a price. He is a hero who loved America so much that he became full of rage and anger for our failing to treat the least to the best our nation can offer, whether that meant money or enough space to live without cramped ambitions or stunted hopes....
Martin Luther King, Jr., is the greatest American in our history because in his life the contradictory meanings of American democracy found a perfect and healing embodiment....
It is to his everlasting credit that King assaulted the dominion of excluding pronouns, insisting that 'we' no longer meant one's group but the whole republic. He united Whitman and Baldwin in a metaphysical union of American idealism and racial tragedy: He brought them to each and into each other, refusing to differentiate their defining trajectory since neither made sense without the other. Thus the vision of American identity that seized King was both poetic and prophetic: it built out from the Given - where one lived, what one's color was, what language one spoke - and built up to the Giver: if God is the author of our human drama, we must read our divine destiny in each other's hurts and triumphs." (305-306)
June 14, 2024
A BIOGRAPHY DETAILING THE ‘WONDERS AND WARTS OF THE MAN”
Author Michael Eric Dyson wrote in the Foreword to this 2000 book, “The belief that it is harmful to our communities for authors to explore the humanity of our leaders can have troubling effects. At the least, it promotes the belief that black heroes have to be perfect to be useful. At worst, it censors our full investigation of black life… Still, I am deeply sympathetic to the horror of what some folk wrongly suppose I am up to in my book. I love Dr. King deeply… Insulting his career by slighting his work or overplaying his faults is the furthest thin from my mind. However, I knew that to get his story right, I would have to detail the wonders and warts of the man. I know how white bigots stand at the ready to use any information they can to tear down King. In fact, in my book I defend King against the prejudiced assessments that eroded his reputation when he was alive and have only gotten worse since his death…
“I could not conscientiously write a book about him without acknowledging King’s promiscuity… It is now a matter of record that King plagiarized big chunks of his graduate school course papers and his doctoral dissertation… his academic failings do not mar his monumental social and intellectual achievements. But we cannot take the ostrich approach to analyzing King’s record… We must instead spell out as comprehensively as we can the conditions under which he acted and lived. It is also vital to King’s story to explore how his family has helped of hindered his legacy… The entire nation has been a poor steward of King’s legacy.”
He observes, “When [MLK] insisted that racism, economic inequality, and militarism were the ‘triplets of social misery,’ he was attacked for oversimplifying complex social issues. King paid dearly for his inevitable betrayal of Southern white interests, capitalist ideology, and black bourgeois beliefs. Financial support for his civil rights organization dwindled. Moral support for his war on economic inequality waned. And his antiwar protests caused him to be denounced by other black leaders. In 1967, for the first time in a decade, King’s name was left off the Gallup Poll list of the ten most admired Americans.” (Pg. 6)
He asserts, “The tough truth is that the resolution of racial problems for whites often resulted in the deepening of racial problems for blacks. To take just one example, the dismantling of de jure segregation in American schools helped accelerate patterns ow white flight from American cities and thus the deepening de facto residential segregation afflicting black communities.” (Pg. 49)
He points out, “[In his sermons] King was more Miles Davis than Milli Vanilli. King’s academic work is another matter altogether. From the scant evidence that exists, even in his undergraduate days at Morehouse College, King was sloppy in formally citing the sources of ideas he propounded in his papers. King began college at age fifteen, swept in on an early admissions policy for bright students to compensate for the drain of black men during World War II. King graduated from college at nineteen… he embraced graduate school at an age when most male students were gearing up for girls and guzzling beer. King’s work at Crozer Theological Seminary … was often distinguished enough to earn him high marks from his professors… But King’s formal citation habits continued to be sloppy. In most cases, his errors might have been easily corrected had he taken more time to place quotation marks around material amply cited in his notes… The same holds true for his work at Boston University… it is now evident that King plagiarized large portions of his course papers and his dissertation…the bulk of his theft concentrated on large portions of Jack Boozer’s dissertation… written just three years before King’s thesis… there is no evidence that King cheated on his examinations, which he consistently passed with high marks. Then why did he plagiarize? No one knows, although many scholars and critics across the ideological spectrum have ventured reasons.” (Pg. 144-146)
He continues, “I think there are at least two complex and interrelated reasons behind King’s scholarly plagiarism. First, part of the explanation may reside in what… was King’s primary goal: to become a first-rate preacher and pastor of a distinguished black Southern church… Undoubtedly, there is a profound conflict in such circles about formal theological education… Second, King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared with many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race… The racial climate… encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism.” (Pg. 148, 150)
He argues, “For critics who insist that King’s plagiarism and promiscuity signal a tragic lapse in judgment, they may be right. But critics who insist that his sins signal a FATAL flaw in character---so that the good the King did is nullified by his failures---are absolutely wrong…. Character cannot be understood through isolated incidents or a fixation on the flaws of a human being during a selected period in life. Assessment of character must take into account the long view, the wide angle.” (Pg. 166)
He recounts, “From his teens, King enjoyed sharp suite and light-skinned women… King learned about … the tantalizing treats of female surplus, in the black church—where women outnumber men three to one… King played the field as he pursued his degrees. Even after he met his future bride, Coretta Scott, he satisfied his ample sexual appetite... But even after their marriage, King continued to stray… King preferred very light women. This preference had everything to do with light-skinned blacks’ being extended more privileges than dark-skinned blacks… King’s sexual place did not slow even when he realized that J. Edgar Hoover was waging an ugly, evil campaign to destroy his reputation.” (Pg. 193-194)
He states, “But if the King family viewed itself as the keeper of the flame, they were also viewed in some quarters as hogging the light for themselves. Or they were charged with seeking to control tightly how King’s light would be shared with the rest of the world… In fact, the King Center’s dwindling resources made the papers in their possession… virtually inaccessible. Only scholars with longstanding requests were allowed access to King’s words.” (Pg. 256)
He acknowledges, “Few would begrudge the King family’s making some money from King’s estate. Nor could anyone justly criticize the King family for living comfortably, since for most of their lives they resided in a modest home as Coretta worked extremely hard to provide her children with a decent life…. It certainly would not be immoral for the Kings to get rich off King’s legacy, but it would be immoral for them to pretend that such a state of affairs would please Martin Luther King Jr. [who] was notoriously uncomfortable with money---not making it, but keeping it.” (Pg. 275)
He concludes, “King was great because, as he liked to preach, he was willing to serve. His life continues to speak to us because he is the truest bellwether of our moral possibilities. Without his spirit, we cannot comprehend our national destiny… With King as a guide, we can discover America again, and set off to conquer nothing less than the ignorance and fear that keep us from and not with one another.”
This is a fascinating, opinionated, sometimes unsettling, portrait, that will be of great interest to those studying Dr. King.
Author Michael Eric Dyson wrote in the Foreword to this 2000 book, “The belief that it is harmful to our communities for authors to explore the humanity of our leaders can have troubling effects. At the least, it promotes the belief that black heroes have to be perfect to be useful. At worst, it censors our full investigation of black life… Still, I am deeply sympathetic to the horror of what some folk wrongly suppose I am up to in my book. I love Dr. King deeply… Insulting his career by slighting his work or overplaying his faults is the furthest thin from my mind. However, I knew that to get his story right, I would have to detail the wonders and warts of the man. I know how white bigots stand at the ready to use any information they can to tear down King. In fact, in my book I defend King against the prejudiced assessments that eroded his reputation when he was alive and have only gotten worse since his death…
“I could not conscientiously write a book about him without acknowledging King’s promiscuity… It is now a matter of record that King plagiarized big chunks of his graduate school course papers and his doctoral dissertation… his academic failings do not mar his monumental social and intellectual achievements. But we cannot take the ostrich approach to analyzing King’s record… We must instead spell out as comprehensively as we can the conditions under which he acted and lived. It is also vital to King’s story to explore how his family has helped of hindered his legacy… The entire nation has been a poor steward of King’s legacy.”
He observes, “When [MLK] insisted that racism, economic inequality, and militarism were the ‘triplets of social misery,’ he was attacked for oversimplifying complex social issues. King paid dearly for his inevitable betrayal of Southern white interests, capitalist ideology, and black bourgeois beliefs. Financial support for his civil rights organization dwindled. Moral support for his war on economic inequality waned. And his antiwar protests caused him to be denounced by other black leaders. In 1967, for the first time in a decade, King’s name was left off the Gallup Poll list of the ten most admired Americans.” (Pg. 6)
He asserts, “The tough truth is that the resolution of racial problems for whites often resulted in the deepening of racial problems for blacks. To take just one example, the dismantling of de jure segregation in American schools helped accelerate patterns ow white flight from American cities and thus the deepening de facto residential segregation afflicting black communities.” (Pg. 49)
He points out, “[In his sermons] King was more Miles Davis than Milli Vanilli. King’s academic work is another matter altogether. From the scant evidence that exists, even in his undergraduate days at Morehouse College, King was sloppy in formally citing the sources of ideas he propounded in his papers. King began college at age fifteen, swept in on an early admissions policy for bright students to compensate for the drain of black men during World War II. King graduated from college at nineteen… he embraced graduate school at an age when most male students were gearing up for girls and guzzling beer. King’s work at Crozer Theological Seminary … was often distinguished enough to earn him high marks from his professors… But King’s formal citation habits continued to be sloppy. In most cases, his errors might have been easily corrected had he taken more time to place quotation marks around material amply cited in his notes… The same holds true for his work at Boston University… it is now evident that King plagiarized large portions of his course papers and his dissertation…the bulk of his theft concentrated on large portions of Jack Boozer’s dissertation… written just three years before King’s thesis… there is no evidence that King cheated on his examinations, which he consistently passed with high marks. Then why did he plagiarize? No one knows, although many scholars and critics across the ideological spectrum have ventured reasons.” (Pg. 144-146)
He continues, “I think there are at least two complex and interrelated reasons behind King’s scholarly plagiarism. First, part of the explanation may reside in what… was King’s primary goal: to become a first-rate preacher and pastor of a distinguished black Southern church… Undoubtedly, there is a profound conflict in such circles about formal theological education… Second, King’s plagiarism may have had to do with his aversion, one shared with many black students of his generation, to write a dissertation on race… The racial climate… encouraged the embrace of already validated European subject matter might have been the predicate for his plagiarism.” (Pg. 148, 150)
He argues, “For critics who insist that King’s plagiarism and promiscuity signal a tragic lapse in judgment, they may be right. But critics who insist that his sins signal a FATAL flaw in character---so that the good the King did is nullified by his failures---are absolutely wrong…. Character cannot be understood through isolated incidents or a fixation on the flaws of a human being during a selected period in life. Assessment of character must take into account the long view, the wide angle.” (Pg. 166)
He recounts, “From his teens, King enjoyed sharp suite and light-skinned women… King learned about … the tantalizing treats of female surplus, in the black church—where women outnumber men three to one… King played the field as he pursued his degrees. Even after he met his future bride, Coretta Scott, he satisfied his ample sexual appetite... But even after their marriage, King continued to stray… King preferred very light women. This preference had everything to do with light-skinned blacks’ being extended more privileges than dark-skinned blacks… King’s sexual place did not slow even when he realized that J. Edgar Hoover was waging an ugly, evil campaign to destroy his reputation.” (Pg. 193-194)
He states, “But if the King family viewed itself as the keeper of the flame, they were also viewed in some quarters as hogging the light for themselves. Or they were charged with seeking to control tightly how King’s light would be shared with the rest of the world… In fact, the King Center’s dwindling resources made the papers in their possession… virtually inaccessible. Only scholars with longstanding requests were allowed access to King’s words.” (Pg. 256)
He acknowledges, “Few would begrudge the King family’s making some money from King’s estate. Nor could anyone justly criticize the King family for living comfortably, since for most of their lives they resided in a modest home as Coretta worked extremely hard to provide her children with a decent life…. It certainly would not be immoral for the Kings to get rich off King’s legacy, but it would be immoral for them to pretend that such a state of affairs would please Martin Luther King Jr. [who] was notoriously uncomfortable with money---not making it, but keeping it.” (Pg. 275)
He concludes, “King was great because, as he liked to preach, he was willing to serve. His life continues to speak to us because he is the truest bellwether of our moral possibilities. Without his spirit, we cannot comprehend our national destiny… With King as a guide, we can discover America again, and set off to conquer nothing less than the ignorance and fear that keep us from and not with one another.”
This is a fascinating, opinionated, sometimes unsettling, portrait, that will be of great interest to those studying Dr. King.
July 19, 2015
This is not a very well-written book on several levels. The good thing is that it makes me want to go back and read Ralph David Abernathy's account again entitled, "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down," which is much, much better. Although Dyson emphasizes his realistic look at King, and I understand the desire to show how he changed over time in his views, the author really over applies his methodology when exposing King's infidelities, his abysmal treatment of women in the movement, and his academic dishonesty. If Dyson is trying to make King look heroic he does it in a Greek tragedy sort of way. King becomes, under Dyson's hand, a sort of hubris-ridden Achilles who is frustrating and enigmatic to friends and foe alike. Yes, Abernathy's book is just as honest without the vein of hypocrisy. I will, indeed, have to read Abernathy for the third time.
July 22, 2025
Turns out the real Dr. King wasn’t your tame, peace-loving mascot—sorry, corporate America.
April 15, 2020
Not so much a biography as an investigation and critique of how MLK's legacy has played out. Parts of it were great. I especially liked his chapter comparing King to Hip Hop culture and hearing more about the backstory of this man's life. There were low points and the flow wasn't always even. I do wonder if the book hasn't aged well since it was written or if Dyson would have different ideas 20 years on or so. If you're a MLK fan already or have background in the civil rights movement and legacy I'd give this book a try. Otherwise I'd start elsewhere.
Currently reading
April 5, 2023Pastor of a Dutch church, the image of King fits in with current topics covered by networks regarding police brutality. I think this was something King could not overcome. Since Rosa Parks instigated the initial contact, I am wondering what King thought of black female police officers as a deterrent to crime. I can't picture King or Coretta without handcuffs but at least Coretta isn't wearing them! I know this much to be true. King's arrogance in the literature is fulfilling and with Obama saying so, We all as a people get to the promised land! Won't he do it!
November 14, 2024
It's not a biography. I suppose it doesn't really claim to be. But it delves into analysis of King without really discussing in any sort of detail the events of his life, and this leaves the reader a little adrift.
It's also very dated. The engagement with random talking heads from 20-30 years ago make it feel a bit irrelevant.
I found much in the analysis to disagree with and much to be distasteful; though it was not wholly without merit.
It's also very dated. The engagement with random talking heads from 20-30 years ago make it feel a bit irrelevant.
I found much in the analysis to disagree with and much to be distasteful; though it was not wholly without merit.
January 16, 2018
Not what I was expecting. More critique than bio. Thoughtful and insightful though.
November 7, 2018
A great examination of the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. .
April 10, 2020
Does a great job in showing the strengths and weaknesses of Martin Luther King Jr. Overall a good read
June 7, 2014
In I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King JR written by Micheal Eric Dyson he describes generations before the civil rights movement and generations after. Dyson intention is to ask his readers "what would the civil rights leader think if he was alive today". There is a lot of facts in this book that cant be second guessed which makes this book interesting.
Dyson talks about the time he spent with King during his adult life and how king is a civil rights leader who did not make white people feel uncomfortable most called him a "Safe Leader". He also speaks on the differences of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; Malcolm X was a great civil rights l;leader but he believed taking the approach of "By any means necessary while king was a non violence civil rights leader. The violence and non violence approach definitely plays a big role in how today's society is.
As you go more into the book there is even more to be surprised by and could start an argument . In chapter 9 Dyson compares King to rappers which is greatly bias. King and rappers do have a few similarities ex; they both speak for the community rather topics are positive or negative they stand up for there community, society, and African Americans, most come from poverty, and want to change the world. the difference is King does not use profanity, he went to college, he is a pastor, and a civil rights leader. King has a lot of more positive qualities and faced more hardships people can see where Dyson tried to relate them but there is definitely a huge difference.
Over all the book is great and makes you understand who King is more and has great facts to make you re-think. Dyson seems to have a small problem with repetitiveness and rants but that still doesn't hurt the book that bad. African Americans should definitely take a look into this book especially the younger generations who did not have to live in a time where you had to be separated because of race.
- j.T
Dyson talks about the time he spent with King during his adult life and how king is a civil rights leader who did not make white people feel uncomfortable most called him a "Safe Leader". He also speaks on the differences of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; Malcolm X was a great civil rights l;leader but he believed taking the approach of "By any means necessary while king was a non violence civil rights leader. The violence and non violence approach definitely plays a big role in how today's society is.
As you go more into the book there is even more to be surprised by and could start an argument . In chapter 9 Dyson compares King to rappers which is greatly bias. King and rappers do have a few similarities ex; they both speak for the community rather topics are positive or negative they stand up for there community, society, and African Americans, most come from poverty, and want to change the world. the difference is King does not use profanity, he went to college, he is a pastor, and a civil rights leader. King has a lot of more positive qualities and faced more hardships people can see where Dyson tried to relate them but there is definitely a huge difference.
Over all the book is great and makes you understand who King is more and has great facts to make you re-think. Dyson seems to have a small problem with repetitiveness and rants but that still doesn't hurt the book that bad. African Americans should definitely take a look into this book especially the younger generations who did not have to live in a time where you had to be separated because of race.
- j.T
November 9, 2009
This is one of the greatest books that vie ever read! I know it is not February yet but I still felt it was fine to refresh my knowledge on the king, as in Martin Luther King JR. The author Michael Eric Dyson captured about every great thing the king did in life, which is almost everything he did, all in 311 pages. This book is absolutely amazing and brilliant. I feel that this book gets everything you need to know about the great Martin Luther King JR and if you want to get any information on him I suggest this book dearly. It makes you really realize how much he did for people around the world and how much we really take things for granted. He gave his life trying to free African Americans and he devoted his life to setting people free from racism and discrimination. I feel that Michael Eric Dyson made this book perfect for its politics, and style. It is an important and very fun to read. When you read this and you put the book down, you feel sad, and you feel sad because we realize that we don’t have the king with us anymore. But the important thing to remember is that Martin Luther King JR was a person, not some cut-out of a hero that you can admire from a far. By reading about the whole KING by Michael Eric Dyson it makes you realize that you can’t keep thinking " oh I can’t believe the king is gone!" but makes you start looking ahead and taking care of the problems there are today in life.
This book is amazing and I definitely feel that anybody interested in reading a great book should choose this one, because it is a GREAT book to read and a great book to learn from.
This book is amazing and I definitely feel that anybody interested in reading a great book should choose this one, because it is a GREAT book to read and a great book to learn from.
July 7, 2007
Now, this book has been controversial since it was first published. But guess what? It doesn't matter. Michael Eric Dyson does not apologize for his revealing biography of MLK, jr but rather makes a case for MLK's humanity and the importance of truth. We see a full picture of a man who committed his life to that which seemed impossible. We glimpse his coping mechanisms. We mourn for his sorrow in realizing that the system is the system. We learn that MLK is constantly taken out of context and continues to be abused by today's politicos. And what is our role in all of this? To be proclaimers of the truth--Martin Luther King, Jr. will never be unimportant or forgotten. The fullness of his witness will continue to shape lives and the world. Obviously, the time "when justice will roll down like water" hasn't come just yet...we still need to hear his voice and affect change because of what we have heard.
July 28, 2009
Dyson certainly contributes a unique perspective to King that is needed after the regurgitation that other biographers seem to offer. I appreciated his detailing of King's more radical beliefs in the years shortly before his assassination, as well as his assessment of conservative white co-option of King's image. However, much of the book is a depressing foray into King's 'weaknesses,' which Dyson feels must be admitted to bring humanity rather than mythology to King's figure, but then attempts to apologize for those weaknesses. It also attacks the King family for their attempts to control King's image. While I agree that it is not most helpful to view King as a saint, especially when considering further movements, it diminishes his contributions to focus on some of the petty quarreling that has ensued after his death.
May 18, 2008
I learned more about the civil rights movement from this book than from any other single source in my life. This is a good thing.
However, this book is somewhat lacking in organization. The chapter heading is just a jumping off point for Dyson. Suddenly you're reading about Ralph Reed, then the King center and then whatever else until the chapter ends. It's fascinating stuff, but I May Not Get There With You Would be an amazing resource if there wasn't a stream-of-consciousness flavor to it. This approach also makes it hard to figure out where you left off if you put it down for the night.
Still, with patience and a singular desire to educate yourself, Dyson paints a picture of the King legacy (and much more) worth the sometimes meandering journey.
However, this book is somewhat lacking in organization. The chapter heading is just a jumping off point for Dyson. Suddenly you're reading about Ralph Reed, then the King center and then whatever else until the chapter ends. It's fascinating stuff, but I May Not Get There With You Would be an amazing resource if there wasn't a stream-of-consciousness flavor to it. This approach also makes it hard to figure out where you left off if you put it down for the night.
Still, with patience and a singular desire to educate yourself, Dyson paints a picture of the King legacy (and much more) worth the sometimes meandering journey.
December 9, 2009
Although a wee bit too academic-y for my taste, I recommend this book to all my friends. While our generation has been taught to love and celebrate Dr. King, Michael Eric Dyson shows that we’ve been handed down a stagnant and sanitized version of his legacy. Dyson complains that by allowing Dr. King’s legacy to rest on just a few famous sound bites, we fail to learn from the full breath of his work.
We have so much to learn from Dr. King- by studying his criticism of the Vietnam War we can inform our fight against modern US foreign policy, by studying his campaign against poverty we can learn to talk boldly about class
We have so much to learn from Dr. King- by studying his criticism of the Vietnam War we can inform our fight against modern US foreign policy, by studying his campaign against poverty we can learn to talk boldly about class
January 22, 2014
Attempts to reclaim the real, radical and flawed MLK from conservative attempts to cannonize him as an American hero and a saint.
Explains well MLK's change in politics between 1963 to his death in 1968, when he increasingly began to connect racism in America to capitalism and imperialism, and this as more deeply entrenched in society than he had previously thought.
I would have liked to have read a bit more about his politics, rather than long chapters about his extra-marital affairs and plagiarism when he was in university.
I wish the author had referenced properly within the text, because it made it very really difficult to re-locate his sources.
Overall I thought is was v. good.
Explains well MLK's change in politics between 1963 to his death in 1968, when he increasingly began to connect racism in America to capitalism and imperialism, and this as more deeply entrenched in society than he had previously thought.
I would have liked to have read a bit more about his politics, rather than long chapters about his extra-marital affairs and plagiarism when he was in university.
I wish the author had referenced properly within the text, because it made it very really difficult to re-locate his sources.
Overall I thought is was v. good.
Want to read
June 13, 2014The one thing that I despise more than starting a book and not finishing it is starting a book and struggling to get through it. After reading "Why I Love Black Women", I fell in love with Dyson's language, he is such a smooth operator for words. Unfortunately, this book went overboard. His message is so verbose, all meaning is lost in translation. The content of the book, I am sure, is meant to educate a broad range of people. However, delivering his message in such an advanced and scholarly manner narrows the class of people who can receive it. For now, I will shelve this book as a "Want to Read". Hopefully, the next time I pick it up, I can read it more fluently.
January 11, 2012
One of the best books I have ever read, it shows the complete MLK: the socialist leaning hero, to the sexist and depressed adulterer. The more I read the book the more is revealed by Dyson, and I am excited to read his book about Tupac. The only bad thing about the book, and why it only gets four stars is because it drags on, and between the moments of unmistakeable clarity and insight there are moments where you get bored. You have to put the book down after reading for 30 minutes of so to actually comprehend the amazing things he says in this book.
August 4, 2008
Read enough of it to "get" Dyson's message. Sometimes I'm right there with his writing, and other times I'm wishing he would simply get to the point. If you want a smart MLK biography that is thoroughly researched and explores difficult subjects that the idolizing public wishes to ignore, this is your book. Though Dyson clearly has a message for the reader, he'll give you both sides with enough facts to make your own informed decision about this historical giant.
October 19, 2010
I enjoyed this book, though it was slow and jumpy in spots. It didn't take long at all for Martin Luther King Jr to be co-opted by those who want to remake his message (especially his more radical anti-war, pro-poor people messages toward the end of his life) into something more "palatable" to American consumerist and even right-wing "values". This book takes a look at the man, including his very real faults and sins (and don't we all have them), and still offers us the saint that Martin was.
September 7, 2014
I've never read a book(especially about someone so famous) that did such a good job deconstructing the myth and giving the reader the raw ingredients. Usually it's the other way around.
Dyson is not only a fantastic writer, but his ability to paint a picture (using social context in a way that doesn't seek simply to agitate), is remarkable.
This is the kind of book that truly spurs critical thought and analysis while still remaining a great read.
Dyson is not only a fantastic writer, but his ability to paint a picture (using social context in a way that doesn't seek simply to agitate), is remarkable.
This is the kind of book that truly spurs critical thought and analysis while still remaining a great read.
September 27, 2011
White supremacy does many things but I doubt it turns pacifist preachers into philandering patriarchs. Men cheat because of desire and opportunity. Unfortunately, Dyson writes just like he speaks so if your not a fan of his style, read every third word and not get too upset over his defense of King even in situations when King is indefensible.
October 15, 2011
I wanted to agree with Dyson; I wanted to see that later, more radical side of MLK, wanted to walk with him in his disillusionment with The Man. But Dyson's third-person omniscient POV made me feel like he was putting words in a dead man's mouth.
I never made it to the controversial part.
I never made it to the controversial part.
March 5, 2015
Raw, every chapter contains the core concept of its topic, not leaving out any factor or elements that pertain to the page. In fact, it widens the scope, offering scrutinizing information. I recommend to all interested in mechanix of revolution or those who can read movement blueprints.
July 28, 2007
When you start comparing Tu-Pac to Martin Luther King, you've lost me.
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