King: A Life

Victory in Montgomery was quickly spoiled by reactionary violence against activists and Black citizens. King’s father demanded he return to Atlanta and focus on preaching, but Coretta stood up to her father-in-law. When King did return to Atlanta, it was with Rustin, Abernathy, and other ministers to discuss “the creation of a new, regional, church-powered organization dedicated to fighting segregation” (178), which would become the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With dynamite explosions occurring regularly in Montgomery, King returned to find that the city’s bus service had been shut down entirely rather than accept even partial integration. There was no accountability for anti-Black terrorism—the handful of men actually arrested for setting off bombs were reliably acquitted by all-white juries—but King’s growing public profile precluded any relaxation of efforts. In February 1957, King appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and met Vice President Richard Nixon on a trip to Ghana to commemorate its independence.

In May 1957, King gave an address in front of the Lincoln Memorial demanding equal voting rights (a prelude to his more famous address six years later). The speech confirmed King’s status as the nation’s preeminent civil rights leader, though he was only 28 years old.