Perspective

"A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr." is written entirely in the first person perspective. Dr. King speaks and writes of the actions and beliefs that he holds personally. He describes his life as a youth and the events that lead him to the leadership of the human rights, or nonviolent social disobedience. He includes a history of the Negro people in America and the ways this history has led to the social unrest felt in his time.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was raised in a middle-class family as the son of a preacher. His intelligence allowed him to attend Morehouse College without completing high school. He earned his doctorate in theology. He had been licensed to preach in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, as co-pastor with his father at the age of eighteen. His wife, Coretta, had lived...