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Behind the Public Veil: The Humanness of Martin Luther King Jr.
What was Martin Luther King Jr. really like? In this groundbreaking volume, Lewis V. Baldwin answers this question by focusing on the man himself. Drawing on the testimonies of friends, family, and closest associates, this volume adds much-needed biographical background to the discussion, as Baldwin looks beyond all of the mythic, messianic, and iconic images to treat King in terms of his fundamental and vivid humanness. Special attention is devoted to Kings personal insecurities and struggles, his humility and affinity to common people, his delight in pleasant and passionate conversation, his insatiable love for the precious but ordinary things of life, his robust appetite for artfully-prepared and delicious soul food, his enduring appreciation for music and dance, his cheerful and playful attitude and spirit, his abiding interest in games and sports, and his amazing gift of wit, humor, and laughter. King emerges here as an ordinary human being who enjoyed and celebrated life to the fullest, but was never bigger than life. Here we see the personal qualities of Kingas a real, fleshly human beingand also as a man shaped by his social and cultural experiences and locations. This book reclaims the man behind the mythology.
440 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2016
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About the author
Lewis V. Baldwin
31 books1 followerDr. Baldwin is a native of Camden, Alabama. He received his early education in the public schools of Wilcox County, the heart of the so-called Alabama Blackbelt, where he participated in student demonstrations and other civil rights activities in the 1960s. He graduated from Camden Academy High School in 1967.
During the height of the civil rights and black power movement, Dr. Baldwin matriculated at Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama. He received a B.A. degree in History from that institution in 1971. He then studied at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminaries in Rochester, New York, where he was awarded the M.A. degree in Black Church Studies in 1973 and the M.Div. degree in Theology in 1975. In 1980, he received the Ph.D. degree in American Christianity from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
An ordained Baptist minister who has preached throughout the United States, Dr. Baldwin has also established himself as a professor and scholar with a growing reputation. He has taught at Wooster College in Ohio, Colgate University in New York, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in New York, Fisk University, and American Baptist College in Nashville, and is now a Professor in Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
During the height of the civil rights and black power movement, Dr. Baldwin matriculated at Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama. He received a B.A. degree in History from that institution in 1971. He then studied at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminaries in Rochester, New York, where he was awarded the M.A. degree in Black Church Studies in 1973 and the M.Div. degree in Theology in 1975. In 1980, he received the Ph.D. degree in American Christianity from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
An ordained Baptist minister who has preached throughout the United States, Dr. Baldwin has also established himself as a professor and scholar with a growing reputation. He has taught at Wooster College in Ohio, Colgate University in New York, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in New York, Fisk University, and American Baptist College in Nashville, and is now a Professor in Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 8, 2019
This biography of MLK Jr. focuses mainly on his humanity, private life, and his relationship with black culture.
4 of the chapters are about MLK’s relationship with food, music, play, and humor.
I appreciated the chapters on food and music the most.
The food, because I’ve experienced similar cultural experiences with my friends from Nepal, so very food-family oriented. It’s compelling to observe how powerfully food can unite people.
Music is similar to food, in its ability to unite. Really appreciate the author’s observations on MLK’s and the black community’s use of Negro spirituals and gospel music. Negro spirituals at once reveal the experiences of deep suffering with great hope. I really think that white evangelicalism, by and large, totally misses out on that dynamic of pain and hope.
Without a doubt some/many of the greatest saints in heaven have been counted among slaves as the least on earth, most uneducated, most oppressed, but now most glorified in Jesus.
Biographies should make their subjects come alive, this one made me feel like I was eating and singing with MLK.
Really good.
4 of the chapters are about MLK’s relationship with food, music, play, and humor.
I appreciated the chapters on food and music the most.
The food, because I’ve experienced similar cultural experiences with my friends from Nepal, so very food-family oriented. It’s compelling to observe how powerfully food can unite people.
Music is similar to food, in its ability to unite. Really appreciate the author’s observations on MLK’s and the black community’s use of Negro spirituals and gospel music. Negro spirituals at once reveal the experiences of deep suffering with great hope. I really think that white evangelicalism, by and large, totally misses out on that dynamic of pain and hope.
Without a doubt some/many of the greatest saints in heaven have been counted among slaves as the least on earth, most uneducated, most oppressed, but now most glorified in Jesus.
Biographies should make their subjects come alive, this one made me feel like I was eating and singing with MLK.
Really good.
Displaying 1 of 1 review