Martin Luther King and the Rhetoric of Freedom
Subtitle: The Exodus Narrative in America's Struggle for Civil Rights (Studies in Rhetoric and Religion) (Studies in Rhetoric and Religion)
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Published: February 15, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 225
ISBN-13: 9781602580169
Subjects: Religion; Religion - Church History; Christianity - General; Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights; Nonfiction / Social Science; Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General; Religion, Politics & State; 20th century; Christianity; Exodus, The; History; Religious aspects; Rhetoric; Sermons
Description: Gary Selby shows how Martin Luther King, Jr. used the biblical story of Exodus to motivate African Americans in their struggle for freedom from racial oppression. Through an examination of King's major speeches, Selby illuminates the ways in which King drew from the Exodus narrative to offer his listeners a structure that explained their present circumstances, urged united action, and provided the conviction that they would succeed. Selby explains how King constructed a symbolic framework for interpreting the setbacks of the Civil Rights movement, even as he challenged them to remain faithful to the cause. - Publisher.