Dorothy Cotton never publicly spoke about her intimate relationship with King. But no woman – not even King’s wife – was closer to the civil rights icon during the last years of his life.
Publication was justified of information from the FBI that Martin Luther King Jr. witnessed and celebrated a woman’s rape, writes a historian, who warns the FBI had long wanted to destroy King.
Scholars continue to debate what, exactly, happened to Emmett Till the morning of his murder. But that hasn’t stopped a poor Mississippi community from trying to profit off one version of the story.
Michelle R. Scott, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Earl Brooks, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
From spirituals about the trials of slavery to the fight for civil rights and the modern rhythms of swing music, Duke Ellington told a story about black life that was both beautiful and complex.
These youngsters have ample fervor, and they are dramatically photogenic. Dismissing them as being fake or lightweight can spell trouble for members of the establishment.
Rev. Walker worked closely with King and would be the one to bring King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail to public attention. He was the only one who could understand King’s handwriting.
Howard Thurman, a mentor to MLK, first met Gandhi during a visit to India in 1936. He came to understand nonviolence as a force more powerful than hate that had the power to transform the world.
Emile Durkheim helped to lay the foundations of sociological thought and theory. He spoke of our current condition as being influenced by social structures and institutions.
In order to avoid being labeled a communist sympathizer, King needed to publicly distance himself from the controversial poet. Privately, King found ways to channel Hughes’ prose.
The internet has revolutionised communication, but voice calls are declining in some demographics. And that means we may be losing out on a powerful part of what connects us to each other.
Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Associate Research Professor, Political Science, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State