Event Summary
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis 40 years ago, but his legacy as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century prevails. In his new book, The Word of the Lord is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Harvard East Asian Monographs, 2008), sociology professor Jonathan Reider illustrates King’s awesome character while reminding us of his humanity.
Event Information
When
Monday, April 07, 2008
Where
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Directions
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On April 7, Brookings hosted an event featuring Professor Rieder to discuss his book. The discussion was part of the “Governing Ideas” series, moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow William A. Galston. The series, hosted by Governance Studies at Brookings, is intended to broaden the discussion of governance issues through forums on timely and relevant books on history, culture, legal norms and practices, values and religion.
After the program, Professor Rieder took audience questions.
Transcript
JONATHAN RIEDER: So I think if we leave King up on the pedestal, he gives us solace that we’ve done our work. “Oh, there was this bad time before, but freedom -- now we have freedom,” and it becomes an instrument of smug self-congratulation. And it does a disservice to the man and, I think, a disservice to the vision of the best in American society.
The notion of a perfectible union suggests that democracy is a process and ideal. We’re never celebrating a finished effort -- "Oh, we are perfect" -- it’s a notion that we can always perfect our union by looking at suffering and inequality and injustice. So if we leave King up there on the pedestal in the way I intended, then King is a kind of nice, feel-good historical figure who has no relevance, and doesn’t instruct us. . .I think it’s important because I think we underestimate the importance of King if we make him a convenient kind of self-congratulatory figure. Because there’s a lot of work to be done.
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Participants
Featured Speaker
Jonathan Rieder
Professor of Sociology, Barnard College