In this beautifully written book, 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.

Gary S. Selby

Preface

Introduction

1 Rhetoric and Social Movements

2 Let My People Go: The Exodus in African American Cultural History

3 The Red Sea Has Opened: King's "Death of Evil on the Seashore" Sermon

4 Broken Aloose from Egypt: The Exodus in King's Montgomery Bus Boycott Rhetoric

5 Reaching Out for Canaan: King's "Birth of a New Nation" Sermon

6 I've Been to the Mountaintop: King as the Movement's Moses

7 Keep the Movement Moving: The Birmingham Protest

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index