Dexter Scott King

A beautiful collectible edition celebrating the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legendary speech at the March on Washington, with forewords and an afterword by Martin Luther King III, Dr. Bernice A. King, and Dexter Scott King. This is part of Dr. King’s archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before thousands of Americans who had gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. in the name of civil rights. Including the immortal words, “I have a dream,” Dr. King’s keynote speech would energize a movement and change the course of history. With references to the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution, Shakespeare, and the Bible, Dr. King’s March on Washington address has long been hailed as one of the greatest pieces of writing and oration in history. Profound and deeply moving, it is as relevant today as it was sixty years earlier. This beautifully designed edition presents Dr. King’s speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.

Dexter King was just 7 when an assassin took his father's life. The bond between father and son was a close one and for years afterwards Dexter was haunted by a memory of himself and his dad riding their bikes through Atlanta's streets and by his father's laugh as he romped with his family. Dexter tried to find courage in his father's example of selfless heroism but as his shattered childhood ripened into adolescence the weight of 'the King legacy' pressed down more heavily. Kept at arms-length by schoolchildren unsure what to make of the son of a secular saint, afflicted with undiagnosed ADD and shell-shocked further by the murder of his grandmother, Dexter stumbled warily into adulthood. Ironically the wall that kept him from potential friends and girlfriends was sometimes a comfort - in distancing himself from others he lessened the chances of further loss. Only in his early thirties did he confront 'the legacy' head-on and when he did he discovered what his father was trying to tell him - and us - about what really matters.