Burial for a King: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Funeral and the Week that Transformed Atlanta and Rocked the NationIn the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, riots broke out in 110 cities across the country. For five days, Atlanta braced for chaos while preparing to host King’s funeral. An unlikely alliance of former student radicals, the middle-aged patrician mayor, the no-nonsense police chief, black ministers, white churchgoers, Atlanta’s business leaders, King’s grieving family members, and his stunned SCLC colleagues worked to keep Atlanta safe, honor a murdered hero, and host the tens of thousands who came to pay tribute. On April 9, 1968, 150,000 mourners took part in a daylong series of rituals honoring King—the largest funeral staged for a private U.S. citizen. King’s funeral was a dramatic event that took place against a national backdrop of war protests and presidential politics in a still-segregationist South, where Georgia’s governor surrounded the state capitol with troops and refused to lower the flag in acknowledgment of King’s death. Award-winning journalist Rebecca Burns delivers a riveting account of this landmark week and chronicles the convergence of politicians, celebrities, militants, and ordinary people who mourned in a peaceful Atlanta while other cities burned. Drawing upon copious research and dozens of interviews— from staffers at the White House who dealt with the threat of violence to members of King’s family and inner circle—Burns brings this dramatic story to life in vivid scenes that sweep readers from the mayor’s office to the White House to Coretta Scott King’s bedroom. Compelling and original, Burial for a King captures a defining moment in America’s history. It encapsulates King’s legacy, America’s shifting attitude toward race, and the emergence of Atlanta as a new kind of Southern city. |
Contents
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
Chapter3 Saturday April 6 1968 | 85 |
Palm Sunday April 7 1968 | 103 |
Monday April 8 1968 | 118 |
Tuesday April 9 1968 | 135 |
Wednesday April 10 1968 | 175 |
Epilogue January 15 1969 | 186 |
Other editions - View all
Burial for a King: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Funeral and the Week that ... Rebecca Burns No preview available - 2011 |
Burial for a King: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Funeral and the Week that ... Rebecca Burns No preview available - 2013 |
Burial for a King: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Funeral and the Week that ... Rebecca Burns No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
airport American Andrew Young April 9 asked assassination Atlanta University Center Auburn Avenue Bernard LaFayette called capitol Charles Black Chicago City Hall city’s civil rights Coretta Scott King crowd Daddy King downtown Ebenezer Baptist Church Emory University February folder friends Georgia going governor Harry Belafonte head Herbert Jenkins Ibid Johnson Kathryn Kathryn Johnson Kennedy Khesanh Kilgo King family King funeral King home King’s death later leaders Lester Maddox letter Lonnie King looked Luther King Jr Lyndon Mangham MARBL Martin Luther King Massell Mayor Ivan Allen memo memorial Memphis Morehouse morning mules National Negro nonviolence photographer Poor People’s Campaign president president’s racial Ralph Abernathy Ramsey Clark reporters rest of dialogue riots Robert Ron English scene SCLC SNCC staff Stokely Carmichael Street talked Telephone interview television tion told Vietnam walked Washington watched White House Williams wrote Xernona Clayton