Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (1958). Detailed description

Stride toward Freedom, King’s first book, is an account of what happened during the Montgomery bus boycott. In it, King discusses in detail the events that led up to and constituted the yearlong boycott of the city’s bus system. Even though he was only 27 when elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), King wrote Stride with the wisdom of someone much older. His discussion of the MIA and the forces in opposition to its goals was (and still is) instructive for those wanting to employ nonviolent direct action to effect social change; it was a model for future boycotts across the South. More importantly, Stride toward Freedom is an explanation of why the boycott happened.

To this end, King explains the philosophy that justified the actions in Montgomery, mixing accounts of day-to-day happenings with a description of the evolution of his own ideas regarding the practical application of pacifism. King detailed the tenets of nonviolent direct action, allowing them to be used by others seeking to change Jim Crow segregation laws. These principles were the core of King’s public actions for the rest of his life. It was in Montgomery, though, where they were first tested and witnessed by the nation. As Stride toward Freedom tells us, the first step in this approach to social change is for injustice to be thoroughly documented: The problem must be clearly established and understood.

According to King, injustice is easily identifiable, for it assaults the dignity of those it oppresses. Fundamentally evil in nature, injustice humiliates and degrades individuals. King then calls for constructive negotiation, an informed exchange between the oppressed and the oppressor, one predicated on open dialogue rather than force or coercion. In these exchanges, King calls for the parties concerned to identify “immoral behavior.” Often, however, those who perpetuate injustice are unwilling to accept change. At this point, King demands that each individual must commit himself or herself to practicing passive resistance.

Passive resistance does not, for King, mean docility. Nor does it mean doing nothing. He describes it as active intervention designed to advance justice, intervention that must always proceed out of love, never hate. Following the example of Jesus and Gandhi—his two great teachers—King believed that only by actually living a philosophy based on love could human beings realize their full potential. For King, violence and hate emanate from our base nature, one above which we must rise, responding to the call of love, and acting in the world.

This process of moving toward nonviolent action was tempered by King’s cautionary warning to potential activists about the dangers and consequences of civil disobedience: Participants must be willing to pay the price for their actions. There must be full awareness of the likely outcomes so that individuals will be prepared for whatever sacrifice is demanded of them. King’s book describes examples experienced in Montgomery at each of these stages. The names and places of those who participated are given so that the nation can see that everyday people can bring about significant social change.

For Discussion or Writing
1. What negative consequences could result from the publication of MIA specifics such as the identities of participants and their tactics? Any positive consequences?

2. After the publication of this book King was stabbed and nearly killed. Predict his response to his attacker on the basis of what is advocated in this book.

3. To understand what it was like to live under the Jim Crow laws that King and his followers fought so hard against, read Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952), an earlier work that describes both the Jim Crow South and the black flight to the North. Next, consult the following Web site and read the reviews of the novel there: http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/les- sonplans/amlit_lp_ellison.htm. With all three reviews of the novel in mind, write a well-developed essay that evaluates each review in light of Jim Crow segregation. If both Ellison and King articulate the many dehumanizing aspects of this practice, why did the American public let it continue for so long? Support everything you say with quotes from King’s speech, the novel, and these reviews.