From Booklist
This carefully crafted and thoroughly documented introduction to the theology of Martin Luther King Jr. is particularly useful because it encounters King in the context of a theological community that accurately reflects King's theological roots and his theological legacy. That it begins with an acknowledgment of the place of King's theological reflection in the black church is an important affirmation of the social and practical character of his theology. That it continues with a conversation among academic theologians who are also engaged in the practice of the black church is an important affirmation of the vision supported by King that the Christian theologian is always accountable to the Christian community. That it ends with "womanist" theology is an important affirmation of the social and political trajectory of King's theology. It addresses a question that King himself posed, cognizant of its political as well as its theological dimensions: "Where do we go from here?" Erskine's work is more than a readily accessible account of King's theology; it is an introduction and an invitation to the lively theological discourse at the heart of the unfinished struggle in which King participated--and it is an invitation to the struggle itself. Steve Schroeder

ANNOTATION

There have been numerous studies on the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr., yet interpreters of Dr. King have not substantially analyzed his enormous contributions as a theologian. This book fills that gap by presenting a thoroughly researched and highly accessible investigation into the major influences on Dr. King's theology.

FROM THE PUBLISHER