Chapter 11, The Poor People's Campaign and Memphis, 1967-1968 Summary and Analysis

All appeals exhausted, King was compelled to serve his five-day sentence in his Birmingham conviction for leading the Good Friday march. King, already exhausted and still experiencing bouts of depression, suffered a virus while imprisoned and was released early in the city's attempt to avoid demonstrations outside the jail. King flew to Cleveland to support a black candidate for mayor and was deeply disappointed that the candidate did not acknowledge his work when he won. King then turned his attention to a second March on Washington, dubbed the Poor People's Campaign, which would include a large march, call-ins to the White House switchboard, and protests at local hospitals on behalf of those in need of medical care.

As the second phase of the civil rights movement, King...