Chapter 8: Shattered Dreams (1965-68) Summary and Analysis

Martin Luther King, Jr. lived the dream he preached. He acted as if equality under the law and the dignity of the black person were already widely recognized facts. King developed further as time progressed. He came to emphasize love as primary over justice, and so integration became his ideal as the embodiment of love. King believed that God was acting to liberate people in history. He regarded the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as great progress, but then sought to bring genuine voting rights to the black community. While Johnson stalled, King pressed on with marches, despite the killing and beating of his people. During this time, King believed in whites.

However, the Watts ghetto revolt in Los Angeles in 1965 brought Malcolm X's philosophy into practice. King was disturbed and realized that the problem of...