Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership
Book

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership

Inspiration and Wisdom for Challenging Times

Donald T. Phillips
Warner Books, 2000
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Background
  • Eloquent
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

In this overview of the history of the Civil Rights movement, Donald T. Phillips presents the ideas and ideals exemplified by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to leadership. Phillips describes the techniques King used at various stages of the civil rights battle and shares his leadership counsel: listen to learn, lead by being led, awaken direct action, encourage creativity, and involve the people you are leading. Phillips demonstrates how King put these principles into practice. His well-organized book is clear, direct, and easy to read. Leaders will find its historical lessons broadly applicable.  

Summary

A good leader uses influence and persuasion to win people’s hearts.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership continues to inspire the US Civil Rights movement, which continues to build on his legacy.

After prolonged arguments, the US Founding Fathers chose not to address slavery when they signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. By 1820, enslavement was largely confined to the South. The federal government officially abolished slavery after the Civil War, but racial discrimination continued.

Segregationists developed separate schools and other facilities for whites and Blacks, and discouraged Black people from voting. Vigilante groups such as the Ku Klux Klan terrorized and killed Blacks who attempted to show leadership.

Two key events in the 1950s triggered the US Civil Rights movement and spurred King’s involvement. In 1954, the Supreme Court issued the Brown v. Board of Education decision, affirming that the idea of “separate but equal” had no place in education.

The next year, Rosa Parks, a Black woman in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, setting off the Montgomery bus boycott...

About the Author

Donald T. Phillips writes and speaks on leadership, drawing on the lessons of history. His previous books include Lincoln on Leadership and The Founding Fathers on Leadership.

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