“Stride Toward Freedom”

Released on Sept. 17, 1958, King’s book chronicles the Montgomery bus boycott. King was especially gratified that the protest — which was successful — was nonviolent and its success elevated the self-worth of Blacks far beyond Montgomery.

In his book, King explained why racial equality was an issue for all Americans, not just Blacks. He wrote: “The mere fact that we live in the United States means that we are caught in a network of inescapable mutuality. Therefore, no American can afford to be apathetic about the problem of racial justice. It is a problem that meets every man at his front door. The racial problem will be solved in America to the degree that every American considers himself personally confronted with it. Whether one lives in the heart of the Deep South or on the periphery of the North, the problem of injustice is his problem; it is his problem because it is America’s problem.”