Martin Luther King, Jr. was not seeking to lead the social justice movement in 1950s, but when the young preacher was urged to speak in Montgomery during the bus boycott, he did. And for more than a decade, he continued to answer the call of his conscience, condemning the brutal and systemic racism waged against not only Black Americans in the South, but other oppressed people around the world, as well.

“It was not an easy life, but it was one that King felt called to lead," said biographer Jonathan Eig. “He could have quit at any time but over and over again, he doubles down, says ‘I’m in this now, and this is what God commands me to do.’” Eig was at UVA Batten recently to accept the 2024 Edwards Book Award for his new biography, “King: A Life,” given by the Rodel Institute in recognition of work that contributes to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The book also won the Pulitzer Prize this year.

“I knew this would be the most important thing I would ever write in all likelihood,” said Eig, a prolific journalist and author who also wrote a definitive biography of Muhammed Ali.

In a conversation with UVA Batten Dean Ian H. Solomon, Eig told the more than 50 students, faculty and staff at a special event at Garrett Hall about his journey over the last six years rediscovering King as an imperfect man who struggled at times with the demands of fame and his own mental health.

Watch the video here

King also had to navigate violent opposition to his message, facing several attempts on his life, 29 arrests and a campaign of FBI surveillance.

But now, almost 50 years since King’s assassination, Eig said, people have largely forgotten what the preacher’s message was about. “We’ve turned him into a non-controversial figure with a national holiday and a monument.” In the book, Eig puts it this way: “We’ve hollowed him by hallowing him.”

Eig said he set out to write an intimate portrait of King so that people better understand the man, “how radical he was, how religious, how often he failed.” King’s activism flowed from his deep faith, Eig said. “I think that’s what makes him so compelling, what makes him so rare. Not many of our so-called great leaders are inspired that much by morality.”

“It really is a gift to students of American history and leadership and to citizens who care about the meaning, practice and possibilities of democracy,” Dean Solomon said.

Eig poured over thousands of documents and unearthed new material never before incorporated into previous King biographies. He interviewed more than 200 people, many of them contemporaries of King’s. Eig said he intentionally highlighted the people around King --- particularly women (Diane Nash, Dorothy Cotton, Ella Baker and Coretta Scott King, his wife) -- who were mentors, supporters, friends and colleagues. The result is a rich, fully human story of a famous person that few people really know.

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