Stanford's Dr. Lerone Martin on the Young MLK
In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of Strong Public Schools for Students and retired Milwaukee County Court Commissioner, Lindsey Draper, speak with Dr. Lerone Martin, Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University and author of Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drawing on his new book, Dr. Martin offers a compelling look at the experiences that shaped the young Martin Luther King, Jr., from the influence of his family, the Black church, and Jim Crow Atlanta to his early encounters with racism, his education at Morehouse College, and his growing sense of purpose in the ministry. He also discusses King’s relationship with Coretta Scott, the couple’s early years in Montgomery, Alabama, and the events that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Together, these formative experiences reveal how King’s faith, character, and leadership developed long before he became one of the most influential figures of the American civil rights movement. Dr. Martin closes with a reading from Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stories of the Week: Alisha highlights a reading from NBC10 on Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” Lindsey discusses his years of experience judging the “We the People” national civics contest.
Dr. Lerone Martin is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor in Religious Studies, African & African American Studies, and The Nina C. Crocker Faculty Scholar. He also serves as the Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Prof. Martin is an award-winning author of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism and most recently, Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King, Jr. His commentary and writing have been featured on The NBC Today Show, The History Channel, PBS, C-SPAN, and NPR, as well as in The New York Times, Boston Globe, CNN.com, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently serves as an advisor on the upcoming PBS documentary series The History of Gospel Music & Preaching. He earned his B.A. from Anderson University, a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Emory University.