Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year
By: Tavis Smiley, David Ritz / Narrated By: Tavis Smiley
Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
Fraught narration sometimes mars a good account
Let me just say that Tavis Smiley did a fine job with research and writing, very open, very honest. Too bad his narration of his own work made everything sound like a BBC anchorman shouting on air about the Blitz. Everything! Is! So Serious! You just HAVE to have it shouted to you. All the drama added to the text really takes away from the drama inherent within. I know things were getting fraught for the Reverend; I don’t neeeeeed all the strident bellowing.
Death of a King is an account of not only the last year, but of actions Dr. King took all along the way. It shows you how we got to that fateful day in April of ‘68, a time the man felt, somehow, would end badly for him. That he was okay with that, shows the man’s courage and dedication. He felt a group of workers were being forgotten, were being denied justice and even basic safe working conditions. He would speak up for them no matter what, even as those around him wanted him to back off.
It’s a rather tragic tale. The audiobook shows how the idealism of Dr. King’s early works morphed into a splintering of groups, especially as he wished to address Vietnam as a pacifist. He was jeered and forgotten by moderate whites; he was jeered and forgotten by those who no longer wished to be considered Negro but Black instead. Prostitutes called him an Uncle Tom, and what did the man do? He set time aside to meet with them, to listen to the voices of those who lived lives on the street, and he used the time to tell them of his visions for the future, of where he was coming from. Maybe he didn’t sway them, but given time, he at least earned their respect.
Alas, MLK didn’t have a lot of time and the stress took its toll on him. His final year was punctuated with arguments, with seeking peace from alcohol consumption, with the occasional uncontrolled outburst. He was the first to admit that he was a human being, a sinner like anyone. And he suffered the gravest and darkest depression even as he was bringing light to others in his speeches. That last year of his was full of the angst around him and the hope within him.
Death of a King is a fine listen for this or any MLK Day—it’s a fine testament to his courage and his idealism, to his strength to carry on even as he suffered setbacks and indignities. It’s about rising above even when you feel you’re falling behind.
Just don’t let the narration deter you…!
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