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Allusions to classical literature are not the most frequent in the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968): allusions to the Bible are. King learned from his father, Martin Luther [Michael] King, Sr. [1897-1984]) and maternal grandfather, Adam Daniel Williams [1863-1931], how to employ vivid tales and lively language from the Bible and a variety of other sources. For example, he employed imagery drawn from the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the journey to the Promised Land, prophecies from the Old Testament, Jesus' admonition to love one's enemies in the Sermon on the Mount, and Paul's incarceration in Rome for his appeal to the emperor, and other Biblical sources in order to portray the struggle for civil rights again and again in his books, essays, and public addresses. In this paper I will show that the most prominent allusions from classical literature are to the civil disobedience of Socrates as portrayed by Plato and their effect is to strengthen the appeal of his message in the civil rights movement and reach a broadly educated (and presumably) white audience.'
In terms of his allusive practice, it is well known that when King quoted, he did not always give his sources. Keith Miller has emphasized the tradition of black folk preaching going back even to the era of slavery, as the most significant influence on King's use of language, handed on down to him by his grandfather, father, and home church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, in Atlanta.2 Such preachers considered the tropes and figures of this language as common property and the expression of one's ideas was not proprietary. They freely borrowed words, phrases, and ideas from others without acknowledging sources. The practice of sharing well-expressed ideas carried over into King's academic writings, where his failure to cite sources fully has been seen to constitute plagiarism.' King adapted, paraphrased, and quoted from the work of others without proper annotation in his student papers and dissertation. Nevertheless, the shared wisdom of the tradition of the old church, which influenced King throughout his academic career, can be understood as the basis for this practice.
Miller's judgment is certainly correct, but King was an educated man-he received the Ph.D. degree in Theology from Boston University in 1955-and incorporated in...