Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, death, and death by suicide.

Greene asserts that people often struggle to find direction in life and tells the reader to find their purpose in life and work toward realizing it. He then tells the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. going to Boston University to study theology and become a preacher, where he also become passionate about social progress. He felt called to preach in Montgomery, Alabama, which his father and his wife Coretta warned him against, knowing about the racist aggression and violence there. 

King became active in the Montgomery Bus Boycott started by Rosa Parks, but afterward, he received racist calls and became unsure of whether to move forward in his leadership position in Montgomery. He prayed to God, who told him he needed to “stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth” (361). God also told him He would be with him, and King was reassured that his mission was to fight racism and segregation. His wife supported his decision, and he soon became one of the main leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. 

In his fight to end segregation in Birmingham’s public places, King knew there needed to be an event that would show the horrible nature of racism.