Analysis of Pillar of Fire Book by Taylor Branch - Essay Example

Lecturer Pillar of Fire by Taylor Branch Introduction Pillar of Fire is a book ed by Taylor Branch in the year 1999. It is the second volume of Taylor’s three-volume magisterial histories of America; during the times of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Taylor Branch illustrates the civil rights period at its zenith. The first volume called Parting the Waters emerged as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History.

Pillar of Fire explores the civil upheavals between the years 1960 and 1965. Mississippi Freedom Summer, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and LBJ’s Great Society; the book provides a clear portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. on how he was hunted by hatred, factionalism, and blackmail (Taylor 271). Taylor Branch's relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that Taylor has been working on his biography for many years.

His book also chronicles the history of the civil rights movement, which was led by Dr. King. Literature Review explains the life and times of Dr. King, as like recounting a story of how America become a modern society, approximately 50 years ago after the start of the century. The century’s destiny was to ensure that civil equity announced in 1776 will be a reality. The novel begins and ends with violence; demonstrations occur in Fla, Selma, and St. Augustine; President Kennedy is assassinated and the United States of America participates deeply in Vietnam, and Malcolm X disagreed with the Islam nation, which made him face assassination, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The president thereafter began serious lobbying for the equally important 1965 Voting Rights.

The author gives Dr. King epic treatment in the book, illustrating that he was a hero. During King’s life; black Americans finished their movement from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. 96% of black Americans voted for Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 presidential elections. However, the quasi-feudal political structure in the south gave undue influence to the racist political leaders whose main purpose was to destroy King’s goals. Presidents Johnson’s support of the civil right legislations dominates this book.

King’s leadership faced a major obstacle of terror through racism. The author also explains in detail the violence that killed James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Lemuel Penn who found themselves in the wrong place at the correct time (Taylor 285). The non-violent philosophy of Dr. King. King illustrated six procedures of nonviolent social change. The first step involves information gathering; proper research must be conducted to understand and articulate issues or injustices facing an individual or community.

The second step is education; which entails informing all community stakeholders on an issue and your position on it. The third step involves personal commitment; which illustrates affirming faith in the methods and philosophy of nonviolence.