“In the process of canonizing King, we’ve defanged him, replacing his complicated politics and philosophy with catchphrases that suit one ideology or another. We’ve heard the recording of his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech so many times we don’t really hear it anymore; we no longer register its cry for America to recognize the ‘unspeakable horrors of police brutality’ or its petition for economic reparations. We don’t appreciate that King was making demands, not wishes.”

While the memorialization of King in American society is undoubtedly a good thing, Eig says, it becomes more difficult to capture the full humanity of someone who has become a myth. Also, in his absence, it is easier to sanitize his message so that he can please everyone. This sanitization obscures the radical and deeply polarizing figure that he was. It is fine to admire him, but he should still be challenging us.

“Jim King—born the year before the abolition of chattel slavery—personified the crushing frustrations of Black life in the South. He never learned to read or write. He never voted. He never owned property. Instead, he lived in a perpetuate state of debt to the white men for whim he farmed. He grew lean, edgy, and angry. America hadn’t given Jim King much, and then, bit by bit, it took away what little had managed to accumulate, leaving frustration, travail, and rage.”

Reconstruction is widely considered one of the greatest failures in American history. The promise of emancipation and political rights quickly soured into a reality of economic exploitation and rampant cruelty. As Eig notes, this accumulation of indignities inflicted enormous psychological costs on countless Black Americans, which helps to explain why King’s message would center on the restoration of human dignity.

“Life is what we make it by how we do our work. The hardest work in the world is the best work if we do it with dedication and passion for the cause. Learn to like the best things. Learn to handle life’s difficulties with kindness and courage. Learn to do good work well, with the goal of improving the world.”

The message of King’s first-ever sermon was not exactly original (he almost certainly lifted it from another sermon) but the occasion proved an early test of the 18-year-old’s delivery style and themes. The idea of maintaining a constant internal disposition no matter what one endures from the outside world would prove vital in campaigns of nonviolent resistance.