Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 10-1975 Martin Luther King, Jr. and his times: A multi-media script Robert D. Rosenkranz Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Rosenkranz, Robert D., "Martin Luther King, Jr. and his times: A multi-media script" (1975). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2409. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2406 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. I I i I l I AN ABSTH.ACT OF THE THESIS OF Robert D. Rosenkranz for the i Master of Arts in Speech Communication presented October 20, I 1975. I I Title: Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Times: A Multi- I I Media Script. I \ APPROVED BY tiEMBERS OF THE THESIS C01'1I1ITTEE: I I I \ l Kermit M. Shaf'er :perspective of Martin Luther King, Jr. a.nd his times b:y pla.cj_ng him and hts goal. of ereating the rrbeloveC. community!f 2 to the test of his environment: the feelings and behavior I \ of those people whose hearts and habits he struggled to I I change or direct. I In order to achieve this, this multi-media script, based in history, places King in contrasting settings. Act I finds King in Montgomery where with a great deal of support he wins over vocal southern segregationists in \ court. In contrast, Act II takes place in the Lawndale \ slums of Chicago where King finds sparse support and an \ 1 · elusive northern power structure. l Each scene can be described in terms of stresses I Martin Luther King, Jr. or those whose lives he touched I face: I l ACT I, SCENE 1 l As a boy Martin Ijuther King, Jr. is tC?ld by a white pla:;nnate that he's "gettin' too growd to play with niguhs." ACT I, SCEr\J"E 2 I Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks for a Christian and l non-violent protest. I ACT I, SCENE 3 AND SCENE 4 Montgomery blacks are nearly unanimously supporting the Montgomery bus boycott. I 3 I I ACT I, SCENE 5 lt I A white northern represent.a tive for the bus company is I I convinced by the white Montgomery political and religious structure that in the interest of the bus company he must stand against the boycotters. ACT I, SCENE 6 I The United States Army trains James Earl Ray in I violence. I ACT I , SCENE 7 I. I Martin Luther King, Jr. faces white political and. I theological opposition in Montgomery. I iI ACT I, SCENE 8 The home and family of Martin Luther King, Jr. is bombed. King disperses the resulting angry mob. ACT I, SCENE 9 Martin Luther· King, Sr. pleads with Coretta and I I Martin that they leave Montgomery. .: I ACT I, SCENE 10 ' I The United States Supreme Court rules bus segregation I laws in Montgomery are unconstitutional. I I 4 ACT II, SCENE 1 lI I Events indicate that Martin Luther King, Jr. faces l I an elusive _power structure in Chicago. I ACT II, SCENE 2 I· I This scene establishes that James Earl_ Ray was raised in poverty. I I ACT II , SCENE 3 I Coretta faces ghetto apathy. I I .ACT II; SCENE 4 I I City hall officially attacks some landlords who are violating building codes. Meanwhile, unofficially, it instructs its allies to attack the legality of Dr. King's trusteeship. .ACT II, SCENE 5 A Chicago court enjoins Dr. King from withholding ! rent. I I ACT II, SCENE 6 Martin faces a young ghetto black who wants ghetto problems solved now by any necessary means, violence included. Edited writings of King and edited· speeches of Malcolm X are included in this scene. I~ I 5 I ACT II, SCENE 7 \ I I I King marches non-violently. In Memphis his non-violent j march turns violent. There, James Earl Ray assassinates I I Martin Luther King, Jr. ACT II, SCENE 8 I This edited speech, ur Have A Dream," stresses Martin I Luther King's vision and hope f'or a "beloved comm.unity.'' I I I Thus Martin Luther King, Jr. and his times are viewed broadly in the contrasting environments of'. two acts, and in a variety of' stresses he f'aces or brings to the surf'ace in diverse scenes. Research material on Martin Luther King, Jr. is abundant •. Initially biographies about and books and speeches by Martin Luther King were read. Settings and characters King would face were chosen. Then more specif'ic resear~h was undertaken covering f'ilms, newspap.er and magazine arti­ cles, and dissertations. This research related to the set­ tings of' Montgomery,, Memphis, and Chicago. It also covered ! specif'ically the characters James Earl Ray, Coretta Scott I King, and Malcolm X. I Since this work is a thesis and not solely a play, extensive ref'erences are provided so that the reader may distinguish the historical basis of' the thesis f'rom the author's use of dramatic license. For easy and necessary ref'erence a page of' footnotes follows each page of script. r-· i I l l I MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. AND HIS TIMES: I I A MULTI-MEDIA SCRIPT I I I I I I by I ROBERT D. ROSENKRANZ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in SPEECH COMMUNICATION Portland State University 1975 i I \ I I TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES .AND RESE..ARGH: The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Robert D. Rosenl{ranz presented October 20, 1975. I \ \ I I Theodore G. Grove I I Kermit i I I I APPROv'"ED : I H~lley, Graduc=;te Studies a11d Research i l ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I I I wish to thank my wife Janice for sacrificing some l of her personal goals so that I might write and pursue I scholastic endeavors. Her sacrifice is a foundation of this I work. I I never had the pleasure of meeting Martin Luther King, Jr. in life. But he lives in history. I think I know him there. And yet, I sense there is more to the man than I historians and those close to him have allowed us. True, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man. But he was nearly a rose. The world will thank him for his vision of a "beloved community." Finally I thank Baha'u'llah whose teachings have cleared my vision in matters of race. A feeling for racial unity is essential to any unfettered perception of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his. times. l I I \ I TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKL\fOWLEDGl"IENTS . iii I I INTRODUCTION . 1 I I MULTI-MEDIA SCRIPT WITH REFERENCE WORK 13 I Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Times •. 13 BIBLIOGRAPHY 128 i I ~ I I I INTRODUCTION \ In the past, scholarly works have dealt with Martin \ 1 2 I Luther King, Jr. as a preacher, a non-violent strategist, I a politician,3 and a champion of the "beloved community." I I (" ... King conceived the Beloved Comm.unity in terms of an l integrated society wherein brotherhood would be an actuality I in every aspect of social life.u In 1957 in the Newsletter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference King wrote, "The ultimate aim of SCLC is to foster and create the 'beloved community' in America where brotherhood is a 11 4 reality .• ) Martin Luther King, Jr. was each of these. But he was more. For he was the composite of all of them. He was a man who struggled to construct the "beloved community" by his many talents in a competitive and sometimes unkind environment. The purpose of this thesis is to reflect historically a more complete Martin Luther King, Jr. by placing him and his goal of creating the "beloved com- muni ty11 to the test of his environment: the feelings and behavior of those people whose hearts and habits he· struggled to change or direct.5 The structure chosen to attain the purpose of this thesis is a drama rooted in research. After general research about Martin Luther King which consisted of reading most of the books he wrote6 '7,S,9 and I l 2 10 Il many of the biographies about him, the writer arrived at I I the following conclusions: I 1. A dramatic work attempting to portray the con- flicting and supporting beliefs and feelings of the person­ I alities Martin Luther King, Jr. faced would require a I minimum of eleven characters as follows: I Martin Luther King, Jr. I Coretta Scott King--a mother, wife, and supporter of \ the Negro non-violent struggle. I The Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. whose way of I 11 I life influenced the beliefs of Martin Luther King, Jr. ' A white southern reverend who as a literal inter- preter of the Bible was opposed to the Afro-American social application of the Bible. Consequently he was theologically opposed to Martin Luther King, Jr. A white southern, political, racist, opponent such as Mayor Gayle or Bull Conner. A white practical businessman more dedicated to his professional security .than to the establishment of the I ubeloved communityn through the methods of Martin Luther I.