In a world where we continue to settle our differences with guns and bombs, many of us perceive any philosophy of nonviolence as passive, outdated, and intrinsically bound to religious beliefs. We laud one of the most famous proponents of nonviolent resistance, Martin Luther King, Jr., as an activist and orator, but seldom acknowledge him as an important intellectual.

Seeking to correct these misunderstandings, Greg Moses' powerful book at last recognizes King as one of the greatest thinkers of our time - one whose philosophy has deep, unappreciated roots and lasting consequences.

Identifying five fundamental concepts shaping King's philosophy - equality, structure, direct action, love, and justice - this book traces the development of a secular logic of nonviolence. Reviewing the works of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, activist-scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, labor leader A. Philip Randolph, mystic theologian Howard Thurman, and Nobel laureate Ralph J. Bunche, Moses argues against the popular notion that King's principles of nonviolence were imported to black America from elsewhere.

He situates these principles instead within African American intellectual history, showing how King's comprehensive and disciplined approach to liberation builds upon a rich legacy of militant struggle against oppression and offers a sturdy framework for critical activity in our complex world.