"If there is one book Martin Luther King, Jr. has written that people consistently tell me has changed their lives, it is Strength to Love."

So wrote Coretta Scott King. "I believe it is because this book best explains the central element of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence," she continued. "His belief in a divine, loving presence that binds all life." It is impossible to separate King's religious views from his views on societal change, which makes this a timely read when religious discussion is often left out of the public square.

Strength to Love is more than a blueprint, it is a template for personal authenticity in a time when social and economic change depend on personal integrity. The insight, luminously conveyed in this classic text hints at a personal transformation at the root of social justice. Dr. King states, "By reaching into and beyond ourselves and tapping the transcendent moral ethic of love, we shall overcome these evils."

In these short meditative and sermonic pieces, some of them composed in jails and all of them crafted during the tumultuous years of the civil rights struggle, Dr. King articulated and espoused in a deeply personal compelling way his commitment to justice and to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual conversion that makes his work as much a blueprint today for Christian discipleship as it was then.

Individual readers, as well as church groups and students will find in this work a challenging yet energizing vision of God and redemptive love.