Independent news has never been so important.

Did you know that you can get Democracy Now! delivered to your inbox every day? Sign up for our Daily News Digest today! Don't worry, we'll never share or sell your information.

READ: “Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year” by Tavis Smiley

Web ExclusiveSeptember 10, 2014

Watch Tavis Smiley on Democracy Now! Thursday, and read the introduction and first chapter of his new book, Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year. In it, he examines the personal struggles of Martin Luther King Jr. during his final year, when he faced rejection by the press, the president, and much of the country’s black middle class and militants, after he spoke out against the Vietnam War.

Tavis Smiley is a TV, radio broadcaster, philanthropist and New York Times bestselling author. He hosts the TV show “Tavis Smiley” on PBS and two radio shows: “The Tavis Smiley Show” and “Smiley & West,” which he hosts with Cornel West. Watch all of his interviews on Democracy Now!

Excerpted from “Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year” by Tavis Smiley. Copyright © 2014 by Tavis Smiley. Used by permission of Little, Brown and Company. All rights reserved.

Related Story

StoryJan 24, 2022Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Hailed by MLK as “Apostle of Peace & Nonviolence,” Dies at 95
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top