Martin Luther King Jr. 'Knew That His Own Government Was Out to Destroy Him.' Here's What Helped Him Persevere

Mar. 15, 2025

Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.Photo:Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty

Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty

Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t originally set out to become a civil rights activist, according to his biographer.On a Jan. 3 episode of NPR’sBook of the Daypodcast, Jonathan Eig, author of the biographyKing: A Life, spoke about the late leader, and noted that he didn’t have plans to become one when he joined the Montgomery Bus boycott in 1965.“This is one of the miraculous moments in American history where the right person happens to to be in the right place at the right time,” Eig said. “Martin Luther King, Jr. was not looking to become a leader. He was looking to get his church in shape and perhaps move on to a bigger church or to a job as a college professor. But when the Montgomery bus boycott began, they were looking for somebody who could serve as the spokesman.”

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“He wasn’t even asked to become the president yet," the author added. “He was just asked to be the spokesman because he hadn’t been around long enough to make enemies, so people thought he might be able to unite the community, and they already knew that he was a terrific speaker.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1966.Getty Images

Getty Images

“So King steps up to the podium at Holt Street Baptist Church on Dec. 5, 1955 and gives this incredible speech, and it’s the first time that most people in Montgomery have heard him. And suddenly, he inspires them in a way that is just profound. They’re ready to walk. They’re ready to march.”Despite the passion of his followers, Eig noted that King felt the pressures of the job immensely, and that it even took a toll on his mental health.

“He was hospitalized for depression numerous times, and he suffered. He knew that his own government was out to destroy him,” Eig said. “They were tapping his phones. They were listening to his conversations in hotel rooms. He still did the work, and he still doubled down. He never backed off of his convictions. He stuck to what he believed in and was willing to risk everything for it.”Eig also credited King’s faith as helping to guide him throughout his career.“He said it over and over again that God called on him to do this, that called on all of us to live up to the words of the teachings in the Bible that we’re here to serve God,” the author says.

Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington in 1963.Hulton Archive/Getty

Hulton Archive/Getty

On the podcast, the author noted that despite King’s prominent role in the civil rights movement, he preferred to avoid confrontation when he could.

“One of the interesting things about King is that he’s a protest leader who really does not like conflict,” Eig said. “He is always going out of his way to avoid conflict with people who are his elders, who seem to be his superiors in some ways, people like Roy Wilkins at the NAACP or A. Philip Randolph, and that plays out too when he becomes a negotiator with presidents, and he really doesn’t like conflict.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.King Jr.’s son,Martin Luther King III, also reflected on his father’s legacy in the book,What Is My Legacy?: Realizing a New Dream of Connection, Love and Fulfillment,published on Jan. 14 and written with his wife Arndrea Waters King, and writers Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger.

That book, in conjunction with theRealize the Dreamcampaign, is intended to start a conversation about how individuals can refocus their own stories toward collective change. It includes never-been-told stories from the King family, as well as wisdom from His Holiness the Dalai Lama,Jay Shetty,Julia Roberts,Yara Shahidi, Rev. Al Sharpton andSanjay Gupta, among others.

“It’s an extraordinary road map for finding genuine connection, bringing us closer to Dr. King’s dream of a Beloved Community,” the synopsis says.

source: people.com