Tonight's guests are Tavis Smiley on The Daily Show and Lonn Taylor on The Colbert Report.
Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, political commentator and author. His latest book is Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year
Martin Luther King, Jr. died in one of the most shocking assassinations the world has known, but little is remembered about the life he led in his final year. New York Times bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley recounts the final 365 days of King's life, revealing the minister's trials and tribulations -- denunciations by the press, rejection from the president, dismissal by the country's black middle class and militants, assaults on his character, ideology, and political tactics, to name a few -- all of which he had to rise above in order to lead and address the racism, poverty, and militarism that threatened to destroy our democracy.
Smiley's DEATH OF A KING paints a portrait of a leader and visionary in a narrative different from all that have come before. Here is an exceptional glimpse into King's life -- one that adds both nuance and gravitas to his legacy as an American hero.
…So if you think you know Dr. King and you don’t know what happened to him in the last year, then you really don’t know Martin, because, to your question, Juan, what happens is, when he comes out against that war and starts talking, Amy, about a Poor People’s Campaign—as long as Martin was talking about civil rights, he was OK. "But, Negro, we didn’t give you license to talk about foreign policy. We didn’t give you license to talk about federal budget priorities." And Martin was saying that war is the enemy of the poor, and that the bombs that you’re dropping in Vietnam are landing in the ghettos and barrios of American cities. And for saying that, for being so vocal about that, what happens, Juan? The White House turns on him. He’s worked with Lyndon Johnson to get the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act passed. But now Johnson is after him. So the White House turns on him, number one. The media turns on him. When you read—you all know this stuff; I feel like I’m telling you stuff you already know—but when you read what The New York—almost 50 years after his death, you read what The New York—the liberal New York Times said about him, what the liberal Washington Post said about him, what Time magazine said about him, it’s embarrassing to read what they said about Martin when he came out against the war in Vietnam all these years later. So the media turns on him. First the White House, then the media. And I might add, the black media turned on Martin King. And then white America turned on him.
What Would Dr. King Do? As U.S. Moves to Bomb Syria, Tavis Smiley on MLK’s Antiwar Legacy
Democracy Now also has the first chapter available
here
It should be a good interview and very timely given the protests in Ferguson and the US spending money on yet another war.
Lonn Taylor is the co-author of The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon as well as the historian for the Smithsonian's Star-Spangled Banner Preservation Project. He retired from the Smithsonian Institution in 2002 and is the author of the Marfa Big Bend Sentinel's column "The Rambling Boy," from which he created his book Texas, My Texas: Musings of The Rambling Boy.
In a collection of essays about Texas gathered from his West Texas newspaper column, Lonn Taylor traverses the very best of Texas geography, Texas history, and Texas personalities. In a state so famous for its pride, Taylor manages to write a very honest, witty, and wise book about Texas past and Texas present. Texas, My Texas: Musings of the Rambling Boy is a story of legacies, of men and women, times, and places that have made this state what it is today. From a history of Taylor’s hometown, Fort Davis, to stories about the first man wounded in the Texas Revolution, (who was an African American), to accounts of outlaw Sam Bass and an explanation of Hill Country Christmases, Taylor has searched every corner of the state for untold histories.Taylor’s background as a former curator at the Smithsonian National Museum becomes apparent in his attention to detail: Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, artists, architects, criminals, the founder of Neiman Marcus, and the famous horned frog “Old Rip” all make appearances as quintessential Texans.
Texas, My Texas: Musings of the Rambling Boy
More than just the tale of one flag and one song, The Star-Spangled Banner is the story of how Americans—often in times of crisis—have expressed their patriotism and defined their identity through the "broad stripes and bright stars" of our preeminent national symbol, a tradition that still thrives today. The original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key "by the dawn's early light" has been cared for by the Smithsonian since 1907. The dramatic story of this flag—and of the Smithsonian's effort to save it for posterity—are told here in this lavishly illustrated book that also explores the broader meaning of the flag in American life.
The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon
He sounds like guest right up Colbert's alley and should be an entertaining guest.
Next Week's Daily Show guests have not been released yet, but we will have all new episodes.