As Clayborne Carson has suggested, the phrase 'black freedom struggle' more fully captures the object of study than does 'civil rights movement', as it signifies that protest activities were not aimed narrowly at obtaining legal victories from the federal government but sprang from waves of liberationist struggles in black communities. Both phrases will be used here for the sake of convenience. To gain an accurate impression of Martin Luther King's contemporary impact, it is necessary to measure the man and not the icon. America has apotheosised him alongside other revered national heroes honoured with national holidays. The King that emerges...
that struck responsive chords among both blacks and whites. He liberally borrowed ideas for sermons and writings from both black and white Protestant ministers often without attribution, and his publications were produced with the helping hands of ghostwriters, which means that we have to look carefully to identify the myriad influences on his thought. But as far as this concerns his impact, it meant that he was able to appeal to a broad range of people and provide a focal point for the struggle in a way that no one else was able to do either before or after.