This volume examines both the speeches and writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., highlighting a variety of interpretive approaches, including rhetorical analysis, close reading, and explorations setting King’s work in social, cultural, historical, and political contexts. Critical analyses offer an overview of important previous work on King’s writings and speeches while also making new contributions to the study of his written and spoken works. Race, class, and gender are closely examined, along with a discussion of the skill of King’s writing.