Prologue 5    the leading organizations pushing for social change in the South was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Recent studies have explored in greater depth the way religion, theology, and the church helped inspire and define the struggle. By examining the earliest sermons and religious writings of King before, during, and after the boycott, this work high- lights the significant and sustained theological underpinnings that help explain why King had the influence and following that he did. King’s optimistic, hope-filled message rooted in the power of God inspired men and women to remain in and sacrifice for the struggle. His consistent emphasis on the love ethic found in the life and teachings of Jesus pro- vided the theological undergirding for the strategy of nonviolence. King’s growing faith in God also fueled his conviction that the civil rights move- ment could become a vehicle for redemption in Montgomery, the South, 8 and throughout the nation. As a Baptist minister, King delivered sermons that provide an excel- lent window into his thought and development as a leader. Through the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project, hundreds of King’s early homi- letic manuscripts, outlines, and recorded sermons are now available to researchers through the publication of their latest volume. These reli- gious writings demonstrate more clearly the theological commitments King brought to Montgomery. King’s oratorical skills coupled with a pas- sionate commitment to the power of love and the centrality of the social gospel allowed him to be the ideal spokesperson and leader for the Mont- gomery movement. Years before the boycott, King was already regularly addressing issues of race, segregation, peace, and economic injustice from the pulpit. The core of King’s message stayed consistent throughout his 9 adult life. By 1954, King and Montgomery were ready for each other. Montgomery demonstrates that King’s sermons and speeches be- came most poignant when accompanied by direct action, something he was willing to participate in, but not something he ever initiated. Taylor Branch, in his three-part series on King’s public career, concludes that King’s inclination was to inspire social change through oratory. Following the bus boycott, he was unsure where the movement should go next, and “under these conditions, oratory grew upon him like a narcotic.” Unable to effectively transfer the model of the bus boycott to address other lo- cal challenges or broader regional injustice, King replaced nonviolent di-