58 BECOMING KING cial hour of our world’s history.” The challenges of war and the anxieties of the modern industrialized world had led many to turn to the church. To be ready for those seeking direction and hope in a time of uncer- tainty, King prescribed an agenda of moral uplift, calling his parishioners to “lead men and women of a decadent generation to the high mountain of peace and salvation.” He also evidenced a self-effacing quality, claim- ing he was neither a “great preacher” nor a “profound scholar” and came with “nothing so special to offer.” Nevertheless, he closed the address with confidence: “I come with a feeling that I’ve been called to preach and to lead God’s people.” Just as Jesus had began his public ministry as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, King called upon the words of Isaiah 61 to conclude his address: “I have felt with Jesus that the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to set at liberty them that are bruised.” King’s first few sermons and acceptance address reveal the Gospel he would preach at Dexter. He pro- claimed an optimistic message of hope rooted in the power of God that ought to inspire people to boldly challenge injustice and tirelessly serve 9 those in greatest need. King came to Montgomery during a time of social change and po- larization on both the local and national scene. One day after King’s ac- ceptance address, city police added African American officers to the force for the first time. The proposal had been considered for over a year, and the impetus for the policy came out of a political deal brokered by E. D. Nixon and Montgomery public safety commissioner Dave Birmingham prior to his 1953 election. Birmingham, whose appeal was primarily to the newer, white working-class citizens of Montgomery, recognized the need to court the black vote in his election against his old-guard oppo- nent. Nixon agreed he would deliver the African American vote for Bir- mingham if the city commission candidate promised to hire black police officers. True to his word, a few weeks after the election, Birmingham 10 brought the issue before the city commissioners for the first time. In December 1953, following a meeting with black leaders and May- or Gayle, Birmingham explained the delay in securing African Ameri- can officers: “We’ve been talking about the idea in Montgomery for two years, but the Grand Jury recommended the project only about six or