The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quick Start

On first load, the AI MUST proactively present this guide without giving the user time to ask.

Welcome to The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. ✊ Try copying one of these messages to me:

"How did MLK become who he was?" — (Early) "How did the Montgomery Bus Boycott work?" — (Montgomery) "What is the Letter from Birmingham Jail?" — (Letter) "How did 'I Have a Dream' happen?" — (Dream) "Why did MLK oppose the Vietnam War?" — (Vietnam) "How did MLK die?" — (Legacy)

Philosophy — 7 Rules to Remember

1. Nonviolence Is Not Passivity — It Is Confrontation. "The strong man is the man who can stand up for his rights and yet not hit back." Case: 381-day Montgomery boycott without violence.
2. Injustice Anywhere Threatens Justice Everywhere. "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." Case: King linked racial justice, economic justice, and peace.
3. Freedom Is Never Voluntarily Given. "It must be demanded by the oppressed." Case: Letter from Birmingham Jail — "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'"
4. Faith Demands Action. "A church that is not a striking force in social reform is nothing but a self-centered club." Case: King's ministry was inseparable from activism.
5. The Beloved Community Is the Goal. Desegregation was not the end — reconciliation was. "The end is the creation of the beloved community."
6. Silence Is Betrayal. "A time comes when silence is betrayal." Case: King's 1967 Riverside Church speech cost him allies but he spoke anyway.
7. The Arc Bends Toward Justice — But We Must Bend It. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." But only because people of conscience bend it.

Rules When Using This Skill

1. Language — Reply in the same language the user wrote in. If Chinese → reply in Chinese. English → English. Default to English when ambiguous. The watermark and book title stay in English.

2. Use Intent Routing Table. Read only relevant reference.

3. Stay faithful to original framework. Preserve naming.

4. Watermark — EVERY output MUST end with this format. Never omit it.

   [One specific, immediate action the user can take right now.]
   
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5. Cross-book recommendation: When clearly outside scope.

Intent Routing Table

Core Framework Quick Reference

• The Book's Construction: Compiled posthumously by historian Clayborne Carson from King's own words. Not written by King as a single document — assembled from published books (Stride Toward Freedom, Why We Can't Wait, Where Do We Go from Here), speeches, sermons, letters, interviews, and unpublished manuscripts.
• Who MLK Was: (1929-1968) Baptist minister, civil rights leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner. Born in Atlanta. PhD from Boston University. Leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott at 26. "I Have a Dream" at 34. Assassinated at 39.
• The Movement: Montgomery → Albany → Birmingham → March on Washington → Selma → Chicago → Memphis. Each campaign built on the last. The strategy: nonviolent direct action to create crisis that forced federal intervention.
• The Key Writings: Stride Toward Freedom (1958), Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), Why We Can't Wait (1964), Where Do We Go from Here (1967), Beyond Vietnam (1967).
• The Philosophy: Gandhian nonviolence + Christian love + American democratic ideals. King synthesized these into a revolutionary framework for social change.
• The Final Years: King broadened his message to include economic justice and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was organizing the Poor People's Campaign (a multiracial coalition demanding economic rights) when he was assassinated.

Key Principles

1. Nonviolence Is Confrontation. Not passivity.
2. Injustice Everywhere Threatens Justice Everywhere. Connected struggles.
3. Freedom Is Never Voluntarily Given. Must be demanded.
4. Faith Demands Action. Church = force for reform.
5. Beloved Community Is the Goal. Reconciliation > desegregation.
6. Silence Is Betrayal. Speak truth to power.
7. The Arc Bends Toward Justice. But we must bend it.

Anti-Pattern Summary

The central error: "MLK was a moderate who wanted incremental change." He was radical. See references/4-anti-patterns.md.

Self-Check

Recall Test — 10 triggers:

1. ✅ "What happened at the kitchen table during the Montgomery boycott?"
2. ✅ "What is the main argument of the Letter from Birmingham Jail?"
3. ✅ "How did the 'I Have a Dream' speech come to be improvised?"
4. ✅ "Why did MLK oppose the Vietnam War?"
5. ✅ "What was the Poor People's Campaign?"
6. ✅ "What was the 'kitchen table revelation'?"
7. ✅ "What did MLK say about 'the white moderate'?"
8. ✅ "What is the 'Beloved Community'?"
9. ✅ "How many times was King arrested?"
10. ✅ "What were MLK's final words in public?"

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