King thought he understood the white Southerner, having been born and reared in Georgia and trained a theologian.

King consciously steered away from legal claims and instead relied on civil disobedience.

In high school, I discovered myself. I was interested in race relations and the legal profession. I read about Lincoln and that he believed the law to be the most difficult of professions.

New Orleans may well have been the most liberal Deep South city in 1954 because of its large Creole population, the influence of the French, and its cosmopolitan atmosphere.

When Thurgood Marshall became a lawyer, race relations in the United States were particularly bad.

The legal difference between the sit-ins and the Freedom Riders was significant.