What Would Martin Say?

“I was privy to his innermost thoughts,” Jones, draft speech writer and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., assures us in this bold yet presumptuous endeavor to reveal “what [King] would have to say, and what he would advise, on issues of the day.” Generally speaking, King, as channeled by Jones, would be dismayed and—astonishingly—fiercely conservative. According to Jones, King would now oppose affirmative action (“its time and usefulness have come and gone”) and illegal immigration (“the moral brazenness of those without the legal right to be here who demand that Americans treat them as though they were decorated soldiers or fighters for constitutional rights”). A complicated King emerges from Jones's portrait—not the familiar pacifist but a likely supporter of the Iraq War who in Jones's words might believe that “military action is an unavoidable option that even those who are otherwise committed to non-violence must be prepared to consider now in order to save many more lives later.” With characteristic pugnacity, Jones excoriates black leaders who “pursue policies that pimp the best interests of black people” and accuses the FBI of masterminding King's assassination. The notion of acting as a medium for the departed King is provocative, but Jones is a smooth manager of feisty prose. What's here is a sort of political parlor game and, like a good parlor game, it will make for lively conversation. (Apr.)