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King Returns to Washington

Explorations of Memory, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jefferson Walker

    1. Assistant Professor of Communication, Louisiana Tech University, USA

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict (PSCHC)

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction

    • Jefferson Walker
    Pages 1-13

  3. “Building the Dream”: The Making of the King Memorial

    • Jefferson Walker
    Pages 14-33

  4. The Rhetorical Form and Force of the King Memorial

    • Jefferson Walker
    Pages 34-58

  5. Interpretation, Politicization, and Institutionalization: A Rhetorical Analysis of the King Memorial’s Dedication Ceremony

    • Jefferson Walker
    Pages 59-78

  6. Conclusion

    • Jefferson Walker
    Pages 79-92

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 93-95
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Keywords

About this book

Exploring the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial (King Memorial) in Washington, DC through a multi-faceted rhetorical analysis of the site's visual and textual components, Jefferson Walker reveals multiple critical, popular, privileged, and vernacular interpretations of the site and Dr. Martin Luther King's memory. Walker argues that the King Memorial and its related texts help to universalize and institutionalize King's ethos - creating a contentious rhetorical battleground where various people and organizations contest the "ownership" and use of King's memory. Walker uses these analyses to uncover how the site contributes to the public memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

“King Returns to Washington, Jefferson Walker brings new energy and a fresh perspective to both the disciplinary study of the rhetoric of public memory and the broader study of the legacy of the civil rights era. King Returns to Washington offers a compact yet detailed account of the 27-year-long process from inception to dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2011.” (Jennifer Biedendorf, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Vol. 21 (4), 2018)

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Authors and Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor of Communication, Louisiana Tech University, USA

    Jefferson Walker

About the author

Jefferson Walker is Assistant Professor of Communication at Louisiana Tech University, USA. His research and teaching interests are in public memory, political communication, and the rhetoric of social movements. His work has been published in Alabama Review and the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric. He earned his PhD in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Alabama, USA.

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