Overview

2018 and 2019 Washington State Book Award Finalist (Biography/Memoir)Excerpted inThe AtlanticandPoliticoTIMEMagazine One of 6 Books to Read in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death Martin Luther King Jr. was a cautious nineteen-year-old rookie preacher when he left Atlanta, Georgia, to attend divinity school up north. At Crozer Theological Seminary, King, or ""ML"" back then, immediately found himself surrounded by a white staff and white professors. Even his dorm room had once been used by wounded Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. In addition, his fellow seminarians were almost all older; some were soldiers who had fought in World War II, others pacifists who had chosen jail instead of enlisting. ML was facing challenges he'd barely dreamed of. A prankster and a late-night, chain-smoking pool player, ML soon fell in love with a white woman, all the while adjusting to life in an integrated student body and facing discrimination from locals in the surrounding town of Chester, Pennsylvania. In class, ML performed well, though he demonstrated a habit of plagiarizing that continued throughout his academic career. But he was helped by friendships with fellow seminarians and the mentorship of the Reverend J. Pius Barbour. In his three years at Crozer between 1948 and 1951, King delivered dozens of sermons around the Philadelphia area, had a gun pointed at him (twice), played on the basketball team, and eventually became student body president. These experiences shaped him into a man ready to take on even greater challenges. Based on dozens of revealing interviews with the men and women who knew him then,The Seminarianis the first definitive, full-length account of King's years as a divinity student at Crozer Theological Seminary. Long passed over by biographers and historians, this period in King's life is vital to understanding the historical figure he soon became.

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Seminary training doesn't always dictate the course of leaders' lives, sometimes even steering them directly opposite. Yet the time is always formative. Through his careful research, Patrick Parr has produced a stunning piece of work illumining this little-known part of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s journey of stumbling through learning to integrate theology, life, and the real world as he grew into the great American leader he became. --Jason S. Sexton, Editor, Boom California Without question the most original and important book about King's life to appear in more than a quarter century. --David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bearing the Cross and Rising Star This book provides by far the most thorough and detailed treatment of Martin Luther King's experience in seminary. Anyone interested in King should be thrilled that Patrick Parr pored closely over the seminary records and interviewed surviving members of his cohort of seminarians (plus his sweetheart). Count this volume among the small number of indispensable books about King. --Keith D. Miller, author of Voice of Deliverance and Martin Luther King's Biblical Epic Not only an engrossing biographical study but an essential source for anyone with a serious interest in the formative years of Martin Luther King Jr. --Clayborne Carson, editor of A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parr provides a delightful (and deep) exploration of King's formative years, a period that even the most committed scholars have undervalued or overlooked altogether. King's years at Crozer are recounted here with such clarity the reader nearly sits next to him through every class and social engagement, so that a mere glance to the right and we fall in among his many classmates who are interviewed here. The Seminarian is for the scholar and general reader alike who want to learn how a kid from Atlanta slowly matured into our nation's greatest civil rights leader. --W. Jason Miller, author of Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric

Historian Parr's debut work of nonfiction is a true life bildungsroman...Often overlooked or relegated to mere footnotes in previous biographies, Parr highlights this short, influential period in King's life, fleshing out the details of courses, teachers, mentors, pals, and dates, and presenting a fresh portrait of King, the 'rookie preacher.' --Publishers Weekly The Seminarian is a cleareyed and honest account of some transformative experiences in the life of the gifted young man who would become a cultural icon. --Kirkus Reviews Without question the most original and important book about King's life to appear in more than a quarter century. --David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bearing the Cross and Rising Star Seminary training doesn't always dictate the course of leaders' lives, sometimes even steering them directly opposite. Yet the time is always formative. Through his careful research, Patrick Parr has produced a stunning piece of work illumining this little-known part of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s journey of stumbling through learning to integrate theology, life, and the real world as he grew into the great American leader he became. --Jason S. Sexton, Editor, Boom California This book provides by far the most thorough and detailed treatment of Martin Luther King's experience in seminary. Anyone interested in King should be thrilled that Patrick Parr pored closely over the seminary records and interviewed surviving members of his cohort of seminarians (plus his sweetheart). Count this volume among the small number of indispensable books about King. --Keith D. Miller, author of Voice of Deliverance and Martin Luther King's Biblical Epic Not only an engrossing biographical study but an essential source for anyone with a serious interest in the formative years of Martin Luther King Jr. --Clayborne Carson, editor of A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parr provides a delightful (and deep) exploration of King's formative years, a period that even the most committed scholars have undervalued or overlooked altogether. King's years at Crozer are recounted here with such clarity the reader nearly sits next to him through every class and social engagement, so that a mere glance to the right and we fall in among his many classmates who are interviewed here. The Seminarian is for the scholar and general reader alike who want to learn how a kid from Atlanta slowly matured into our nation's greatest civil rights leader. --W. Jason Miller, author of Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric

The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library 20th Century American Biography collections in general, and Martin Luther King Jr. supplemental studies reading lists in particular. Midwest Book Review Written in a smooth and eminently readable style and providing unprecedented and important material, The Seminarian is certainly a go-to book for anyone researching King's life. PopMatters The chief value of Parr's book is to remind us that King was once a questing student who learned new things, made mistakes, shot pool, had girlfriends, and laughed . New York Review of Books

Author Information

Patrick Parrhas written about Dr. King for magazines and newspapers such asthe Atlantic,Seattle Magazine,and theJapan Times. He worked as a historical consultant for the New Jersey Historical Commission, helping to decide on nominated Martin Luther King Jr. landmarks. In 2014, he was awarded an Artist Trust Fellowship. David J. Garrowis the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of the King biographyBearing the CrossandRising Star: The Making of Barack Obama.

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