No Turning Back: My Summer with Daddy King

by Gurdon Brewster

Overview

In the summer of 1961 a young white seminarian from the North volunteered to work at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, living in the home of its legendary pastor, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. - "Daddy King" - and Mrs. King. Gurdon Brewster's experiences that summer - working in a church in the eye of the Civil Rights storm, witnessing first-hand the realities of racial prejudice, sharing in the vibrant worship of the people, and breakfast table conversations with Daddy King - would transform his understanding of the gospel and change his life forever. This memoir offers a uniquely intimate portrait of the King family. It describes a time of hope and struggle that must not be forgotten. And through a young man's memories of Daddy King, it provides an inspiring model of what it means to be fully alive and human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608330904
Publisher:	Orbis
Publication date:	03/22/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

Editorial Reviews

In the summer of 1961, Brewster, a white seminary student from the North, worked at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where both Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. were pastors. In this moving memoir, he recalls his first encounters with Atlanta's segregated restrooms, restaurants and public swimming pools, and describes finding the spontaneous church services of the black Baptist tradition both unnerving and energizing. When local white ministers didn't embrace Brewster's idea of setting up meetings between black and white church youth groups, Brewster's eyes were opened about the intransigent racism of ostensibly moderate white clergy. (Less dramatically, Brewster also learned about that staple of Southern cuisine, grits, during his Atlanta summer.) Brewster's book is valuable not only for the record of his own awakenings, but for the personal anecdotes about King Sr., who emerges as a passionate, wise man with a sense of humor equal to his sense of justice. Though Brewster is not attempting to analyze the Civil Rights movement, he does offer useful insights about the importance of hymnody in black churches' freedom struggle. The prose is uneven; often, Brewster's descriptions are vivid and energetic, but occasionally he lapses into didactic clichés ("I was shaken. This experience would change my life."). On the whole, however, this memoir is engaging and inspiring. (Oct.)

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Publishers Weekly

The life lessons Brewster learned in 1961 from Martin Luther King Sr., fondly known as Daddy King, and the relationship they enjoyed, akin to father-son, have lasted throughout Brewster's life, which included 30 years as Episcopal chaplain at Cornell University. Brewster's affecting memoir tells the story of his stay with the Kings and his work as leader of the Ebenezer Baptist Church's youth group when he was a 24-year-old seminary student. For the first time in his life, Brewster experienced discrimination from hostile whites, who confronted him as a rabble-rouser (Brewster is white), and from fellow clergy who cautioned him about moving too fast in promoting civil rights. Conversely, Ebenezer's congregation, especially the teens with whom he worked and the memorable shut-ins whom he visited and prayed with, welcomed him. Brewster's most engaging stories are the ones he relates about his discussions over breakfast with Daddy King, who spoke about his life as a sharecropper's son. The two remained close until Daddy King's death in 1984. Readers will enjoy this uplifting account of people who practice what they preach; strongly recommended for public libraries and an excellent choice for young adult discussion groups.
—Karl Helicher

Library Journal