I'm not a believer in destiny. I'm not necessarily a supporter of the idea that people, if they lived in timelines different from ours, would necessarily wind up occupying the same 'niches' than they did in OTL.
So, for the purposes of this scenario we're assuming that MLK is alive and healthy in this TL, but for whatever reason does not become involved in the Civil Rights movement.
Given what we know about the man's personality, is there anything that would actually keep him out of such a movement? What if he married a different woman than Coretta Scott, someone timid and afraid to rock the boat--could her influence suffice?
Would any of the secondary leaders of the movement (many of whom preceded King) have what it takes to rise to national prominence? Abernathy? Fred Shuttleworth? Medgar Evars? What would happen?
So, for the purposes of this scenario we're assuming that MLK is alive and healthy in this TL, but for whatever reason does not become involved in the Civil Rights movement.
Given what we know about the man's personality, is there anything that would actually keep him out of such a movement? What if he married a different woman than Coretta Scott, someone timid and afraid to rock the boat--could her influence suffice?
Would any of the secondary leaders of the movement (many of whom preceded King) have what it takes to rise to national prominence? Abernathy? Fred Shuttleworth? Medgar Evars? What would happen?