Noel Erskine presents a thoroughly researched and highly accessible investigation into the major influences on Martin Luther King Jr.'s theology, King's own unique theological project, and his enduring legacy. Beginning with King's theology anchored in the black church tradition, Erskine places King in conversation with Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and James Cone. He skillfully explains how King was nourished by, and helped to nourish, these teeming theological crosscurrents. Erskine proposes that womanist theology provides an insightful critique of King's thought and helps supply a critical missing element in King's vision - the explicit acknowledgment of the rightful place of women in the Beloved Community.