During the Montgomery bus boycott, King was bombarded with death threats. Late one night, after a threatening phone call, he was overcome by fear and weariness. He prayed aloud, telling God he could not go on.

He felt an inner voice saying, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you. Even to the end of the world."

"I tell you I've seen the lightning flash. I've heard the thunder roar. I've felt sin breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me alone... My fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything."

Three night later, while he was at a meeting, his house was bombed. His wife and daughter were not hurt.

King and other leaders of the movement were indicted over the boycott. He was sentenced to 386 days hard labour, but while this was going to appeal, in November 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled Alabama's segregation laws unconstitutional.

Said Martin: "We have lived under the agony and darkness of Good Friday with the conviction that one day the heightening glow of Easter would emerge on the horizon. We have seen truth crucified and goodness buried, but we have kept going with the conviction that truth crushed to earth will rise again. Now our faith seems to be vindicated."

In 1957, King turned his attention to the vote. In theory, black people in the south had the vote, but in practice they were largely prevented from actually voting.

A bill was being debated to address this, as well as issues of housing and education. To call on Washington to pass the law, King helped organise a Prayer Pilgrimage to the city. 37,000 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, including political leaders, and King's speech confirmed him as the voice of black America. The bill was passed, becoming the American civil rights legislation of the century.

In 1958, King was stabbed at a book signing by a woman with a letter opener. He survived, but the tip of the knife touched his aorta, so his whole chest had to be opened up to extract it. If he had sneezed, it would have killed him.

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