As King finished speaking, a young white man named Roy James jumped onto the stage and attacked him with brass knuckles, slugging him in the back and jaw. Rather than return the blows or even cover his face, King dropped his hands by his side and looked at his assailant. Other ministers rushed to restrain James, but King stopped them.

"Don't touch him," he cried. "We have to pray for him." King put his arm around the man who had been attacking him. They talked quietly. The man, a member of the American Nazi Party, started crying and admitted that he had come there to prove that King was not nonviolent. The minister did not even press charges. What does this characterization of Martin Luther King reveal? the depth of his knowledge the greatness of his speeches the dedication of his supporters the strength of his convictions