Not only did this book include description or drafts of undelivered speeches (as promised in the description), the author also did a phenomenal job in describing the historical context of each undelivered speech that makes you realize history only makes sense in hindsight.

I particularly loved the chapter on a young SNCC activist no known as congressman John Lewis. Nussbaum describes the varying perspectives and motivations of historical figures, including MLK Jr., on the day of the famous Civil Rights March on Washington. The arguments happening between the impatient and more radical youth and the seasoned and more conservative senior Civil Rights leaders are the same ones the liberal facet of society has today when it comes to the balance between urgent change in the battle for racial justice and the practicality of incremental advances.

I thought it was particularly powerful that John Lewis, in later decades, agreed that taking a softer stance was the right approach to promote coalition-building and foment relationships between all Americans. It made me think more about the current nature of our fragmented society and the extreme swings and rollbacks to justice and equality (such as the Dobbs decision) we continue to see.