His friend L. D. Reddick, who was then finishing the first biography of King, wrote that the stabbing was a “natural turning point in his life,” and made so bold as to recommend a “thoughtful reordering” of King’s priorities. Reddick called for more discipline and restraint in King, more political organization and more renunciation of worldly concerns. In short, he wanted King to remake himself in the service of his cause.
