Now the activists in Chicago challenged King to do something about it—to build a movement in Chicago as he had in Birmingham and Selma. King might have said no. He might have listened to the advice of aides such as Andrew Young, who said the SCLC lacked the necessary funding and manpower for a campaign in the North. He might have justified a sabbatical. After a decade of activism, he had earned a break. He had inspired Black southerners to stand up and fight against staggering odds, and he had led them to victories. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the soon-to-be-passed Voting Rights Act of
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