Read the excerpt from "Choice: A Tribute to Dr. Martin
uther King, Jr." by Alice Walker.
He was The One, The Hero, The One Fearless Person
for whom we had waited. I hadn't even realized before
that we had been waiting for Martin Luther King, Jr., but
we had. And I knew it for sure when my mother added
his name to the list of people she prayed for every
night.
I sometimes think that it was literally the prayers of
people like my mother and father, who had bowed
down in the struggle for such a long time, that kept Dr.
King alive until five years ago. For years we went to
bed praying for his life, and awoke with the question "Is
the 'Lord' still here?"
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What is emphasized by the hyperbole in this excerpt?
the dedication Walker showed in praying for King
O the fear Walker felt for King's life and safety
the hope King inspired in the African American
community
the abandonment felt by the African American
community