Martin Luther King Memorial Prize Explained

The Martin Luther King Memorial Prize was instituted by novelist John Brunner and his wife and was awarded annually to a literary work published in the US or Britain that was deemed to improve interracial understanding,^{[1] [2]} "reflecting the ideals to which Dr. Martin Luther King dedicated his life".^[3] As of 1984, the author of the winning work was awarded £100 . Brunner died in 1995, and it is uncertain if the award has continued.

Winners of the prize have included:

• Because They're Black (1972) by Derek Humphry and Gus John^[4]
• Black and White: The Negro and English Society (1975) by James Walvin^{[5] [6]}
• A Dry White Season (1980) by André Brink^[7]
• In a Dark Time (1984) edited by Nicholas Humphrey and Robert Lifton^[8]
• (1985) by Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe^[9]
• The European Tribe (1987) by Caryl Phillips^[10]
• Behind the Frontlines: Journey into Afro-Britain (1988) by Ferdinand Dennis.^[11]
• Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63 (1988) by Taylor Branch, 1989 MLK Prize (and 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History)

Notes and References

1. Charles Platt, "John Brunner – Somerset, England, July 30, 1979", in Dream Makers, Gateway, 2017.
2. Derek Humphry, Good Life, Good Death: The Memoir of a Right to Die Pioneer, Carrel Books, 2017.
3. Norman Frankel, "Martin Luther King Memorial Prize (U.K.)", The Grants Register 1985–1987, Macmillan Publishers, 1984, p. 448.
4. http://www.finalexit.org/about_derek_humphry.html Derek Humphry biography
5. http://spartacus-educational.com/HISwalvin.htm "James Walvin"
6. https://www.worc.ac.uk/discover/leading-slavery-scholar-to-give-public-lecture.html "Leading Slavery Scholar to Give Public Lecture"
7. Carolyn Turgeon, "A Dry White Season" at encyclopedia.com.
8. https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Martin+Luther+King+Memorial+Prize "Book awards: Martin Luther King Memorial Prize"
9. http://www.bl.uk/people/stella-dadzie "Stella Dadzie"
10. http://www.carylphillips.com/awards.html "Awards"
11. http://literature.britishcouncil.org/ferdinand-dennis "Ferdinand Dennis"