Dr. King, if he were alive today, probably would simply be a minister, a pastor. His initial intent was, indeed, just to be a preacher. He didn't have any egotistical desire or need to be a public figure or celebrity. He got drafted - or, really, dragged into it - initially in Montgomery.

It's simply incorrect to call Dr. King a Republican.

I wasn't interested at all in doing a documentary. I was not a public figure.

To suggest that I have in some way discredited Dr. King is simply the knee-jerk, apoplectic hysteria of those who find fault with anyone not espousing their leftist mantra of self-segregation and special rights. As a result, much of what Dr. King stood for has been undermined by their lies and pathetic misrepresentations.

King would certainly be overjoyed by Barack Obama's inauguration, but we must avoid, and indeed reject, any careless claims that Obama's swearing in marks the fulfillment of King's dream.

In that telling, there were things that were exposed about Dr. King. It cut through me in a way I (had) to do something with their story.