It sounds like a cliche but it... you do sing about what you know about. And I grew up in a small town and I grew up in a place where your whole world revolved around friends family school and church and sports.
On 'Van Halen ' I was a young punk and everything revolved around the fastest kid in town gunslinger attitude. But I'd say that at the time of 'Fair Warning ' I started concentrating more on songwriting. But I guess in most people's minds I'm just a gunslinger.
Yes I think it's really important to acknowledge that Dr. King precisely at the moment of his assassination was re-conceptualizing the civil rights movement and moving toward a sort of coalitional relationship with the trade union movement.