“Is this Martin Luther King?” That is the question that Izola Ware Curry asked Martin Luther King, Jr., at a Sept 20, 1958 book signing in Harlem. The 42-yearold Curry had a distinctive Southern accent and was neatly dressed in a suit with matching jewelry and sequined cat’s-eye glasses. King was signing copies of his… [Read More]
Martin Luther King, Jr.: 51 years later, his battles live on
April 4, 2019By Rachel L. Swarns Martin Luther King Jr. remains frozen in time for many Americans. Seared into our consciousness is the man who battled Southern segregation. We see him standing before hundreds of thousands of followers in the nation’s capital in 1963, proclaiming his dream for racial harmony. We see him marching, arms locked with… [Read More]
MPS students mark the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 24, 2019In honor of the messages of peace, hope, and unity left by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., students in MPS will spend time this week learning about and acting upon his legacy. Events are planned across the district in honor of King’s birthday. On January 20, hundreds of students and their families attended or took… [Read More]
‘I Have A Dream’ – address at The March on Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963
January 17, 2019I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope… [Read More]
Three important lessons we can learn from Dr. King’s legacy
January 17, 2019Exactly 88 years ago to the day, a child was born in Atlanta, Georgia named Michael King, Jr., who would change the world. His father would eventually change his name in honor of the German leader of the Protestant Reformation, and it was by that name – Martin Luther King, Jr. – that the world… [Read More]
Remembering Aretha Franklin as a civil rights icon
August 31, 2018Aretha Franklin, who was born and rose to fame during the segregation era and went on to sing at the inauguration of the first black U.S. president, often used her talent, fortune and platform to inspire millions of black Americans and support the fight for racial equality. “She not only provided the soundtrack for the… [Read More]
Martin Luther King, Jr.: 50 years later
April 5, 2018Activists today are taking up Dr. King’s mantle and reviving the Poor People’s Campaign Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1968, a bullet robbed us of one of the great human- rights leaders of the 20th century. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee, accelerated the racist backlash of the late 1960s…. [Read More]
April 4th was the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination
April 15, 2013By A. Peter Bailey April 4, 2013 was the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It always puzzles me why so many of those who so vocally celebrate Dr. King’s birthday, let the historic day of assassination go by so quietly. I am cynical enough to believe that their quietness is… [Read More]
Why Dr. King’s ‘dream’ is more important now than ever
January 17, 2019On Monday, January 21, 2019, our nation will remember civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a day in his honor. It couldn’t come at a better time, as this nation deals with extreme polarization and a resurgence of negativity of all kinds, from racism to political apathy. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,… [Read More]