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HAPPY KING DAY!: A collection of news and events surrounding today’s holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
*A collection of more than 600 papers, speeches and documents from Dr. Martin Luther King will go on display in Atlanta today, his 78th birthday, for the first time in history.
The exhibit - a partial display of more than 10,000 King papers and books that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin helped privately acquire for $32 million last summer from Sotheby's auction house - will be open at the Atlanta History Center until May 13 and includes an early draft of King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
"Atlanta is really embracing its own history by embracing Dr. King and his legacy," Franklin said, according to the AP. "People will see the papers and be able to relate to them and experience the movement through Dr. King's eyes and through his words."
After the exhibit, all the papers will be housed at the Robert W. Woodruff Library on the campus of the Atlanta University Center, which includes Morehouse College.
*The late Coretta Scott King was honored posthumously in Atlanta Saturday for her human rights contributions and work to preserve her husband’s legacy in the decades after his death. Civil Rights widow Myrlie Evers-Williams joined Andrew Young, Gladys Knight and the King children in saluting the civil right matriarch. “The loss of this amazing and gallant woman was devastating for the nation and the King Center family,” said her nephew, Isaac Newton Farris Jr. — who now leads the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. On Friday, a group of American and African human rights activists laid a white flower wreath at the King crypt — which now houses both Kings — at The King Center’s reflecting pool.
*Today’s episode of “Judge Hatchett” features a powerful intervention for a troubled teen with help from the memory of Coretta Scott King. Sixteen-year-old Josh Chapman from Bayboro, North Carolina, was brought before Judge Hatchett at the request of his mother Tianya Jones, who was worried that her son's violent behavior would get him killed. The Judge sent him to meet a close friend of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Mrs. Xernona Clayton. Josh visited the National Civil Rights Museum, formerly the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was killed. He then stepped onto the very spot where Martin Luther King lost his life. He then re-traced the steps of the great Coretta Scott King as she carried on the crusade the day after she lost her husband and continued his non-violent movement. He also met with Charles Rachel, a former gang member, whose life was transformed by Mrs. King.
Sampling of MLK articles from nation's newspapers:
· Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "King's voice of peace resounds amid Iraq woes"
· New York Times "For Many, King's Birthday Is Just Another Workday"
· Charlotte Observer: "MLK Jr.'s dream still an American dream"
· Washington Post: "More Than MLK's Words And Dreams"
· The Chattanoogan "Dr. King And The Evidence"
· The Marion Star: "'It is our responsibility to carry out the dream of Martin Luther King'"
· The Natchez Democrat: "Will Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy survive the generation gap?"
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Get your copy of the award winning
"King: From Atlanta to the Mountaintop."
It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that tells the
story of the Civil Rights movement and
the life of its Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To learn
more and hear excerpts from this
treasured program, click here:
www.KingProgram.net
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