Beloved Community Network

Nonviolence or Nonexistence

Denny's: Re-ignite the Dream

Scholar & Historian Research

The King Papers Project

Visitor Service Program

Annual MLK Service Summit

King Center Programs & Services

King and the Modern Civil Rights Movement

Scholar and Historian Research Program
 

Overview

The King Library and Archives in Atlanta is the world’s largest repository of primary source materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement.  Significant records which document the social, cultural, economic, and political impact of the civil rights movement are housed at the King Library and Archives.

The King Library and Archives’ mission is to promote the appropriate application of archival principles in the preservation, processing, and description of materials relevant to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the modern civil rights movement.  The King Library and Archives serves to:

• Promote research on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the modern civil rights movement
• Acquire, promote, and preserve information produced by or about Dr. King and the modern civil rights movement
• Promote dissemination of information on Dr. King and the modern civil rights museum through the preparation of brochures, guides, exhibits, and on The King Center’s website

The collection of the King Library and Archives consists of the papers of Dr. King and those of the organization that he co-founded, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  The Archives also hold the records of nine major civil rights organizations and the records of several individuals active in the civil rights movement.  In addition, the Archives include more than 200 oral history interviews with Dr. King’s teachers, friends, family, and civil rights associates.  These holdings today serve as the main link to understanding the events of the civil rights movement.  The King Library and Archives has played a crucial role in assuring the survival and preservation of many of the documents and artifacts of the civil rights movement through several documentation efforts.

Major Collections

Organizational Records

1. The Papers of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) (1944-1968)
2. The Records of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (1944-1968)
3. The Records of the Delta Ministry (1964-1968)
4. The Records f the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) (1964-1965)
5. The National Lawyers Guild Records (NLG)* (1936-1968)
6. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Records  (1954-1970)
7. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Records (1959-1972)
8. The Records of the United States National Students Association Southern Project (1957-1969)

Manuscript Collections

1. The Papers of J. T. Alexander (1891-1960s)
2. The Papers of Randolph Battle (1962-1968)
3. The Julian Bond Papers (1964-1968)
4. The Ben Brown Papers (1956-1979)
5. The Papers of Johnny Carr (1956-1979)
6. The Septima P. Clark Papers (1963-1967)
7. The Papers of Fred Gray (1956-1964)
8. The Papers of Hazel Gregory (1956-1965)
9. The Papers of Hamilton Holmes (1955-1964)
10. The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.* (1929-1968)
11. The Papers of Howard Moore (1964-1968)
12. The Papers of Fred W. Shuttleworth (1953-1969)

Audio-Visual and Oral History Collections

1. The Civil Rights Film Collection
2. The Civil Rights Oral History Collection
3. Confersations from Widespread Collection
4. The James Forman Collection
5. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Tape Collection
6. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Speaks Collection
7. The Anne Romaine Oral History Collection
8. The Donald H. Smith Oral History Collection
9. The Maggie Wanza Collection
10. The Wesleyan tapes
11. The Hosea Williams Collection

* Access may be restricted

Resources Available on The King Center’s Website

Many questions you may have about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the King Family, and Dr. King’s principles of nonviolent social change can be found on the King Center’s website.  Here are some of the resources available to you:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Chronology
• Biography
• Additional Information

Mrs. Coretta Scott King

• Biography

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

• General Information
• Chronology
• Events

Nonviolence

• A Glossary of Nonviolence

• Nonviolence: A Way of Life
• The Six Principles of Nonviolence
• The Six Steps of Nonviolence
• The Triple Evils (Racism, Poverty, and War)
• Dr. King’s “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence”

• Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

History of the King Center

Dr. King on the “Beloved Community”

Current King Center Press Releases

Memphis Assassination Trial Transcripts

General Information

The records of the King Library and Archives are made available for historical research at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc.  The King Library and Archives will make every attempt to honor research requests, however due to staff limitations, requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.  Advance reservations are required and a small fee may be charged for materials (postage, copies, etc.). 

For additional information on the King Library and Archives, please direct inquiries to archives@thekingcenter.org.