The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Slavery
Associated Archive Content : 183 results
Discerning the Signs of HistoryDr. King's sermon "Discerning the Signs of History" asserts "evil carries the seeds of its own destruction." King gives examples throughout history, such as slavery, colonialism, and the rise and fall of King Louis XVI. |
Draft Introduction for "Why We Can't Wait"This document is a draft of the introduction for Dr. King's book, "Why We Can't Wait." Dr. King uses various African American children stories to explain that one cannot afford to wait for justice. |
Draft Letter from MLK to Mr. HasselvanderDr. King writes Mr. Hasselvander hoping to resolve some issues from recent events of injustice and inequality that occurred in Hasselvander's life. |
Draft of Speech On Passage of 1965 Voting Rights ActDr. King discusses the prevalence of racial issues in society. Discrimination and segregation still occur but through means in which the government has not declared unconstitutional. One of the main problems discussed was housing discrimination. Many African Americans were forced to live in slum housing in bad areas because they were not able to buy a house in the "white neighborhoods." Dr. King states that this type of social injustice cannot continue if the nation wants to progress. |
Draft of Speech to the National Press ClubDr. King's speech to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. was delivered a week after he was incarcerated in Albany, Georgia. This draft shows Dr. King's notes on his address about the Civil Rights Movement. |
Economic and Social Bill of RightsThe SCLC calls for an economic and social bill of rights to demand the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for African Americans. It would include the right of every employable citizen to a decent job, the right of every citizen to a minimum income, the right to a decent house in a neighborhood of choice, the right to an adequate education, the right to health care, and the right to full participation in decision-making. |
Face the Nation InterviewThis is a transcript of an August 1965 interview of Dr. King on the CBS television news program Face the Nation. King is asked to comment on numerous issues facing American society including the conflict in Vietnam, civil rights, housing and birth control. |
Facing the Challenge of a New LifeDr. King uses Greek Philosophy, the Christian conception of agape love, and the need for nonviolent resistance as a guideline of "Facing the Challenge of a New Life" in America. Throughout the sermon, he encourages African Americans to remain committed to the nonviolent principles of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the precepts of Christian living to facilitate the birth of a new way of life in an America dealing with violent conflicts over social conditions. |
Founders Day AddressDr. King addresses Spelman College at their Founders Day celebration. He discusses issues such as the Promised Land and the function of education. |
Gandhi Society for Human Rights Address by MLKDr. King speaks at a luncheon launching the Gandhi Society on May 17, 1962, citing the great significance of the day: the anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision declaring school segregation unconstitutional, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the centennial of the death of Henry David Thoreau, whose essay on civil disobedience influenced Gandhi. He announces that earlier that day he sent President Kennedy a document seeking an executive order proclaiming all forms of segregation to be a violation of the US Constitution. |
Guidelines for a Constructive ChurchIn this sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Dr. King spells out guidelines for the church: healing the broken-hearted, preaching deliverance to the captive (freeing people from everything that enslaves), and preaching the acceptable year of the Lord. The acceptable year of the Lord, he says, is every year the time is right to do right, stop lying and cheating, do justice, learn to live as brothers and beat swords into plowshares. |
Howard University Charter Day ObservanceHoward University celebrates its' Charter Day Observance with a program that includes a speech by Dr. King. The program also acknowledges the recipients of the Alumni Achievement Award. Such individuals include Ossie Davis and Leroy F. Florant. |
Hungry Club SpeechThis document is a draft copy of Dr. King's Hungry Club Speech, in which he speaks on the subject "America's Chief Moral Dilemma." He states that the dilemma is "the means by which we live have out distanced the ends for which we live." Dr. King thoroughly discusses the three major evils that contribute to this dilemma: the evil of racism, the evil poverty, and the evil of war. He also discusses the progress of the Civil Rights Movement as it enters a new phase of fighting for "genuine equality." |
I HAVE A DREAMText of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech delivered August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C. |
I've Been To The MountaintopDr. King delivers the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech at the Masonic Temple in Memphis, TN. |
Letter from A Republican to MLKSigning as "A Republican," the writer informs Dr. King that the draft for the war is the Democrats' method of using blacks for involuntary servitude. This information is to serve as support of the writer's belief that the Democrats will "return the negroes to slavery." |
Letter from Alfred Gunn to MLKAlfred L. Gunn requests Dr King's support of Gunn's "new Democratic way of Philosophy." Mr. Dunn also encloses three manuscripts pertaining to riots, the American gun and rifle laws, and the occurrence of racial problems in America. |
Letter from an Asylum Inmate to MLK Seeking AssistancePaul Douglas Ware, an untried inmate, requests Dr. King's "understanding, moral support, and possible assistance." Mr. Ware informs Dr. King of detailed information regarding his unjust treatment, his personal life, his present state of mind and most importantly his desire to have a stronger bond with "his own people." |
Letter from Anna Mull Jones to MLKAnna M. Jones informs Dr. King that she will pray for him while he is in jail, but she also requests that he read the history of the United States and reread the Constitution. She asserts that the Republican Party was created for the express purpose of halting the spread of slavery. |
Letter from Anthony Cama to Dora McDonaldAnthony Cama, a member of the Order of Sons of Italy in America, encloses American philosopher Henry David Thoreau's article on slavery. |
Letter from Beresford Hayward to MLKBeresford Hayward, Planning Consultant of the Department of Education in Puerto Rico, writes Dr. King to inform him of the racial climate in Puerto Rico and its issue of Cuban immigration. Mr. Hayward also presents a comparison between the race issues inflicting Puerto Rico and the United States of America. |
Letter From Bessie G. White to MLKBessie G. White writes to Dr. King, highlighting the strife that she feels Dr. King will continue to go through while fighting for civil rights in the south. |
Letter from Dr. J. H. Young to MLKDr. J. H. Young writes this letter to Dr. King about slavery, the Civil War, and President Lincoln. He reminds Dr. King that the Civil War was fought not over slavery, but succession. |
Letter from E. L. Gayden to MLKE. L. Gayden writes Dr. King regarding the planning of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Gayden offers the services of the John Brown Monument and Historical Association for the organization of the tour. He also mentions that he represents a travel agency and extends his assistance to Dr. King. |
Letter from E. Paul Weaver to MLKE. Paul Weaver writes to Dr. King enclosing a small contribution for the work of the SCLC. Weaver also requests that the Dr. King visit Camp Mack as a guest speaker. The Executive Secretary of Church of the Brethren, one of three historic peace churches in the U. S., informs Dr. King of the Brethren's strong stand against slavery long before the Civil War. |
Letter from Esther M. Jackson to McGeorge BundyEsther Jackson, a professor at Shaw University, writes George Bundy of the Ford Foundation expressing his dismay in the support of a segregated theatre. Jackson also expresses his disappointment in Dr. King and Roy Wilkins for not recognizing the discrimination taking place in form of cultural separatism. |
Letter from Florida Writer to President Lyndon Johnson on True EqualityThis letter from a Florida resident to President Johnson expresses the writer's views on the nation's racial challenges. |
Letter from Jack Michlin to George C. WallaceJack Michlin criticizes former Alabama Governor George Wallace for making misleading statements about the American and Confederate slave trade on "The Mike Douglas Show." |
Letter from Lewis W. Jones to MLKLewis W. Jones worries about Dr. King because of the recent turmoil he has faced. He hopes that the struggles King has faced recently does not undermine his position in the movement. |
Letter from Louise M. Meriwether to MLKLouise M. Meriwether requests an endorsement from Dr. King in protesting the filming of the book "The Confessions of Nat Turner" written by William Styron. |