The Archive

In this statement, Dr. King enforces the mission and organizational structure of the SCLC as a means of denouncing the traditional ideas associated with the "Black Power" slogan.

Dr. King answers a number of questions from the National Press Club.

This news release announces plans to picket the American Jewish Congress Award Banquet held for Attorney General Robert Kennedy at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The Attorney General is to receive an award "for advancing human freedom."

In this handwritten public statement, the author addresses the Negro citizens of Selma, Alabama by commending their efforts of non-violence during a one-thousand person demonstration for equal voting rights.

Dr. Kings writes an epitaph discussing Eleanor Roosevelt and what she stood for.

Dr. King addresses the issue of the Future of Integration to an assembly at the State University of Iowa on November 11, 1959.

This is an Ebenezer Baptist Church bulletin expressing appreciation for the congregation's various acts of kindness toward one another. On the opposite side of the bulletin, an outline can be found for a memorial speech for the late President Kennedy.

The is a draft outline of Dr. King's "The American Dream" speech delivered at many colleges, universities and churches throughout the country. Dr. King urges Americans to abandon practices of discrimination in order to protect the American dream and the proliferation of the nation.

Dr. King speaks at a Press Conference to expresses his support for the boycotts occurring around the nation. He also stands in affirmation with the Olympic athletes who chose not to participate in the games due to the civil injustice taking place in America.

Dr. King introduces the SCLC's guest speaker, Senator Edward Kennedy at a conference in Jackson, Mississippi.

In this document, Dr. King protests the Soviet Union's treatment of the Jews there. He stresses the need for the Soviet Union to treat its Jewish community fairly. He says: "[w]e cannot sit complacently by the wayside while while our Jewish brothers in the Soviet Union face the possible extinction of their cultural and spiritual life."

This 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."

Dr. King's introductory remarks at the Pacem In Terris II Convocation critiques the United States' involvement in Vietnam.

Dr. King opens his statement on Lyndon B. Johnson, the new president of the United States, and how the tenure of his presidency began with adversity. Due to the elected southern president, the nation questions the possible improvement of the Negro community. Dr. King asserts that President Johnson's record on civil rights is astounding and his "southern-ness" will provide him with a better understanding of the Negro's plight. Dr. King further details the perceptions, actions, and works of President Johnson's efforts in the civil rights movement.

In this statement to the press, Dr. King comments on the Watts Riots that took place in Los Angeles, California. He further discusses the economic, social and racial inequalities that he feels were the cause of the violence.

Dr. King addresses the Democratic National Committee urging them to stand up against the inequities that prevent Negro participation in the political process in the state of Mississippi.

Dr. King says that there have been few strides made in school desegregation. He says that schools that comply with the desegregation laws do it at an appalling slow pace. Lastly, he says that although there needs to be more progress in both the north and the south, he has hope for the future.

Dr. King makes a plea to the Democratic National Committee to provide a delegate from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party so that there may be equal representation within the state. Dr. King's feels that by providing a delegate it may discontinue the prevention of political participation of African Americans in Mississippi.

Dr. King makes a statement following the death of Adlai Stevenson.

The author of this document discusses why it is imperative for African Americans to not only stand in unity against the injustices of society, but to also be informed about the issues in which they strive to prevail against. Information about school integration, housing discrimination, and taxation is offered in the conclusion of the document.

Robert Clifton Weaver, the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, encloses a statement made by Dr. King for Joseph Califano, assistant to President Johnson. Dr. King announces a slum area housing redevelopment project in the Chicago areas of Lawndale, East Garfield Park and Kenwood Oakland.

This article summarizes the consequences that derive from the House Un-American Activities Committee labeling Civil Rights leaders as communists.

Dr. King speaks about a trip to the Mississippi Delta where he first witnessed hope and pathos simultaneously.

Dr. King gives an address at the National Urban Leagues's Golden Anniversary Conference in New York City. He speaks on the subject, "The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness" and discusses the Negroes new sense of "somebodiness." The factors that contribute to this new sense of dignity include a population shift from rural to urban life, rapid educational advance, gradual improvement of economic status, Supreme Court decisions outlawing segregation in the public schools, and awareness that freedom is a part of a world-wide struggle.

King delivered this speech, in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1961, at a rally to support the Freedom Riders. King encourages them to maintain postures and attitudes of non-violence in the face of violent responses to their actions and resistance. He assures them that while they will experience a "season of suffering," the moral rightness of their cause will prevail.

Dr. 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.

Dr. King gives a speech in which he addresses a myriad of issues on the subject of civil rights.

The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights released these remarks by Dr. King marking the end of the Birmingham Nonviolent Direct Action Campaign. King describes the day as a climax in the long struggle for justice and freedom in Birmingham and gives credit to Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, to the thousands who went to jail, to the whites who worked for just solutions and to God. He speaks of the need for continued progress toward equal job opportunities, equal access to public facilities, and equal rights and responsibilities.

This address by Dr. King was delivered to the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity the day before it was announced that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In addressing the topic "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution," Dr. King argues that the church must inspire it's members to be active and advocate against injustice, reaffirm the misconduct of racial segregation, and work towards social change in a nonviolent and peaceful manner.

In these speech notes, Dr. King references the plight of the Jewish community in the Soviet Union and the silent betrayal of onlookers. John Donne is quoted in his famous excerpt, "No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."