Gays Set to Protest Preacher at MLK Event
Some gay residents of Atlanta, angry over the choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to speak at the Martin Luther King, Commemorative Service at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, say they will show up in force Monday to protest. Read more here.
King Papers Are Now Available
Scholars and researchers now have access to a treasure trove of civil rights history – thousands of writings and documents of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which have been cataloged and digitized. The papers, which include many of King’s speeches and personal writings accumulated over more than two decades beginning in 1946, are now available at the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center. In all, there are about 7,000 pieces of handwritten items, including an early draft of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and nearly 100 sermons, some of which never have been published, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Playing a large role in raising the $32 million for the purchase were Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and former Mayor Andrew Young and civil rights lion. “The religious documents are the ones that have not been available to scholars,” said King scholar Clayborne Carson, the founding director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Carson, who has spent 20 years trying to make King materials available for future generations, said, “This is a major step forward,” he said. “At the end of this process, it will be a lot easier for researchers to do their work.”