Fall Class On King Papers

A leading scholar of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will teach a class on the civil rights icon this fall at Morehouse College, using the collection of documents, books and other items housed at the school. Clayborne Carson, who was named executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection in January, will teach "Martin Luther King Jr. and the Modern Freedom Struggle." Carson was tapped by King's widow, Coretta Scott King, to edit and publish his papers in 1985. King graduated from Morehouse with a degree in sociology in 1948. The collection was bought on June 23, 2006, in a, 11th-hour, $32 million private sale brokered by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin that thwarted a public auction to be held at Sotheby's in New York.

(Associated Press)

King's Unpublished Novels Forthcoming

Four books written by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will be published for the first time in 20 years under a new deal with Beacon Press brokered by King's youngest son. Dexter King called the deal a historic partnership that will bring his father's words to a global audience. Beacon, a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association, publishes books on social justice, human rights and racial equality. The Boston-based publisher will release new editions of "Stride Toward Freedom," "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?," "Trumpet of Conscience" and "Strength to Love" in 2010. Under the exclusive agreement, Beacon will also compile King's writings, sermons, lectures and prayers into new editions to include introductions by leading scholars.

(Associated Press)

Exhibit Opening at the King National Historic Site

The dream of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been interpreted by 70 artists in an exhibit opening at the King National Historic Site. The "I Have A Dream: International Exhibition to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." opens today at the site, which includes King's birth home and tomb. The various tributes to the civil rights icon include depictions of struggle and activism, as well as works that address gender and race.
The exhibit was organized by city of Sitges, Spain and features artists from every continent. It arrives in King's birthplace after stops in New York, Michigan and Tennessee and will continue to Alabama and Illinois before returning to Spain next year.

(AP)

Movie About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

DreamWorks Studios has plans to make a movie about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to be co-produced by Steven Spielberg. The studio announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the civil rights leader's life rights from The King Estate. Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones are also mentioned as producers of the project in the release. The studio says the film would be the first theatrical motion picture authorized by the estate using King's intellectual property as the basis for the story.

(Associated Press)

King Family Gets Paid for DC Memorial Project

The foundation building a monument to honor Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. at the National Mall in Washington D.C. is paying about $800 thousand to the King family for using the civil rights leaders’ words and image.

It’s an arrangement one leading scholar says King would have found offensive.

The memorial includes a 28 foot sculpture depicting King emerging from a chunk of granite. It’s funded almost entirely with private money raised by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. The monument will be turned over to the National Park Service once it’s complete.

(Associated Press)

Protesters Shout at Warren During Ebenezer Sermon

Two women protesters shouted at Rev. Rick Warren shortly after he began his keynote sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta Monday.

One of the women, seen here pointing in the air, waved a yellow scarf, as she shouted, "Rick Warren is a bigot, Rick Warren is a bigot," at Ebenezer Baptist Church during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Security officials tore the scarf from the woman's hand during the altercation, which took place shortly before 1:00 PM and quickly hustled both out of the sanctuary.

A few moments later, two male protesters stood up and turned their backs to Warren, and were also escorted out of the building.

The identity of the protesters was unclear, although several dozen demonstrators with signs held a protest outside the church earlier against what they said was Warren's positions on gay rights and abortion.

The group was larger earlier in the morning, but dispersed, according to reports.

Security personnel hurry one of the women out of the sanctuary at Ebenezer Baptist Church during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Police and Sheriff Department details, and FBI and Homeland Security personnel showed a heavy presence in the vicinity of the church, and closed off streets surrounding the building.

Dozens of dignitaries attended the service, including Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, who gave a brief address.

Ebenezer Church Sermon Focuses on Obama, MLK (Photo Essay)

Ebenezer Baptist Church Sr. Pastor, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, making a point to the audience on Sunday, January 18, on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day, and Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)


Worshipers link arms, singing "We Shall Overcome," at Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, on Sunday, January 18, on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day, and Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Several thousand worshippers filled the historic Ebenezer Church in downtown Atlanta.

Adults at prayer, children and infants attended Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, Jan., 18, 2009, on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day, and Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

They came to hear an impassioned sermon on the eve of Martin Luther King Day, and Tuesday’s inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

A television news cameraman watches Rev. Warnock through his viewscreen at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., on Sunday, January 18, 2009. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)


Earnest Adams of Atlanta, in rapt prayer during services at Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Senior Pastor Raphael Warnock, told some 2,000 churchgoers that many historic figures made Obama’s election possible.

Ebenezer Baptist Church Sr. Pastor, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, exhorting the audience on Sunday, January 18, on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day, and Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Warnock's examples ranged from the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt to the Land of Israel, African-America slaves, slain civil rights workers and King himself:

”…HE SITS ON THE KNEES AND STANDS ON THE SHOULDERS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., WHO SAID, ‘I MAY NOT GET THERE WITH YOU, BUT WE AS A PEOPLE WILL GET TO THE PROMISED LAND,’ SO KEEP ON MOVING – FREEDOM LOOMS!”

Warnock said the Obama inauguration was but another step on the road to freedom, and urged the audience to have faith in the face of domestic and international adversity.

A woman in rapt prayer during services at Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

King would have been 80-years-old today.


Pastors and choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, January 18, on the eve of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Day, and Tuesday's inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. Click on the photo for a full-sized image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

GPB Radio News will air a segment of Pastor Warnock's sermon on Monday.

Charity Battling Donor Fatigue, Obama Inauguration

A 38-year-old charity that supplies food to Atlanta's poorest residents has decided to go forward with an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day dinner despite lowered donations and many volunteers leaving town for the presidential inauguration.

Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless organizers told The Associated Press Wednesday that a lack of donations - including corporate gifts of hams and turkeys - meant the dinner wouldn't take place. Spokeswoman Dee Dee Cocheta later got word that a donation of hams would come through after all. Combined with a modest gift of 216 turkeys Tuesday, it's enough to let the dinner go on.

But the group still faces a struggle. Organizers say many of the staff who would have worked at the dinner will be in Washington for the inauguration.

In related news, President-elect Barack Obama says the inauguration is about more than him, and that it should be about getting all Americans involved in community service.

Obama said Wednesday that his Jan. 20 inauguration should bring the country together to volunteer. He says if everyone rolls up their sleeves, the county will improve. Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and their families will volunteer in the Washington area
Jan. 19.

Obama's aides have posted thousands of volunteer opportunities on a Web site, USAService.org.

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News reports about homelessness and hunger issues in Georgia.

Clayborne Carson to Lead Morehouse's MLK Collection

Morehouse College has named civil rights historian and author Clayborne Carson head of its Martin Luther King Jr. collection. Carson has written and edited numerous works on the civil rights movement, among them The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. He also served as senior advisor for the award winning public televison series "Eyes on the Prize." Carson will be speaking at Morehouse College's International Chapel on Tuesday, January 13th at 10:30 a.m. about his plans for the King collection as its Executive Director.

Controversial minister to speak at '09 King memorial

The Rev. Rick Warren, whose selection to deliver the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration next month has drawn controversy, will be in the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church to deliver the keynote address at the Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative service. The January 19, 2009 service on the federal holiday will mark what would have been King's 80th birthday. It will cap a week of activities to salute the civil rights icon, according to a schedule of events listed on the Web site for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Warren is pastor of the 20,000-member Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life." Obama's decision to include Warren in the inauguration has sparked an outcry from liberal groups and gay rights activists over the Southern Baptist's views on same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

(Associated Press)

Cathy, Clinton honored for "greatness"

Chick-fil-A founder and Georgia native Truett Cathy is set to get the King Center's annual "Salute to Greatness" award. New York Senator Hillary Clinton will also be honored with an award during the January 17th event. The King Center in Atlanta grants the awards to thank recipients for "their humanitarian contributions toward fulfilling the dream of Martin Luther King Jr."

(Associated Press)

MLK Memorial gets help from Wal-Mart Foundation

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is one step closer to being built in the nation's capitol.

The Wal-Mart Foundation has extended a $12.5 million letter of credit to the project's foundation.

The loan now allows the Memorial Foundation to get the necessary construction permit from the National Park Service.

The memorial to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. is expected to be completed in 2010.

Clinton to fundraise for King memorial

Organizers of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial say former President Bill Clinton will help raise funds to complete the project planned for the National Mall. The group announced Wednesday that Clinton will receive the foundation's "Humanitarian Award" and will serve as the keynote speaker of a Jan. 8 dinner in Miami to help raise funds for the memorial. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will sponsor the dinner. The memorial foundation has raised $100 million of the $120 million needed to complete the project. The project is slated for the banks of the Tidal Basin between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. It would be the first major tribute to a black leader on the National Mall.

(Associated Press)

King siblings: family court fight was necessary

Rev. Bernice King, talks at a interview discussing the lawsuit between the King siblings in Atlanta Saturday Oct. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/W.A. Harewood)

The Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III haven't spoken to their brother in months, and their painful family feud has kept Dexter King from meeting his only niece, his two remaining siblings said Saturday.

The middle children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King told The Associated Press that the ongoing fight may seem at odds with their parents' peacemaking example. But they maintain their decision to face their brother in court, though difficult, is in keeping with what they were taught.

"No one wants to be at this place," Martin Luther King III said, adding that negotiation and direct action are part of the nonviolent strategy espoused by his parents. "Certainly, Bernice and I would not want to be here, but we didn't have a choice. We were not able to get a resolution to the conflict we are engaged in. My father also used the court system."

"This was a very agonizing decision for us because we are family," Bernice King added.

The three surviving King children have looked more like adversaries than siblings in recent months as they struggle to settle three lawsuits. On Tuesday, lawyers for Dexter King asked a judge to demand that Bernice King -- as administrator of her mother's estate -- turn over personal papers, including love letters between the civil rights icons.

The case is ongoing in Atlanta civil court, and the judge has appointed a special master to catalogue dozens of boxes belonging to Coretta Scott King.

Control of the documents is threatening to derail a $1.4 million book deal with New York publisher Penguin Group for a memoir about the civil rights matriarch. Bernice and Martin Luther King III both say that the book goes against their mother's wishes. And they say it exemplifies how her brother has effectively shut out them out of the corporation that controls their father's legacy.

"It's almost like a dictatorship," Martin Luther King III said. "That's how it felt to us."

Craig Frankel, one of the attorneys representing Dexter as CEO of King Inc., did not immediately return a phone message Saturday evening. But Dexter King said Tuesday that he was not an instigator in the feud, which he called "a power struggle between siblings" that did not honor the spirit of his parents. However, he did express hope that the conflict could be resolved.

"Healing takes time. We do love each other," Dexter King said. "We were raised in a loving family. I think that will prevail."

He and his sister acknowledged that their rift with Dexter King has developed over several years. In the past, when they disagreed, they respectfully deferred to their mother. Coretta Scott King's death in 2006 -- and the sudden death of their sister, Yolanda, in 2007 -- failed to bring Dexter King closer to his siblings. Instead, they have become increasingly estranged.

Yet all three maintain hope for reconciliation.

( The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the King family.

Battle over King papers in court

The children of Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are facing off in an Atlanta courtroom today, at odds over their mother's personal papers that could factor into a lucrative book deal. Dexter King is seeking his mother's papers, which are currently in his sister's possession. Bernice King is refusing to turn over the papers, claiming her mother did not want to participate in the $1.4 million book deal. New York-based Penguin Group is threatening to pull the deal this week without the documents.

(Associated Press)

Civil rights museum gets site

A proposed civil rights museum is planned for Atlanta's central tourist district. The Center for Civil and Human Rights will be located between The New World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. The center is scheduled to break ground next year and will showcase the city and state's contributions to human rights efforts around the world. Morehouse College's Martin Luther King Jr. Collection is expected to be the centerpiece of the project.

John Lewis on Obama's, Georgia's hopes

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made history on this day in 1963 delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington. Tonight, another African-American will make history. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Georgia Congressman John Lewis will also speak tonight. As a young civil rights leader, Lewis was one of 10 people who also spoke alongside Dr. King on this day 45 years ago. He is the only one of those men alive today. Lewis says it doesn’t bother him that Barack Obama is not a child of the movement he helped foster. In fact, he says, Obama is free of the battle scars left on he and those of his generation.

"He never saw the signs that said 'White Men,' 'Colored Men,' 'White Women,' 'Colored Women,' " Lewis adds. "He never tasted the fruits of segregation and racial discrimination, so he is a different human being. He should be free to liberate the rest of America, and maybe take a message to the rest of the world."

Still, Lewis says he would like to hear from Obama that this is not the end — or even a new beginning — but a continuation of a long struggle. Lewis says that all over his home state of Georgia, young people feel something is happening.

"And you hear people saying, 'I was not there with you to march across the bridge at Selma. I was not at the March on Washington. But I am in this struggle to make Barack Obama president."

Tonight Lewis will pay tribute to Dr. King.

(NPR)

Price hike for King memorial

Organizers are upping the cost estimate for a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They cite the addition of a bookstore and rising construction costs for tacking on $20-million dollars to the project. The group now needs to raise $120 million dollars in all for the memorial slated to go up in Washington, D.C. So far they have raised just under $100-million.

King children's infighting now in court

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s children are in a legal squabble. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III filed a lawsuit Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court against their brother Dexter King. The lawsuit says that Dexter King - the administrator of his father's estate - refused to provide information and documents concerning the operations. It also claims that Martin Luther King Jr.'s estate's assets "are being misapplied or wasted."

Obama evokes MLK , seeks 'mandate for change' in Georgia

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Monday he doesn't just want to win the White House -- he wants a mandate. And that includes competing in Georgia, a state that hasn't awarded its delegates to a Democrat in 16 years.

"I intend to win right here in the great state of Georgia," Obama told some 300 donors.

They had paid a minimum of $2,300 apiece and crowded into the upscale Atlanta restaurant 103 West to hear him speak. It was the first of two Atlanta fundraisers the Illinois senator headlined Monday night to stock his campaign warchest for the coming general election battle with Republican John McCain.

Obama evoked the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his hometown, warning Democrats not to forget "the fierce urgency of now."

"We want a mandate for change and we're not just going to run in the same old states and have just everything hinge on Florida," Obama said.

"We're going to try and transform this political map."

He will host a town hall meeting today on the economy in the GOP stronghold of Cobb County.

Georgia Republicans went on the attack against Obama before he'd even arrived in the state. In a conference call with reporters, Georgia's two U.S. senators -- both Republicans -- blasted the Illinois senator on taxes, gas prices and the war in Iraq.

Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson said Georgians need to know about Obama's voting record, which they allege is out of step with many of the state's conservative voters. The Georgia Republican Party also issued a blistering press release taking aim at Obama's decision to forgo public financing for his campaign, among other things.

There's been talk that Georgia could be up for grabs in the November general election. And in South Carolina, two of Obama's top supporters said Monday he would put paid staff on the ground there, in another break with the recent Democratic strategy of bypassing a GOP-dominated state in the general election.

Isakson predicted Monday that Republican candidate John McCain would carry Georgia. He said the Obama camp is touching down in the state in what will be a futile attempt to engineer a win in Dixie.

"I think they would like nothing better than to crack a Southern state," Isakson said.

Chambliss, who's running for re-election this year, praised Obama for bringing new voters into the process.

"I have to commend him for that," Chambliss said. "But we want to make sure that people understand really how this guy has voted and what he stands for."

A spokesman for the Georgia Democratic Party said it was telling that Republicans launched such a coordinated offensive against Obama.

"Don't let our senators fool you -- Georgia is not as red as they would have you believe," Martin Matheny said.

Obama on Monday also received a plug from Georgia Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Vernon Jones on Monday who praised him for battling in the state unlike some previous Democratic presidential candidates "who wrote the South off."

The last Democrat to carry Georgia in a presidential contest was Bill Clinton in 1992.

Jones' comments came a few days after a mailer from his campaign made waves with the Obama camp. The flier featured a composite picture of Jones and Obama under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes We Can!

The Obama campaign issued a statement which said "despite what this mailer inaccurately suggests, Sen. Obama will not endorse a candidate in the U.S. Senate primary in Georgia." Jones brushed aside such criticism on Monday and said the flier merely shows that he's supporting Obama.

Jones volunteered that he can help Obama.

"For Sen. Obama to win Georgia he's going to need conservative Democrats like myself, obviously that's the great need," Jones said.