Dr. Martin Luther King // Current

MLK love letters caught in legal fight

Coretta Scott King kept the love letters beneath her bed, in a blue Samsonite suitcase.

The amorous writings of her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., were among the most cherished possessions of a famously private person, said Lynn Cothren, Mrs. King’s special assistant for 23 years. “That’s why she kept them so close, in her room, underneath her bed.”

But Tuesday, those letters and other “intimate correspondence” between the Kings are expected to be in a far less private place: Fulton County Superior Court. The papers are caught in an increasingly bitter and public dispute among her three living children.

On one side is Dexter King, head of the corporation that handles the rights to his father’s works. In May, he negotiated a $1.4 million contract to publish a biography of his mother. It would be co-written by the Rev. Barbara Reynolds, a journalist-turned-minister who taped conversations with Mrs. King before she died in January 2006.

On the other side is Dexter King’s younger sister, Bernice King, who has refused to hand over the intimate correspondence between her parents for use in the biography. Bernice King says her mother didn’t want Reynolds to write the book and that the correspondence belongs to Mrs. King’s estate, which she controls.

The family corporation that Dexter King leads, called King Inc., is seeking a temporary restraining order that would force Bernice King to give the papers to Reynolds. A judge ordered her to bring the letters and photos to court Tuesday, though they are not expected to be shown in court. At stake is the book contract with Penguin Group, the New York-based publisher that has threatened to pull out should Bernice King fail to hand over the papers by Friday.

Cothren is among those watching from the sidelines — and wincing.

“Mrs. King deserves something that was just her and Dr. King without sharing it with everybody else,” Cothren said. “It was one of the few things just for her.”

Even Reynolds, who would be paid $200,000 under the Penguin deal, is having second thoughts. She had hoped to finish the biography with the blessings of all the children, not watch it fuel more litigation between them.Coretta Scott King kept the love letters beneath her bed, in a blue Samsonite suitcase. The amorous writings of her husband,... more

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1 month ago

Barack Obama: More harm and hype than hope and good?

Though the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech concides with Barack Obama offically accepting... more

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3 months ago

Divine intervention between "I Have a Dream"'s 45th anniversary and Barack Obama?

DENVER, CO: Today marks the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's powerful "I Have a Dream" speech, and it concides with... more

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3 months ago

45th Anniversary of I Have a Dream

The day was August 28, 1963, the place was Washington, D.C., the speech was "I Have a Dream", and the man was none other than the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

However, what people may not know is that two months ago, a civil rights march took place along Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan the same as in June 1963. Over 125,000 demonstrators were there for the dress rehearsal, in which Dr. King gave an earlier and more elaborate version of his renowned "I Have a Dream" speech.

Considered as one of the greatest and unforgettable speeches in American history, King's "I Have a Dream" was named in a 1999 poll of scholars of public address as the top speech of the 20th century.

While some called him as "a wimpy leader" for it, most believed that he was more than both an idealist and a dreamer. "Dr. King", said John Lewis in 2003, "had the power, the ability and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a modern day pulpit."

Lewis, a U.S. Congressman, spoke on that day as the President of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. "By speaking the way he did", he continues, "he educated, he inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn generations."

In the height of the speech, King was named by TIME Magazine as "Man of the Year" in 1963, and became the youngest person ever the next year to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The legacy of "I Have a Dream" has continue, as Barack Obama is set to become the first African-American to accept the Presidential nomination of an prominent political party at this year's Democratic National Convention.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was both a man and servant of God - using his power and influence to bring black and white people together in the process of making two worlds into one. His weapons were nonviolence, racial equality, civil rights, social justice, and his faith in both God and humanity. Dr. King was someone dedicated to spread love, harmony, tolerance, and equality in a world that is full of hostility and hate - a world that fears because it doesn't understand. His legacy still lives as a prophet, an ambassador, a revolutionary, and a visionary: fighting for the rights - and humanity - of every man, woman, and child of all ages ... and all races:

"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring-when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children-black men, white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics-will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"

The day was August 28, 1963, the place was Washington, D.C., the speech was "I Have a Dream", and the man was none other... more

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3 months ago

1968 Olympics sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos Tribute

A really well done video based on the year 1968. Great Music, great and tragic moments in history. And a tribute to Olympic... more

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4 months ago

Lettera dalla prigione di Birmingham

Quaranta anni fa moriva Martin Luther King, esattamente il 4 aprile del 1968. Cinque anni prima, il 16 aprile del 1963, egli... more

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7 months ago

MLK "Midnight" Mix

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s A Knock at Midnight Sermon remixed to the instrumental from "Love Me" by Eminem, Obie... more

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7 months ago

'If I Had Sneezed' MLK Remix

Dr. King's famous "If I Had Sneezed" speech remixed to the beat of "Ghetto Story" by Cham. For more... more

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8 months ago

Celebrating the legacy of Kennedy and King.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/LOCAL1805/804050436/1195/LOCAL18

From the Indystar.

Yesterday marked not only the 40th aniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. but also the aniversary of pivotal remarks by Senator Robert Kennedy in the midst of a heated presidential campaign itself framed in the middle of a controversial war, remarks that still strike home today. Kennedy broke the news of the death of Martin luther King Jr. to an expectant campaign crowd in the midst of one of the most violent neighborhoods in the city. A riot was expected, so much so that the mayor and chief of police refused Kennedy any police escort and tried to convince him not to go. He did"When they came around the corner here, the police on their motorcycles pulled away, and they left my dad with a few friends," Max Kennedy said. I think of that moment as an iconic moment in American history."

Because of his words the crowds on the street of Indianapolis that night when there were any were gathered together in prayer and vigil and not for violence and recrimination. That is the power of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Two vangaurds of the civil rights movement who both died before seeing thier dream of bridging the social and racial divides in this country. A struggle that ultimately is still lest unfinished even in the present.

Speaking on behalf of Barack Obama Ethel Kennedy for the first time came to Indianapolis to celebrate that legacy, and to see the monument to Kennedy and King at the location of her husbands landmark speach in 1968. The monument depicts them both as parts of individual slabs of metal breaking out of each mold they stand arms outstretched reaching out to bridge the same gaps they sought to bridge in life. Ehtel looking up at the monument for the first time said "Thank you, this is such a great tribute." to the crowd that had gathered around her to pay thier respects to both slain civil rights leaders.

Kennedy had this to say in her speach. "Obama has reached across cultural, racial, economic and party lines. People are drawn to him. He is a rock. He is inspiring," she said. "He has gotten so many people interested in politics."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/LOCAL1805/804050436/1195/LOCAL18 From the Indystar. Yesterday... more